Chennai Margazhi sabha canteens: A guide

The Music Academy, Sastha Catering Services

Lunch meals being served at the Music Academy sabha canteen by Sastha Catering Services
| Photo Credit:
S Shiva Raj

For RK Venkatesan of Sastha Catering Services, planning the lunch menu for the Margazhi sabha canteen begins two months ahead. Keeping seasonal vegetables in mind, he plans a 25-day menu.

“We take pre-bookings, and customers can avail our parcel service this year,” says Venkatesan, who has been catering at sabha canteens for the past eight years.Though his canteen functions from 7am serving filter coffee and a traditional breakfast, the crowd congregates around lunch time in large numbers.

“We serve about 800 elai sapad on weekdays and during the weekends, it is over 1,200,” says Venkatesan. Their special kalyana sapad is priced at ₹550 and they will also offer a January 1 feast at ₹650. For those who prefer a quick meal between concerts, a mini lunch is offered (₹300).

Coffee being made at the sabha canteen
| Photo Credit:
S Shiva Raj

Variety is the hallmark of this caterer, who has listed 30 types of dosa and 10 types of idli on his menu. Gulkand kasi halwa, sapota kesari, strawberry kesari, aval kesari and ginger kesari are some of his signature sweets.

Try the vethala and molaga bajji, kozhukattai, morkali and ela adai served from 4pm to 7pm .For dinner, there are live counters making idiyappam and adai.

@The Music Academy, Mylapore, till January 8. Open from 7am to 10pm. Lunch from 11am to 3pm. To pre-book your parcel meals, call 9962919460.

Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha, Arusuvai Caterers

Sweets and savoury snacks for sale at the sabha canteen
| Photo Credit:
RAGHUNATHAN SR

N Sridhar, proprietor of Arusuvai Caterers and his staff are all set to ensure that rasikas enjoy the traditional elai sapad at Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha. This caterer has replaced the banana leaf, with huge thanga thambalams (golden plates) to serve the food.

Diners can enjoy a spread of South Indian traditional meals (₹600) with two types of payasam and one traditional dry sweet, paan and filter coffee.The menu is planned for three days at a time and their weekend menu packs a punch. “We open our canteen at 7am and serve breakfast till 10.30am. After that, our focus is on lunch which is when we get the maximum footfall,” says Sridhar.

“We will be offering filter coffee through the day at our dedicated counter where decoction will be brewed fresh. We also plan to set up a stall for savoury snacks such as muruku, thattai, seedai and so on,” says Soumya Ramesh, who is part of the family. “As we noticed more children accompanying their parents, we have put together a special kids’ menu for the evening hours. We have fried rice, noodles and crisp ghee dosas for them. We also serve limitless cups of elaneer payasam and litchi payasam for kids during lunch time,” says Sridhar.

@Arusuvai Caterers, Vidya Bharati Kalyana Mandapam, Mylapore, till January 2. 7am to 9.30 pm. Lunch will be served from 11.30am to 3pm. Dine-in only.

Krishna Gana Sabha and Vani Mahal, Sattvaa catering service

A coffee counter at Sattvaa’s sabha canteen
| Photo Credit:
Akhila Easwaran

Right before singers Nisha Rajagopalan and Amritha Murali take the stage at Krishna Gana Sabha at 3.55pm, a few concert-goers hurriedly down a cup of coffee. Perhaps among the most beautiful sabha canteens in Chennai, complete with pockets of green and aesthetic Chettinad pillars, the canteen at Krishna Gana Sabha by Sattvaa Catering Service has experimented with its evening snacks menu this year.

“We have traditional favourites such as morkali, ammini kozhakattai, pidi kozhakattai and a range of dosa varieties,” says RS Kumar, founder, Sattvaa. This is going to be a busy December for Sattvaa, who have sabha canteens set up in three other places as well – Vani Mahal, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in Kilpauk, and Bapalal Bhavan in Thiruvanmiyur.

For lunch, the canteen has a traditional banana leaf ‘kalyana virundhu’ or wedding feast, and Kumar says that the menu is different throughout the week. Apart from regular favourites like sambar vada, rasam vada and vazhapoo vada, there is filter coffee and hot badam milk round-the-clock.

@Sattvaa Catering Service, Krishna Gana Sabha, Maharajapuram Santhanam Salai ,T Nagar, till January 2 from 7am to 9pm. The meals are priced at ₹330. Contact 9840303403. The sabha canteen at Vani Mahal will be on till January 15.

Narada Gana Sabha, Sri Sasthalaya Catering

Cheese dosai at the sabha canteen by Sri Sasthalaya Catering
| Photo Credit:
S Shiva Raj

The live counters making snacks such as appams, kaara paniyarams and kuzhi paniyarams are busy through lunch at Sri Sasthalaya Catering Service’s canteen at Narada Gana Sabha.

“Over the weekend, the adai aviyal was a big hit,” says K Ramesh, founder, Sri Sasthalaya. He rattles off a long list of sweets they have this year — rose jangri, special khoa jangri, ashoka halwa, kasi halwa, stuffed gulab jamun and more. While there are a number of traditional dishes, Ramesh says they also have cheese dosai and appam, and even a pizza idli this time.

Their breakfast and snacks menus are the highlight of the season. For breakfast, which begins as early as 7am, people can choose from idli, dosa, pongal, and appam, with sides such as special Kumbakonam kadappa and vadacurry. “For lunch, we have mini-meals and there are all-day specials which include dosa varieties, chappati, poori, and parotta that people can order at any time,” Ramesh says. Known for its great coffee, a dedicated coffee counter has been set up, serving hot cups through the day.

@Sri Sasthalaya Catering service, Narada Gana Sabha, TTK Road, till January 1 from 7am to 9.30pm. Dosa varieties, snacks and coffee will be served through the day. Call 9500028384 for details.

Mylapore Fine Arts Club, ABC Catering

Lunch being served at the sabha canteen in Mylapore Fine Arts Club
| Photo Credit:
S Shiva Raj

The sabha canteen at the Mylapore Fine Arts Club opened its doors even before the music and dance festival for the season began. “We have already seen people coming in for lunch and evening snacks,” says Srinivasan Narayanan, founder, ABC Caterers. It is the first time they are setting up a canteen there, and they are already enthused by the response. The canteen this year has a chaat counter in the evenings, as well as North Indian and Chinese dishes which can be made to order.

“For lunch, we have a Thanjavur banana leaf meal — full meals served on a large leaf. With over 24 dishes, the meal will have a different payasam, sweet, rasam, and vegetables everyday,” Srinivasan says. Dishes such as chakka pradhaman, jackfruit payasam, coriander mint rasam and more will be part of the meals, and there will also be variety rice, bisi bele bath and bagala bath available for lunch.

Sevai, vada, and bonda feature on the menu for evening tiffin, and bhel puri, pav bhaji and dahi samosa will be part of their chaat menu. Their restaurant-style dishes such as paneer butter masala, noodles, and gobi manchurian can be made to order as well.

@ABC Caterers, Mylapore Fine Arts Club, Musiri Subramanian Road, till January 3. Lunch meals are priced at ₹480. To pre-book, call 9003288633.