In a nutshell:
A cramped, super popular, two storied Jodhpuri food restaurant with lousy service but excellent food – worth ignoring everything else for the good food.

Address & other details:  Shaandar

Meal for 2: 200 onwards

Cuisine type :  vegetarian

Disclaimer: All restaurants / eateries reviewed by YUMMRAJ were visited by YUMMRAJ himself & he has paid for the full Bill & tips also. http://www.yummraj.com does not have even one featured / sponsored reviews. YUMMRAJ believes in going to a restaurant in anonymity, as a normal guest, experience everything & give a honest account of the same to you.

We paid Rs. 230 for all the food we hv described here. No bill.

I rate all the food items & then give a final overall rating which is a simple average of the individual item ratings. What the ratings stand for: 5 = Excellent, 4 = Very Good, 3 = Good, 2 = Fair, 1 = Disaster.

Short description – in case u r in a hurry:

This Foodie madness post is a part of a series called Culinary pilgrimage – On a weekend in August 15 we decided to travel to Jodhpur on Culinary pilgrimage. A 2 day trip to Jodhpur just to eat out at the numerous streetfood shops that have survived over time……….We ended up eating at 11 places in a span of 48 hours & spent a total of approx Rs. 1850 & then we dined at Jodhpur fort for Rs. 3000. The cost of staying at Jodhpur & travelling to Jodhpur from Delhi was, needless to say, quite a few times more.

We heard about this restaurant from chats on Social media.

Like most old restaurants in Jodhpur, this one was also not on google map. A rough description was – near Jalori gate. So we were left to finding restaurants on our own by just asking around.

Sher Khan & his auto rickshaw was one of the best things that happened to us in jodhpur trip. This guy knew all the lanes & by-lanes & most importantly, all the eateries. You might try calling him in case u want a foodie tour – Mr. Sher Khan, mobile number +91 9799883445

The restaurant is located on a busy narrow road. It had motor traffic, two wheelers, 3 wheelers, pedestrians & also loads of manual vehicles. Parking is possible a bit away but hardly just in front of the store.

The entrance Glass & wooden door is always shut. One has to push it & get in. Note the holiday notice on the board.

Once inside, there is a small, packed dining hall. People share tables, sit very close to the other – basically just eat & go. Make way for the next guy. In the evening this Dining hall had just Green lighting. I was wondering how people wud even see the correct color of their food.

The first floor was family section. It was well lit & had quite a few tables of 4. People wud just climb upstairs & then there wud b no queue. Total mess. So, the idea is to just jump into a seat as soon as it gets empty. At one point, waiting people took positions near seats already occupied. That meant a horrifying experience for the Diners – some one looming above their heads watching everything & waiting to grab the seat.

The waiting staff were as pathetic as they cud get. Demotivated, not bothered, just doing a job. I am a people’s person – I have huge tolerance levels. Its is very difficult to piss me off. However these guys managed to do that extreme difficult task. Asked for a bottle of water 3 times & that never came in the whole of our stay.

The menu card was a simple two pager. Did not carry description of the food.

Once the food arrived, we forgot all. Loved it.

Detailed description – in case u hv the time to njoy reading:

We started our dinner with hot & crisp tandoori rotis & Gulab jamun Ki subzi. Yes, u heard it right – Gulab Jamun. The same Gulab Jamun that is a sweet.

For those of u still wondering what is this, the curry was made with dry Gulab jamuns ( b4 they r dunked in sugar syrup). The Gulab jamuns were soft, they held on to their shape, had a very good flavour and texture.

Gravy was dahi based, had masala flavour in it and had a good layer of good ghee floating on top.

It was a sheer delight. Rate this dish 4.5/5

The next dish was Govind gatte. The gatte (lentil nuggets) were hard, dry inside but flavorful & Good to taste.

The Gravy was dahi based, had masala flavour in it and had a good layer of good ghee floating on top – same gravy as Gulab Jamun ki subzi. Rate the gatte 3/5 and the gravy 4.5/5. Rating of Govind gatte averages out to 3.75/5

We also tried Dal fry. Grains of Dal were visible. Outstanding to taste. Flavour of ghee and Dal were lovely. Spices worked backstage and made their presence felt, but not in an obvious way. The dal was robust. Rate it 4.5/5

They served a complimentary Lehsun ki chutney. It was very nice.

Overall rating of food at Shandar averages out to 4.25/5

I wud revisit if again in Jodhpur / pack the food & eat it in the car….