best dosas in bangalore (2026) - honest rankings
11 bangalore dosa spots with real prices. ctr benne dosa rs 90, vidyarthi bhavan rs 90 and a 40-minute queue, mtr at rs 138, and the overrated ones.
tldr: bangalore’s dosa is the benne dosa - thick, butter-fried, golden - and ctr in malleshwaram is the benchmark at rs 90 for the butter masala dose, cost for two about rs 150-200. vidyarthi bhavan is rs 90 and a 40-minute queue, mtr is rs 138 and better for rava idli, brahmin’s coffee bar is rs 100 for two and does not serve dosa at all. the rameshwaram cafe is the overrated one.
bangalore does not make the dosa most people picture. the chennai-style dosa is thin, wide and brittle, cooked on oil, closer to a crepe. the bangalore dosa is benne dosa - benne being butter in kannada - and it is a different object: shorter, noticeably thicker, cooked in a quantity of white butter that would alarm a cardiologist, producing a deep golden crust with a soft, almost custardy interior. ctr’s version is described by people who study this stuff as pulling off an impossible trinity, being thick and crisp simultaneously, with a trademark golden-yellow colour. that is the thing you are in bangalore to eat, and the places that do it best are old, small, and mostly within a few kilometres of each other in malleshwaram and basavanagudi.
the second thing to understand is that the famous names are not interchangeable. ctr is a dosa place. mtr is a rava idli and thali place that also does dosa at nearly double the price. brahmin’s coffee bar does not serve dosa at all and never has - it has run on four items since 1965 and refuses to serve sambar. veena stores is an idli-vada standing counter. walking into the wrong one of these expecting a benne dosa is the most common mistake visitors make, and it is entirely avoidable.
on prices: every figure here comes from published menu listings and aggregator pages from 2025-2026 rather than counter visits, and the gaps between sources are real - vidyarthi bhavan’s masala dosa shows up at both rs 80 and rs 90 depending on which listing you read, which suggests a recent hike. assume the higher number and add a bit. nobody from this site has eaten at these places. every rating below is a composite of published reviews, award lists and aggregator scores, not a personal verdict.
for the wider city, the bangalore food guide covers the whole spread, best south indian restaurants in bangalore handles the sit-down end, and benne heritage bangalore review looks at one of the newer benne operations.
the awards
- best dosa overall: ctr / shri sagar, malleshwaram - butter masala dose at rs 90, open since 1920, and the holder of a times food guide award for best benne masala dosa in bangalore.
- best heritage room: vidyarthi bhavan, gandhi bazaar - running since 1943, built for students of acharya pathasala and national college, masale dose at rs 90, and worth doing once for the room alone.
- best value: taaza thindi, jayanagar - around rs 200 for two, 4.6 across roughly 37,000 reviews, benne dosa with a slightly thicker batter and service fast enough that the queue barely forms.
- best breakfast that is not a dosa: brahmin’s coffee bar, shankarapuram - idli, vade, khara bath, kesari bath, filter coffee. four items since 1965, about rs 100 for two, and better at those four than anyone.
- best rava idli: mtr, lalbagh road - mtr is credited with popularising the dish and lists it at rs 95. this, not the dosa, is why you go.
- best cheap benne dosa: dosa camp, wilson garden - named alongside taaza thindi as the most budget-friendly benne dosa in published lists.
- best filter coffee to finish on: vidyarthi bhavan - the strong frothy filter coffee is specifically singled out in reviews, and it is the correct closing move after a sagu masale dose.
- best open-air option: airlines hotel, lavelle road - dosa, idly-vade and akki roti under trees near cubbon park, which is a different kind of morning entirely.
- most overrated: the rameshwaram cafe - the most social-media-visible dosa in bangalore, and one of the more careful city dosa guides states flatly that it is not a legendary place and is not synonymous with the bangalore dosa. the ghee masala dosa is fine. the reputation is not earned.
the full list
| # | place | area | best for | price | rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ctr / shri sagar | malleshwaram | benne masala dosa | rs 90 butter masala, rs 150-200 for two | 9.5/10 |
| 2 | vidyarthi bhavan | gandhi bazaar, basavanagudi | masale dose, filter coffee | rs 90, about rs 100 for two | 9/10 |
| 3 | taaza thindi | jayanagar, 26th main | value benne dosa | rs 200 for two | 9/10 |
| 4 | brahmin’s coffee bar | shankarapuram | idli, vade, khara bath | rs 80 idli-vada, rs 100 for two | 9/10 |
| 5 | mtr | lalbagh road | rava idli, lunch thali | rs 138 masala dosa, rs 350 for two | 8.5/10 |
| 6 | dosa camp | wilson garden | cheapest benne dosa | budget, under rs 150 for two | 8/10 |
| 7 | airlines hotel | lavelle road | open-air dosa and akki roti | mid, around rs 300 for two | 8/10 |
| 8 | veena stores | malleshwaram | idli, vada, shavige bhath | rs 100-150 for two | 8/10 |
| 9 | bengaluru cafe | jayanagar | long hours, cheap | rs 100-200 for two | 7.5/10 |
| 10 | chalukya samrat cafe | multiple | a reliable local dosa | rs 150-250 for two | 7.5/10 |
| 11 | the rameshwaram cafe | indiranagar and citywide | ghee masala dosa, pudi idli | rs 250-350 for two | 7/10 |
all ratings are composites of published reviews, award lists and aggregator scores. nobody from this site has eaten at any of these.
ctr / shri sagar, malleshwaram
what to order: butter masala dose at rs 90. that is the order. if you want a second dish, the maddur vade at rs 45, mangaluru bajji at rs 55 or bonda soup at rs 55 are the house snacks, and coffee is rs 25. the full dosa list runs masala dose rs 80, set dose rs 75, khali dose rs 75, plain dose rs 75 and butter plain dose rs 60, with idli rs 40, vada rs 45, rava idli rs 45, kesari bath rs 45, khara bath rs 45, rice bath rs 45, chow chow bath rs 85 and poori rs 80.
what reviewers say: ctr has been open since 1920 and is the single most-cited benne dosa in bangalore. it won a times food guide award for best benne masala dosa in the city, which is about as close to an objective verdict as this category offers. the texture is the thing people write about - thick and crisp at once, a golden-yellow crust, butter-laden, with a potato masala inside. cost for two is listed around rs 150-200, which makes it the best value-to-reputation ratio in this guide.
honest caveat: the name confusion is real - it was renamed shri sagar after an ownership change, so both names refer to the same place and both appear on signage and listings. a detailed bangalore dosa blog reports that ctr has occasionally served an undercooked dosa, which at this reputation level is worth knowing. parking in malleshwaram around it is described as difficult to the point of being a reason not to drive. and a branch opened at terminal 2 of kempegowda airport in 2024, which is convenient and is not the same experience.
vidyarthi bhavan, gandhi bazaar
what to order: masale dose at rs 90, or sagu masale dose at rs 95 - sagu being the vegetable gravy, and the version regulars argue is the real order. plain dose rs 85, benne dosa rs 85, ghee dosa rs 90, set dosa rs 70. follow it with the filter coffee, then khara bath or kesari bath if you are still going.
what reviewers say: founded in 1943 by venketarama ural in gandhi bazaar, originally feeding students from the nearby acharya pathasala and national college, which is where the name comes from. the taste is attributed by arun adiga to the house’s particular proportions of red rice, methi and urad dal rather than any technique secret. beyond the dosa, the khara bath, kesari bath, vada-sambar combo and the strong frothy filter coffee are all specifically praised. timings are 6:30am to 11:30am and 2pm to 8pm.
honest caveat: the queue is the story. at peak times you wait outside until your name is called, often end up sharing a table, and reviewers report 40-minute waits and a token system before entering a congested room. one careful dosa guide calls it a little overrated and not at par with the higher-ranked places, and that reading is defensible - the dosa is very good but the queue has outgrown it. swiggy’s 2026 bangalore roundup advises getting there before 9am. the smarter play is the 2pm-8pm session, when the room is a fraction as busy.
mtr, lalbagh road
what to order: rava idli at rs 95 - this is the dish mtr is credited with popularising and the actual reason to come. then khara bhath at rs 100 or the unlimited lunch thali at around rs 335 for roughly 20 items including pooris, khichdi, three rice varieties, bhajias, sambar, rasam, payasam, a sweet, fruit cream with ice cream, and paan. dosas, if you insist: masala dosa rs 138, plain dosa rs 133, set dosa rs 119, ragi dosa rs 114, onion dosa rs 143, pudi dosa and rava dosa rs 148, rava masala and rava onion rs 152.
what reviewers say: mtr started as the brahmin coffee club on lalbagh road in 1924, founded by parampalli yagnanarayana maiya and his brothers, moved premises in 1960 and was renamed mavalli tiffin rooms. it holds a 4.2 across roughly 18,000 ratings. the dishes diners name most are rava idli, ghee roast dosa, pudi dosa and khara bhath. the thali gets strong reviews and does not permit sharing.
honest caveat: the price. rs 138 for a masala dosa against ctr’s rs 90 butter masala dose is not a defensible premium on dosa quality alone, and cost for two lands around rs 350. waits of 30-40 minutes are reported and booking ahead is advised. timings vary across listings - 6:30am to 11am and 12:30pm to 9pm is the most common version, with one travel guide saying mondays closed, so confirm. come for rava idli and the thali and treat the dosa as incidental.
brahmin’s coffee bar, shankarapuram
what to order: idli with vade, and the chutney. the listed combinations are vada rs 35, one idli with one vada rs 55, two idli with one vada rs 75, one idli with two vada rs 85, with an idli-vada combo cited around rs 80. khara bhath rs 40, filter coffee rs 30. roughly rs 100 fills two people.
what reviewers say: running since 1965 on four food items and three hot drinks - coffee, tea, plain milk - and nothing else. the defining eccentricity is the refusal to serve sambar at all, substituting a specific coconut chutney which is the thing regulars actually come for. there are no tables; everyone eats standing, at the counters or on the footpath, and you pay at a separate counter before you collect. address is pushp kiran, 19 rangarao road, near shankar mutt road, shankarapura, with national college the nearest metro.
honest caveat: no dosa. none, ever. if you have come to bangalore for a dosa and someone sends you to brahmin’s, they have confused you. timings also vary by listing - zomato shows 6am to noon and 3pm to 7pm monday to saturday, one source says closed sunday, and eazydiner lists 6:30-11am and 3:30-6:30pm all seven days, so sunday is a gamble. go before 8am for the crispest vade. there is no parking and it is always crowded.
taaza thindi, jayanagar
what to order: benne dosa. it is the item every listing names first, with a slightly thicker batter than ctr’s version.
what reviewers say: 4.6 across roughly 37,000 reviews at about rs 200 for two on 26th main road, which is the strongest ratings-at-volume figure of anywhere in this guide. service is fast enough that waits stay short even at peak, which given what happens at vidyarthi bhavan is a significant practical advantage. it is also described as one of the more hygienic dosa operations in the city, which in this category is not a given.
honest caveat: it is a modern high-throughput operation, not a 1943 heritage room, and the character is different. if you are chasing the history as much as the dosa, this is not that trip. it is also deep in jayanagar, which is a long way from malleshwaram if you are trying to do ctr and this in the same morning.
the rest, briefly
dosa camp, wilson garden - named alongside taaza thindi as the budget benne dosa pick, with rk dosa camp also appearing in published best-of lists. published pricing is thin, so treat the figures as indicative.
airlines hotel, lavelle road - dosa, idly-vade and akki roti in an open-air setting near cubbon park. one dosa guide admits to having visited only once and prioritising other places nearby, which is a fair summary - it is a lovely morning rather than a destination dosa.
veena stores, malleshwaram - idli, vada, khara bhath and shavige bhath are the specialities, and this is idli-vada territory rather than dosa. regulars bring tiffin boxes for the shavige bath and the puliogare is recommended. tiny, standing-only, no seating at all - you pay at a counter outside, collect at the food window, and eat on the footpath. current listings lean evening, opening around 3:30pm, closed sunday.
bengaluru cafe, jayanagar - 7am to 10pm, rs 100-200 for two. not a benchmark, but the long hours make it useful when everywhere good has shut its morning session.
chalukya samrat cafe and umesh dosa point - both appear in published bangalore dosa lists as reliable neighbourhood options without being contenders for the top.
empire restaurant, jayanagar - 11am to 2am, rs 200-600 for two. included here only to say that empire is a late-night rolls-and-kebabs institution, not a dosa destination, and gets recommended to visitors by mistake constantly.
the rameshwaram cafe - the most overrated
what to order: ghee masala dosa, pudi idli. they are competent.
what reviewers say: it is the most visible dosa brand in bangalore, has expanded across the city from indiranagar, and generates enormous social media volume. the filter coffee and the pudi idli have genuine fans.
honest caveat: one of the more careful published bangalore dosa guides states the position bluntly - it is not a legendary place and is not synonymous with the bangalore dosa, despite its reputation. the dosa is a ghee-forward chennai-leaning style rather than a benne dosa, which means it is not even competing in the category bangalore is actually known for. you queue, you pay rs 250-350 for two, and you get a good dosa that is not the dosa you came to bangalore for. ctr is cheaper, older, better, and serves the thing the city is famous for.
tips
- go before 9am or go at 3pm. ctr runs 7am-12:30pm and 4pm-9:30pm, vidyarthi bhavan 6:30-11:30am and 2-8pm, and the afternoon sessions are dramatically quieter than the morning ones at both.
- do not drive to malleshwaram or gandhi bazaar. parking around ctr is explicitly described as difficult and brahmin’s has none. national college metro is the stop for basavanagudi.
- carry cash. the heritage tiffin rooms all take it and several of them prefer it, and the counters move faster when you have it.
- know which place serves what before you go. ctr and taaza thindi for dosa, brahmin’s and veena stores for idli-vada, mtr for rava idli and the thali. this is the single mistake that ruins visitors’ mornings.
- ask for coffee, get a steel tumbler and dabara, and expect it pre-sweetened. say less sugar at the counter. rs 25 at ctr, rs 30 at brahmin’s.
- order the sagu version at vidyarthi bhavan, not the plain masale dose. the sagu gravy at rs 95 is the five-rupee upgrade regulars take every time.
- one dosa per place, then move. the butter quantity in a benne dosa means two of them in a morning ends the morning.
- skip the airport and mall branches. ctr’s terminal 2 outlet, mtr’s satellites and the rameshwaram chain all exist for convenience, not for the dosa.
- check sunday before you go. brahmin’s sunday status is genuinely inconsistent across listings, veena stores is closed sunday, and mtr may be closed mondays.