Swap late-night kebabs for south Indian street food, and ditch morning toast for crisp masala dosa at Carnegie eatery Namma Bangalore Vibbes, on one of Melbourne’s most delicious streets.
There’s the telltale orange dusting that clings to your fingers while you’re eating Cheezels. And then there’s podi, a fragrant ochre-coloured powder that covers your fingertips when you eat spice-strewn idli, steamed rice flour patties, at Namma Bangalore Vibbes. Podi is a common south Indian seasoning or sprinkle, used to jazz up everything from rice to eggs to drinks. It’s always good, but this one – nutty, cumin-scented, lifted by curry leaves – has me looking past the Cheezels.
The fresh and wholesome quality of the podi is a sign of the consideration applied to every element of this exciting new restaurant in bustling Carnegie.
Visit in the morning for the crisp, pancake-like delights of dosa, or a nourishing goat soup. You could lunch on chicken curry, slide in for street snacks, or beeline for late-night biryani. In the evenings, you might head upstairs to the lounge bar for Kingfisher beer or a King Kohli cocktail made with whisky, filter coffee and the molasses-like jaggery to have with frisky snacks like battered chillis or nachos with an Indian twist.
Whenever it is, whatever you’re having, you’ll be warmly welcomed and exceedingly well fed.
Jyotsna Reddy and her husband, Karthik Shapur, opened the restaurant in October. Reddy studied construction: you can see her eye in the comfortable scooped chairs, calming olive colour scheme, and murals that are as much a love letter to Melbourne as Bangalore (officially Bengalaru). Both cities share a love of coffee, obsession with food, vibrant multiculturalism, grand 19th-century train stations, and designation as garden cities.
The key south Indian coffee is a filter brew, made here with prized beans from Karnataka’s Chikmagalur growing region, roasted, powdered and mixed with chicory. Generally served sweet, the coffee comes very hot in a two-part cup: you can cool it down by pouring the liquid from one vessel to the other.
That podi-sprinkled idli is on the menu as Ruchi Ghee Pudi Thatte Idli. Reddy makes the batter to her own recipe: grinding rice, tapioca and fenugreek seeds, letting the mixture ferment, and steaming it to a soft, fluffy cake that is brushed with warm, golden ghee. Alongside, there’s bright coconut chutney and a soupy vegetable sambar – balancing tamarind sourness and jaggery sweetness – to dip the idli in. The deft layering of flavour in this bit player shows more heartwarming attention to detail.
There’s so much more. The CTR masala dosa namechecks Central Tiffin Room, a longstanding Bangalore spot for this potato-stuffed scroll. The batter is sublime, leading to a lacy and flavourful dosa.
Masala puri is an exuberant pile of crushed puris – those tiny chickpea flour spheres – peas, onion, carrot, spices and sauces. The version here takes this chaotic chaat (snack) and turns it up to 11.
I also rate the pani puri, a DIY tray of puris with a selection of chutneys and mint-chilli-coriander “water” that you pour into each sphere before popping it speedily into your mouth.
The biryani needs mention. Made with special shortgrain rice called seeraga samba and a jaunty green masala, it’s served in a bowl made from palm leaves and is threaded with complex spicing that manages to be both bold and subtle at once.
Some restaurants open because a canny owner spots a gap in the market. Others are launched because the proprietor has a burning passion to share their particular style of cuisine or hospitality. The best places do both.
Namma Bangalore Vibbes is a haven for Bangaloreans craving a taste of home, but it’s for everyone – there’s an awesome (non-spicy) kids’ menu and most dishes are gluten free.
The motto is “Namma adda maga”, which you could roughly translate from Kannada, the main language in Bangalore, as “Our hangout, mate”. It’s inclusive, creative and clever. The service is friendly, the place is sparkling clean, and the food is thrilling. I truly love it.
Three other late-night venues to try
Gimlet
Open till midnight (1am on weekends), this grand fine diner is celebrating summer peaches every night from 9pm. Arriving via trolley, they’re flambeed tableside with butter and cognac, and served with chiffon cake, amaretti biscuits, vanilla ice-cream and peach syrup.
33 Russell Street, Melbourne, gimlet.melbourne
Dessert Corner
You never know when the urge for a Ferrero Rocher Nutella cheesecake is going to hit, so it’s lucky that this Indian fusion dessert shop opens till 11pm (midnight on Friday and Saturday). Hot summer night ice-cream pilgrimages are rewarded with strawberry, mango or saffron-pistachio.
1/1591 Thompsons Road, Cranbourne North, dessertcorner.com.au
4 Sisters Kebabs
Open till midnight most nights, this family-run shop is tucked away in a petrol station. Truckies fuel up on kebabs and HSPs, locals go hard on gozleme, fans of traditional Turkish food fill up on tripe soup, and maybe you’re here to try one of Melbourne’s best sujuk (sausage) and egg breakfasts.
3/215-221 Greens Road, Dandenong South, instagram.com/4sisterskebabcafe
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