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Not a good experience, uncooked rice, and cutlet was really bad. There was no meat in mutton pieces. Not worth to visit and u would get better Biryani…
Bharath Venkatesh
Shivajinagar Gardi Ustad Pehlwan Kale Bhai Biryani
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Simple menu, pocket friendly and yummy mutton!!!Actually got to know about this place on some travel channel which showcased how the place is famous f…
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Finally, I did it! Not kushti/pehlwani but at least a visit to the akhada..not for watching it but eating there! This sounds strange but not to the bi…
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Shivajinagar Gardi Ustad Pehlwan Kale Bhai Biryani is open for Quick Bites. Shivajinagar Gardi Ustad Pehlwan Kale Bhai Biryani serves Biryani dishes. Incorrect or missing information? Make a report, or claim the restaurant if you own it!Details
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8 Reviews on “Shivajinagar Gardi Ustad Pehlwan Kale Bhai Biryani”
Simple menu, pocket friendly and yummy mutton!!!Actually got to know about this place on some travel channel which showcased how the place is famous for the kusthi and food! And recently read about it in the Metro plus.Located on a by-lane so you’ll have to park elsewhere and walk a little. And we did a take away on a Friday afternoon at 2:30. Small and congested seating area.And since the cooking happens inside, it’s hot and sweaty which makes it ideal for take-away.Also there were no women there when I went.I felt that the much raved about biryani was average; the rice could’ve been cooked better. But the meat was so soft and melted.We ordered the seer fish fry which was marinated well and deep fried.I could see that the mutton chops were almost on every table, so we ordered that too. This was so good!And the mutton kheema balls gravy was simply superb!If you are a meat lover, this place is a must try in Bangalore! All this for just 480! And we were serviced fast too.
Finally, I did it! Not kushti/pehlwani but at least a visit to the akhada..not for watching it but eating there! This sounds strange but not to the biryani lovers who flock to this place for their Friday fix of mutton biryani and wood fire cooked side dishes.The reviews on both zomato and mainly facebook Bangalore Biryani Club posts kept indicating that there is mutton biryani only on Friday and rest of the days only kushka available. So I had to wait several weeks for another person to join me as this was one place I was not too keen to go alone. I did not want to get the angry looks that I received last time I went alone to the tea shops in Shivajinagar. Normally, this does not faze me but in this case it’s just easier to share a heavy meat filled meal with one person at least if not a group.And it was a good decision. The reviews said reach by 12.30 pm to beat the crowds. We reached bit too early almost 11.45 am. The VKO government school (which is easy to spot and surprisingly new and beautiful colourful building you will not miss in that narrow one-way road) was a good landmark to find the place. But the timing was off as we were told we have to wait till 1-1.15 pm to be served as they were just getting started.It was a sweltering hot day and the worst part is that there are no sit-down coffee/tea shops nearby. So we stood outside the main door for a while getting targeted by beggars. We watched as a small tempo came and unloaded the huge vessels with cooked biryani rice etc.Since there was still over an hour to go, we asked if we could sit inside. And we did, it’s a small bit shabby place with a small square enclosed area with that prepared loose soil for the kushti I guess. I liked the poster/wall painting they had with an age old message and image of Tipu Sultan.There were some 3 long benches placed in a kind of U shape. There was the cemented seating against the walls and that had been covered with something similar to yoga/exercise mats. We could see them chopping cooking etc . in the area inside adjacent to the akhada area. Just outside is the wash area with some chopping going on.As time passed, the customers started coming in and sitting there waiting for the food to be ready. A lot of them had come in for take-away/parcels. As soon as the biryani was ready, the server first had it himself. Then got ready to serve the rest. We were the first to be served and we ordered 2 mutton biryanis, one plate kofta , one plate mutton cutlet, 1 seer fish fry.The mutton biryani was good. But the stock had not seeped into it. As they just do the dum in the end with kushka (which is cooked outside and brought in ) and mutton. The mutton pieces were tender and delicious. The biryani comes with unlimited 2 gravies – there is a tomato gravy dish with potato and there is salan. Both are ok. The Kofta was yummy and the cutlet was nice, something different in taste with a bit woodsy smokey taste to it. The fish was super thin slice but wide slice and this was fishy but tasted good with a sprinkle of lemon. They can provide you bottled water (there is a small boy who brings these in – you have to ask him). The service is very courteous and pleasant. By the time we started eating, there was lunch crowd though not too crowded. There were few regulars and food explorers like me, also some outsiders (who are used to the muslim biryani in Delhi I think as per the deep discussions). The cashier was calculating the bill with pen on the table formica veneer which I found funny. It’s a cash only place. We paid Rs. 570 for the above + 1 kushka and water bottle. Price is reasonable. But for the finicky – this may not be an eat-out option.For mutton lovers this is a good place, but go here for a different experience rather than just the food.
What made me try this place? Perhaps that adventure! I am always on the lookout for that 1-2 exotic dishes and try those when I visit a restaurant. So when it felt like time to try the authentic Biryani – Shivajinagar style, the search on Google pointed me to this place. You CANNOT go here if ambience, cleanliness, fine-dine or even mediocre dining is on your mind. You have to go here for a very rough and vintage experience. I read the reviews before going there but realised they have a limited menu so selected a Friday and off we were. We found our own seats – right in front of the mud wrestling pit. That was authentic. We ordered mutton biryani, mutton kofta, mutton cutlets, fish fry. Of course it was oily and it is designed to be a cheat-day place ! I liked to soft mutton – most places go wrong on that. I ate little and it was enough to get a taste. The mutton cutlet was exceptionally good. The kofta and fish fry are ordinary at best!If you are in the mood for something radical and different – try this. Remember biryani is only at 1pm on Fridays. Take your mineral water along if you are particular about the water bottle brand. You will get newspaper pieces instead of paper napkins. I feel it adds to the adventure while some may not enjoy this.Needless to say – the food is very reasonably priced. Go once for the thrill! Eat what suits you and enjoy the rustic ambience. PS – I do not think the timings are correct on Zomato as it is very much open for Lunch.
It’ll be totally worth to visit this place on a Friday. Only non vegetarian friendly. No parking available, unless you’re on a cycle! There are better places in Bangalore- but this is a OK one time visit! Not the best if you’re looking for hygiene. Anything that is fried and unhealthy tastes good- this is one of those places that live upto that saying!
Exactly when I reached the small purple door opening onto a dingy passage leading to an earth-laden pit, a Good Samaritan, perhaps noticing my dazed look, walked up to ask – “Sir, are you lost?”. I rejoined – “No Sir. I’m perfectly found. Thanks.”By then I was standing right before the door that had stood long between me and my elusive love – Biriyani. I was at Ustad Pehlwan Kaale Bhai Gardi near Elgin Talkies in Shibajinagar, Bangalore – a traditional akhara [gymnasium] that magically doubles up as a bestselling Biriyani joint every afternoon [except Sunday]. When with time in the world without the Persian style of wrestling had to yield to the nimbler Greco-Roman, at Kaale Bhai’s akhara the pristine and the old-fashioned found a caring sanctuary. No woman has ever been let inside during the morning training hours.To dodge the resolute crowd a ‘seeker’ of Biriyani is advised to reach the modest eatery well before noon and wait for the door to open. The Mutton Biryani here, teeming with tender chunks of meat, is cooked slow with short yellow rice. Soon after the first round of flavoured rice with Rasam/ Biriyani was served, a shrill call came from inside asking for which meat one would prefer on side. That was crudely classic! Savouring traditional Moghal-styled Biriyani, strictly cooked in wood-fire, sitting next to a live wrestling pit was the most surreal feast that then I could have asked for. Came close on the heels the succulent Shami Kebab – juicy patty made of minced meat tenderly cooked with exotic spices, garlic, mint and green chillies – and truly vanishing in mouth. No wonder it was an invention to sate a gluttonous toothless Nawab!A humble visit to this small slip of a joint is sure to turn your next trip to Bangalore to a ‘rocking’ one – are you game to muscle in?
I went to this place with excitement.. after seeing the pics and some reviews.. although the place looks shabby & unhygenic..sometimes it’s good to explore the food.. I ordered mutton biriyani, mutton cutlet & fish fry..Mutton biriyani Rs 170 per plate – rating 1/5 Worst biriyani ever.. I can clearly identify it was not mutton. Dry biriyani with no masala and it was like tasteless plain rice.Cutlet – Rs 40 per place. Rating 1/5 It was disaster.. it was just bread crumbs mixed with soda and cudnt eat more than 2 bites.. u can see in the pic.. It tasted horrible & Waste if moneySeer fish fry – Rs 160 per piece. Rating 4/5. This was the only reasonable price for a good tasting fish fry for a large piece.. it was worth the money. It was fresh & the size of fish was good it was seer fish. Total I spent 390 bucks with a bottle of mineral water & it was not worth at all.. I wil not recommend to anyone.. because the food itself is tasteless here.Staffs were ok and quickly served everything
This really is a blink and miss sort of place. The entrance is so tiny I wonder how the wrestlers who practice enter here, lol. NOT AT ALL clean, you visit this place only for its novelty value. Coming to the food, the menu is compact and we tried the biryani, kushka, chops, cutlet, khaima and the fish fry. The pieces in the biryani are adequate and really well cooked and the rice flavour is as expected in a local Muslim style one. Kushka is very dry though, I attribute it to the kushka being brought in from somewhere else, with the rice in the biryani being of a good texture only because of the dum with the meat. The chops was strange to taste but in a good way. Meat was really tender. Khaima was stale, so not giving it any rating. Avoid the cutlet and the fish. Cutlet tastes like ambode (falafel like for the non Kannadiga peeps) with no mutton detectable. Fish, well not many places can make a passable fish dish and this place can definitely not make it. The dal and salan were good company to the rice, the salan being the better of the two. The only chicken item available was the kabab and am not betting on it being any good. That’s all folks.