Restaurant Review – Dyu Art Café, Koramangala, Bangalore

Modelled as an old South Indian Chettinad style house, Dyu Art Café in Koramangala, Bangalore is one of the coziest food joints you can find in Bangalore.

Last weekend I took out my about-to-be-two son for a mom & son date – hoping a change of place might make him eat well. We were in Koramangala, in south Bangalore, for some shopping, so what better place than Dyu Art Café for a cozy and hearty lunch? This is the second time I am visiting this very homely café, so it warrants a review on the blog.

Ambiance at Dyu Art Café

The ambiance and mood of a food joint play a big role in getting popular with its customers. I am one of those who doesn’t like restaurants with tiny chairs and cramped up spaces. Dyu Art Café scores big on its ambiance and feel that it gives to a food lover from the moment you step in. Nestled in the heart of the very bustling and posh Koramangala, Dyu Art Café looks like an old fashioned Chettinad style house with open courtyard, balcony seating under tiled roofs, spacious built-in benches and loads of greenery inside.

Photo Credit – Mayuri Nidigallu

The café looks like a modest somber old house from the outside, but as you step in you are welcomed by a large gallery showcasing paintings and caricatures by various artists. The gallery opens up to the courtyard with the seating area.

You can never miss this green corner in the café with graveled floor. It’s great to enjoy food amidst all the greenery.  Dyu Art Café will give you ample Instagram moments with all the art and greenery around.

When I had a word with one of the owners, I was pleasantly surprised how young she was. She told me, they started, Dyu, with the idea of providing a relaxing and enriching ambiance to the customers – something that is different from the mainstream. They are also the owners of the land the café stands at. Me, being very intrigued with the setup, probed her on the age of the construction since I felt it was an old house that has been remodeled as a café. But in fact, she confirmed, they bought the land and built this old fashioned house with an open courtyard for the café! The idea of open seating and no air conditioning is a risk in the Hospitality and Food Industry today, but I must say – risk well taken. Dyu Art Café looks warm and gorgeous for food and art lovers. You can sit with your work or pick up a book from their bookshelf while you dig into the food.

Photo Credit – Shalini Baisiwala

Food at Dyu Art Café

No food joint can survive with just the look and feel if the food is just average. The beverages – both hot and cold – seem to be popular with the crowd. From hand ground, French pressed coffee to a hot latte you can enjoy a good cuppa anytime. Café Miel – a shot of espresso topped with steamed milk, cinnamon, and wild honey seemed very interesting.

Bangalore weather being extremely hot currently, I settled down with my Iced Honey Lemon while my son decided to sleep.

If you are staying alone in the vicinity and hate cooking up a meal for yourself, Dyu Art Café serves All Day Breakfast with eggs to order, chicken sausage, grilled tomatoes, browns, baked beans – you just have to name it. I think that’s quite cool.

This time I had the Lamb Stroganoff, with boneless juicy lamb chunks cooked with vegetables, fresh herbs and served with flavored rice. I must admit, more than the lamb I loved the fragrant rice, it had the beautiful flavor of garlic.

My son creates mayhem at food time. He only likes crispy things so we ordered the good old Fish Fingers – battered fried fish served with fries and tartar sauce. He had one or two of them but enjoyed the fries as usual.

In case you are a fish lover you might like the Grilled Fish Fillet with Florentine which is a lovely soft fish fillet served with garlic sautéed spinach and garlic butter sauce. I have loved it the other time I visited them.

From handmade pizzas to burgers to sandwiches they offer a variety of food that you can enjoy at any time of the day.

The classic chocolate cake is their signature dessert which is available daily. It is the fresh batch of cake topped with oozing chocolate sauce.

My Take on Dyu Art Café

I find the entire set up very homely and cozy. The staff are courteous and smiling though sometimes your orders might take a little while to arrive on your table. Speaking of tables, a decent sized human like me (I’m 5’2.5”) thought the tables were much lower than the benches and you have to be careful with the food. But since a lot of it is finger food you can be clumsy, I guess!

The open air seating is cool and laid back but it also means you have unwanted visitors called flies. They installed the fly catcher the day I visited first to meet my fellow blogger friend Shalini, but you might still get to hear the flies visiting your table!

Photo Credit – Shalini Baisiwala

But the best part is the Value for Money – quite a steal, I must say. Our bill was 632/- which I think is pretty decent. So if you are looking for a cozy, warm nook with decent food over coffee and conversations then this is a great place.

My Verdict – Dyu Art Cafe

Ambiance – 4/5

Food Options – 3/5

Food Quality – 3.5/5

Service – 4/5

Overall we had a good time at Dyu both the times and might be back again. Weekend is right around the corner, you know now where yo ccan head to!

What else is happening over here?

I haven’t posted lately so I am sure you are unaware what’s happening over here. Well, the news from this side is the little one has joined playschool and is enjoying it. I was scared thinking he’ll be crying and throwing a fuss but he happens to enjoy the time there. He hasn’t cried even once and the teacher says he is very interested in solving puzzles! But the real news is, since I am coming up with Toddler Tiffin Ideas, expect toddler-friendly snack recipes on the blog. I am using the air fryer extensively for him because I don’t want him to have too many fried stuff, so you can expect some air fried recipes as well.

A few days back Sonia from Sonlicious did a feature on 6 Female Food Bloggers who left their jobs and started blogging where she shared interviews with various female food bloggers from India who have left their jobs and taken up a food blogging full time or having a food business. And guess who happens to feature on the list? Yes, yours truly. Thank you, Sonia for it.