Badshahi Boarding House

Every city in the world has those few legendary restaurants which have been serving the city's unique traditional meals for decades. These meals are a window to the city's culture and have withstood the test of time to remain relevant and popular over the ages.

In Pune, on Tilak Road, there is a restaurant known as Badshahi Boarding House. A simple, unassuming signboard at the entrance welcomes visitors into the old world setting of the restaurant. Upon buying a meal coupon, patrons enter a community dining hall where each person is allotted their own table and chair.

The dining hall is a vintage room with wooden furniture, wooden architecture, old paintings and small artistic alcoves in the walls. Since the meal menu is set for the day, the service is quick. The meal consists of traditional-style bhaji (cooked vegetables), dal/amti (lentil curry), chapati, rice, koshimbir (salad), taak (buttermilk beverage) and other assorted dishes. Water is served in traditional brass pots. It is the kind of simple and fulfilling meal one will traditionally find in every home in the city.