For those who grew up in Bengaluru during the 1990s and early 2000s, the memory of a thattukada or neighbourhood street food cart often begins the same way. A dimly lit cart at the corner of a road, and steam rising from vessels lined up in front of hungry customers. The menu was usually simple: tea, chaat, parotta and egg curry, perhaps with a special dish if you were lucky.
Today, while the spirit of Bengaluru’s street food culture remains unchanged, the menu tells a different story. Along the rapidly growing Kothanur-Hennur stretch on the Hennur-Bagalur main road, street food carts and roadside eateries are serving everything from egg rice and chilli chicken, to BBQ chicken and homemade cheesecake. What was once a quick stop for tea and snacks has evolved into a thriving food scene that reflects the changing tastes of the city.
The comfort of familiarity
Around the stalls, conversations take place in Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam, and Hindi. There are college students discussing their next deadline, and young professionals unwinding after battling Bengaluru traffic. Most of them are in the city chasing something bigger and better, having left home-cooked meals behind.
Perhaps that is why places like these continue to stay alive.
People do not come here simply because it is cheap. They come here because what these stalls offer has far greater meaning — familiarity. The sight of food being cooked in front of you while you sit a foot away, aromas wafting towards you, the comfort of sitting in a circle with your friends, plates balanced on your lap, and talking the night away.
A crowd favourite
Manjunath and his brother run Byrathi Dosa Camp and Hotel Ambi, which are some of the busiest spots on this stretch. Dishes such as ragi mudde and koli saaru, parottas, mutton chops, egg curry and donne biryani are among their most popular.
Manjunath making dosas at Byrathi Dosa CampÂ
| Photo Credit:
Jessica Jeba
On what Manjunath calls a ‘typical evening’, groups of customers stop by, many of them young, working professionals and students looking for an affordable meal after a long day. He has set up the stall everyday for the past four years at the very same spot.
Amongst the dishes they serve, we tried the plain benne dosa, egg curry, and donne biryani. The dosa was a perfect concentric circle of crispy and soft, the egg curry was comforting, and the biryani was an absolute showstopper. Meaty, rich, spicy and packed with flavour.
An unexpected dessert stop
The biggest surprise we encountered was perhaps TRUFL, a small dessert cart run by Hariharan. By day, he works at a larger shop with his brother and in the evening, he swaps counters for stands, selling homemade New York Cheesecake and DBCs (death by chocolate). It is not exactly what comes to mind when one thinks of a street food stall, but customers embrace this. He gets about 70-100 customers daily and by 9:30pm has sold almost all of his goodies.
New York Cheesecake at TRUFL
| Photo Credit:
Jessica Jeba
The New York Cheesecake that we tried was decadent. Smooth, creamy, and buttery with every single bite. The blueberry compote on top, was a little tart which was perfect to cut through the richness of the cake.
Fried rice for two
A little ways ahead is a small cart. No signboard or name. We walked towards it because the delicious smells emanating from there pulled us in. There is a huge wok with oil so hot, you can see the smoke coming off of it.Â
Prem Khabar, 28, from Uttrakhand, has opened this little cart everyday for the past two years. He serves plain egg fried rice, gobi Manchurian and his special, chilli chicken.
We tried the fried rice with the gobi. The fried rice had a rich, smoky, umami flavour to it, almost as if the rice had been marinating in smoke. The gobi had a crunch and tasted like the classic starter all of us have had at some point in our life — tangy, sweet, spicy.Â
What is most memorable about his stall is that he gives you a portion size that is enough for two people. Prem says he opens mainly for the college students around the area who are looking for something quick and affordable during their lunch break. The very same students go back to him for dinner as well.Â
For a city built on people searching for a better tomorrow, the humble thattukada still offers a small taste of home today. Only now, while the tea may still be there, it comes with cheesecake.
Prices start from ₹50 onwards
Published – June 29, 2026 11:41 am IST
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