Mavalli Tiffin Rooms

The Mavalli Tiffin Rooms (Kannada: ಮಾವಳ್ಳಿ ಟಿಫನ್ ರೂಂ) (commonly known as MTR) is the brand name of a food related enterprise located in India. Having its origin in the city of Bangalore, it has a restaurant located on the Lal Bagh Road in Bangalore and 6 other branches in the city, as well as one each in Singapore, Dubai and Muscat. MTR also claims to be the inventor of the popular South-Indian breakfast item, Rava idli.

MTR was founded as a restaurant by Yagnanarayana Maiya and his brothers in the year 1924. In the mid 1970s when India was under emergency, a Food Control Act was introduced which mandated that food was to be sold at very low prices. This move made it difficult for MTR to maintain high standards in its restaurant business and forced it to diversify into the instant food business, selling ready-to-eat snacks such as chutneys and rasams. Since the 1970s, MTR has expanded and diversified, with MTR Department Stores opened next to the restaurant, and an outlet opened in Chennai. Currently the MTR brand represents two separate entities; the MTR restaurant business and MTR Foods, the pre-packaged food business.

MTR Restaurant is a vegetarian restaurant located in Bangalore, India. It was founded in 1924. It has also been featured on television in the global travel-related series, Globe Trekker. It is said that once a Chief Minister of Karnataka stood in a queue to have masala dosa at this restaurant. The restaurant building comprises two floors.

It is recommended to reserve a table for lunch since unreserved customers have to wait in a waiting room, sometimes for up to an hour. The food served at the MTR is a regular, wholesome Karnataka Brahmin fare and has its origins in the Udupi Brahmin cuisine of the coastal region of Karnataka. The decor is outdated, as more attention is paid to cleanliness and food quality than ambiance. For many years, the customers entered the restaurant through the kitchen so that they would be able to satisfy themselves about the restaurant's cleanliness before they ate there.

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Wikipedia