Dubai Amaravathi – Al Quoz

Dubai Amaravathi is a predominantly South Indian restaurant which also serves veg and non-veg North Indian food; its Hyderabadi biryanis, in fact, are quite popular. Located in a warehouse style building beside the Avantgarde warehouse, opposite Naresco Contracting on Al Talay Street in Al Quoz, Amaravathi reminded me of the labour camp eateries we’d dine at in Jebel Ali in the early 90’s. There’s nothing wrong with that mind you, I had some of the best South Indian breakfasts in those restaurants. And with that in mind my food buddies and I visited Amaravathi for our last breakfast before Ramadan.

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Looks can be deceiving but in this case they’re not; what you see from the outside is pretty much what you get on the inside. The interior is basic. Shockingly bright colours liven up its windowless walls; an almost florescent yellow can be a little in-your-face early in the morning. Typical of this sort of restaurant there is a separate family section towards the back. The surprisingly clean toilets were back there too. Along the wall we sat near was a hyperactive delivery counter where parcels were placed for pick up by their busy delivery team. I would have liked to have placed a video to record one day in the life of that counter.

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We started our breakfast with a idli-vada dip, which is basically a vada and two idlis in a bowl of sambar. The idlis were light and fluffy and easily broke apart with my fork (some are like plastic and actually need an effort). Although the sambar could have been a smidge tarter, I liked it, even though it was only lukewarm. Upon informing our smiley waiter of this, he immediately brought us all fresh piping hot bowls.

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Smiley obviously had his eye on our table because he timed the arrival of our masala dosas perfectly, no more than a minute after we had finished our idli-vada. While not as big as some of the hard-core Karama dosas, ours were crispy, not too oily and the potato filling was lovely. Our meal would have been perfect if they had filter coffee. The sugary instant stuff they served us in its place was the only disappointment of an otherwise lovely breakfast.

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All of us were impressed with the friendliness of the staff as well as how well our waiter looked after us. I’m sure it helped that we were one of only two tables which were occupied. That, and the fact that we were probably not their typical diners. Irrespective of why, they did a great job, earning our thanks and a big tip. Dubai Amaravathi joins Chennai Curry Palace in the recently opened Al Khail Gate Community Centre as my favourite go-to places for South Indian breakfast in Al Quoz. I have heard so much about their biryanis that I have to go back for a try. If ambiance is not too high on your list of priorities this is definitely an outlet worth a visit.

Hey! Now read this –
Xerxes physically dines at, or orders from, each and every venue he reviews. He pays in full for whatever he and his companions eat, drink, take away or occasionally throw at each other. Xerxes accepts no money, gifts, discounts or free meals in return for reviews or favouritism. What you have read was NOT influenced in any way by the venue. Join me on Instagram @ravenousxerxes or email me on xerxes@dellara.com.