When I land at Mangalore airport after a long 6 hour hopping flight from Delhi, my mind is filled with happiness. It is a beautiful sea side town with no tourists, and has the reputation for some superb food. So while I am here on work, my mind dwells more on how to taste everything before I leave some 18 hours later, along with all the meetings I have to go to. I get lucky since the first gentleman I meet on work turns out to be a Catholic from Mangalore. After the meeting I tell him I can max go to one place but a place which has all the Catholic dishes as well as local favourites. He does not hesitate even for a moment and suggests I head to Mangala Bar.

So I land up there for an early lunch along with some colleagues. Mangala Bar looks proudly cheap, and like a bar that means business. As I enter I am expecting lonely tipplers staring hard into their bottle but am pleasantly surprised to find many families sipping their beer and enjoying their food, which is delightfully inexpensive.

I start ordering; acutely aware of the fact that there is no way I will be able to finish so many dishes, but I still do, not sure when I will visit Mangalore again.

The starters that I order are Pork Roast (Rs 195) which is an amazingly addictive dish, and Beef Chilly Fry (Rs 150) which is nice though I prefer the Goan version which has a much cleaner and crispier taste. Then comes the barrage of mains.

                                           Pork Roast

The mains start with the Fish Curry Thali (Rs 75), which has Kerala brown rice, neer dosa, some amazing fish curry, and regular, non-descript paraphernalia like dal, sabzi, raita. It is probably the best value meal I have had in a long time.

                             Mangalore Fish Curry

After this comes Prawns Pepper Fry (Rs 275) with freshest of fresh prawns that have not been overcooked in an exciting piquant gravy, which I polish off with the neer dosa. Next is the house specialty,

                                   Prawns Pepper Fry

Pork Intestine Sorpotel (Half, Rs 65) with Sannas (Rs 8 per piece). This combo is a must try along with almost everything else I try. The sorpotel has a most interesting texture and taste, which is accentuated when had with the sannas, which are super soft and thick idlis with a different fermentation and hence mouth feel. For the uninitiated, think of an idli made in a katori, and that is their shape.

              Pork Intestine Sorpotel                                     Sannas

As if this isn’t enough, I end the meal with Chicken Ghee Roast Biryani (Rs 190) which both excites with its spices and comforts with the strong flavour and taste of fresh ghee, at the same time. I have to surrender then though I still have to try chicken pulimunshi whose masala I buy to be tried later at home.

                          Chicken Ghee Roast Biryani

I really wish places like this were in Gurgaon too, where families enjoy great food at most reasonable prices, and the whole family sits together for their beer and food. Not sure when that will happen, by Mangalore has definitely become one of my favourite foodie cities!

The review was anonymously done after paying for the meal.

Ratings (Out of 5)

Food: 4.5 | Ambience: 3.0 | Service: 4.0 | Value: 4.5 | Overall: 4.0

Meal for two: Rs.600 | Alcohol: Yes | Credit Card: Yes | Wheel chair friendly: No

Address: Mangala Bar and Restaurant, Silver Cross Road, Kankady, Mangalore. Tel: 2436726, 2437026