A Historic Mess
A look at Rayar’s Mess, a small eatery in Mylapore that has been serving delicious breakfast for over three generations.
It is often said that the best food in the city is found in the smallest of establishments—the messes and tiffin centres. Tucked away in a small Mylapore by lane off the motorable road, Rayar’s Mess is one such gem.
It is also a place where your search for the crispiest vadas in town will come to a delicious end. Dating back to the pre-independence era, the mess is run by second generation owners, P Kumar and P Mohan, with Manoj from the third generation lending a helping hand. Run from a small single room in an old dilapidated Mylapore house, the space can seat only 16 people on plastic tables, benches and a few chairs.
You can see hot vadas being dropped in oil at one corner and freshly steamed idlis being extracted from the mould in another. The choice is fairly simple—idli, vada, dosa or pongal served with piping hot sambar and coconut chutney ground to perfection.
The queue starts early and it might be some time before you are seated. Once you're at the table, you will be urged to finsh up quickly to let in those waiting for their turn. But with the homely food, light-as-air idlis and mildly flavoured pongal, you will have no trouble mopping it all up quickly.
Serving only breakfast and tiffin, and sticking to the limited menu for generations now, Mohan and Kumar have no plans for expansion. They continue cooking and serving on their own and fear a larger place will mean a compromise in quality.
The recipes have been passed down through generations and according to the owners, that's the secret behind their food. It’s a place that is best visited with a full appetite and lots of patience. If you can’t muster either, they are now on Swiggy.