What is your favorite restaurant?
“ A good restaurant just makes me giddy. I can go all day with anticipation just knowing where I’m going to eat. Sometimes, it’s well planned, sometimes it’s spontaneous. Either way works.”
Gayle King
Two decades ago, I learned to drive in a Maruti 800. It was an old model, that had been through two owners, but as my first car, I have some amazing memories in it. For instance, I used to drive barefoot initially, because that’s how the driving school taught me. I used to push the seat right up to the steering wheel, so my back was straight while I drove. That was the car that had a modified steering wheel, which we never changed in the years we used it, and that was the steering wheel that had a loose wire that jammed the horn one evening on my way home from work. That was also the car that saw us visit the Windsor Manor often. It jostled for space amongst the Mercedes, Audi, and BMWs in their reserved parking spots. Initially, we would do the Dublin-raj Pavilion or Royal Afghan combinations. And then we discovered Dakshin.
Dakshin is my all-time favorite place to eat an interesting South Indian thali. We’ve been there with friends. We’ve been there with family. We’ve celebrated anniversaries, birthdays, SOF Olympiad wins, and just the passing of time at Dakshin. When we wanted to taste authentic South Indian Thali but were too lazy to cook Dakshin was our destination.
The plate with the pre-cut banana leaf insert, was authentic with a twist. The tiny bowls were filled with delectable dishes from the southern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. The live counter offered a choice of Malabar parotta, or puris, dosas, or appams, followed by rice. The chutneys served with the fried poppadom were savory and perfect. The desserts were deliciously decadent. But I must confess, after a round of the thali and everything that went with it, I have never been able to enjoy more than the initial round of desserts on offer. And I love my sweets and desserts, so this is a great travesty according to me. I have been to Dakshin on many occasions and have tried different ways to ensure I also can enjoy the dessert, but short of starting the meal with dessert, I don’t see an alternate to be able to do justice to the desserts on offer, the way we do justice to the dishes on the thali.
“Good restaurant design is about achieving equilibrium between the food, service and design – in effect, telling a complete story.”
David Rockwell
Comfortable chairs, privacy screens a healthy mix of large and small tables, table sizes large enough to accommodate the dishes served, service that was unobtrusive, and perfect portion sizes, the chef, the team, and the restaurant had put a lot of thought into the smallest details in this restaurant. We were always welcomed with flowers – strings of jasmine or marigold and sent off with mouth fresheners like paan or vettallai paak like Mum would call it. The thalis were either Vegetarian or Non-Vegetarian and I’ve never once wanted to add a dish more than was served here. Over the weekends, tattoo artists, magicians and balloon artists were invited to entertain the children who visited the restaurants at Windsor Manor.
Dakshin was our weekend splurge. We went in around noon, and we invariably left closer to teatime. Brunch or lunch was a relaxed affair, and live counters were set up. Dakshin even hosted live musical evenings where they invited Sarod or Veena players on special occasions. I’ve been here so often; that I even knew the best seats away from the speakers positioned for the live musical events. Authenticity is what Dakshin offers and delivers with aplomb. Every dish is curated and created with care. This is one restaurant I have taken the parents to, and they have enjoyed the meal. This is also the only place where Mum tasted the sweet banana fritters and mentioned that she used to make it for us while we were growing up. Familiar flavors, that’s what Dakshin offers its patrons, but served with a twist, as the Rasam served in a glass, piping hot, perfectly flavored with ground peppercorns, the way Ma made it, the way you preferred to drink it.
Just a little more 