Matunga, with its many iconic Udipi restaurants, is considered the South Indian food hub of Mumbai.
Well, there’s a new kid in town, and it’s not in Matunga! I am talking of Santosham, located in Chandivali. The restaurant is less than two years old. They have 3 QSR outlets in Thane. Mother and son duo Bhagyalakshmi and Chittaranjan Gohokar run Santosham. They serve Pallakad Iyer/ Tam Brahm food here.
My friend, Sandeep Budhiraja, told me about Santosham sometime back. This was when we had met at Madras Cafe in Bandra. I was not happy with what we had that evening. I told him that their standards had dipped. He told me about Santosham and how it has become their family favourite. Prakash Dadlani, another friend of mine who lives close by, told me that Santosham was a family favourite for them, too.
I made the hike to Chandivali to join Sandeep for lunch a few days later. There was a long queue to get in.
The restaurant was nice and clean, airconditioned and bright and had a decent washroom. There was an open kitchen at the entrance where dosas were made. The ambience looked promising.
The food that I tried was truly soulful, delicious and light on the tummy. The sambar was the savoury Tamil one and not the sweet Udupi one, which is more common in Mumbai. The chutneys were nice and thick; I had a rava dosa, which was crackling and was a treat for one’s tastebuds. The benne dosa was softer than the ones I had had in CTR and MTR in Bangalore. The flavours were on point and felt more home-like than the crunchy Bangalore ones. I have yet to visit Benne, the newly opened restaurant in Bandra, which has suddenly made Benne dosas the talk of the town in Mumbai. The queues are too long!
I had a thatte idli, which was very soft and had a beautiful podi and ghee crowned.
I also had the banana leaf lunch. Each element in the dish was light and distinct and led to an experience that was satisfying and soporific.
I met the Bhagyalakshmiji and Chittaranjan that afternoon. I first come across them in Rashmi Uday Singh’s Hospitality Hope Awards. Their earnestness and passion had impressed me that evening and had made me keen to visit the restaurant. I was glad that I did so.
They told me that they were in the manufacturing business earlier. This experience had come of use when they set up the restaurant. They set up SOPs in their kitchen, which, they said, is the secret behind the consistent quality of the food at Santosham.
The result of this was evident in the queue to get in, even on a weekday. That is when folks who work in offices close by drop in, said Sandeep. I was not surprised. Good quality food is not easy to come by.
Families queue up for breakfast on weekends, he added. I felt envious of them and wished that we had something like this in Bandra.
Why open a restaurant at this stage of her life, I asked Bhagyalakshmiji
She said that she wanted to give Mumbai a taste of the temple food of the south. Her father had opened a restaurant in Nagpur in 1950, which is still running strong. Running a restaurant is in her DNA. Opening Santosham was a natural manifestation of the same.
What’s the secret behind Santosham’s success? Watch the video below to know.
Disclaimer: They refused to charge me when I offered to pay and promised to charge me the next time.
Ps: The pineapple sheera is fab too.
Address:
Chandivali Farm Rd, Raheja Vihar, Chandivali, Powai, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400072