In a nutshellA super popular, super busy restaurant which almost functions like a factory, serves super YUMM non vegetarian South Indian food.

Address and other details : nair mess 

Cuisine type : vegetarian & nonvegetarian

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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.

The concept here is to order a thali and then order add on side dishes. The thali is vegetarian with one non vegetarian item. 

Short description- in case u r in a hurry:

This restaurant is a remarkable one – something that will b on top of my mind for a long time.

The restaurant has a large L shaped dining hall that is packed with tables for guests. At 1 pm it was bursting out. As we entered it seemed very chaotic but in few minutes we cud make sense of what was happening.

Andhra bhawan in new delhi has a much better queue management system though.

At nair mess the customer gets allocated a table and he/she is supposed to stand near the table while someone else is already sitting there and eating!!!

That creates pressure for the rating person to finish and go once done, no sitting and chatting.

The service was super fast. The supervisor in our part of the dining room was great. He understood that we were not locals and he patiently explained all dishes. He took great care.

Most of the food were excellent- very difficult to manage that as that scale.

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

The concept here is to order a thali and then order add on side dishes. The thali is vegetarian with one non vegetarian item.

We went for one Mutton thali and one fish thali.

Food was served on banana leaf. One by one people came and served the different items – we could repeat any item any number of times.

Beetroot curry was like home made curry – simple, good to taste, no spices on the face, not too hot. The beetroot pieces maintained their texture. Loved the dish and rate it 4/5

Mixed vegetables curry was again a simple , home like, good to taste curry. It was slightly less on salt. Rate it 3.5/5

Sambhar was excellent- it had flavours of daal, spices but none overpowering the other. The spices blended well and were not on the face. Great balance of salt , sweet. Rate it 4.5/5

Super loved the Rasam too. Rate it 4.5/5

Buttermilk was served in a steel bowl. Simple, thin liquid that was very good. No additional seasoning. High on original sourness and had a fermented feel. Rate it 4.25/5

We were also given an Achar which was very good to taste. Rate it 4.5/5

Fish curry was very good. The gravy was tangy and had a strong character. The fish itself was fresh, flaky and very good to taste. Rate it 4.5/5

Mutton curry (part of the thali) had a pale yellow gravy that was tangy and very well balanced on salt vs sour. Spices made their presence felt but not on the face. Meat flavours were very enjoyable and so was the taste. The meat was soft and excellent. Rate the dish 4.5/5

Fish fry was one of the best I have had in a while at a restaurant. The slices were thin and that gave an interesting texture to the fish. The outer side corners and the skin had become crisp but inside was super juicy and flaky. Flavours of fish were great. It tasted outstanding. Spicing was perfect. We took a repeat. Rate it 4.95/5

Mutton liver curry had an intense robust rustic , full flavours of meat. Very very enjoyable – we took a repeat. Rate it 4.75/5

Mutton sukka was robust, rustic and very good. It was dry gravy with soft and very tasty mutton pieces. Spicing was perfect. Rate it 4.5/5

Bheja ( brain) curry was excellent – one of the best we have had in a while. It was not greasy unlike in Mughlai shops. Flavours were intact, texture was enjoyable and so was the taste. Rate it 4.5/5

Prawn fry was also very good. Prawns were soft and tasty, not rubbery. The gravy was thick and dry. Loved it. Rate it 4.25/5

Overall rating of food at nair mess averages out to 4.4/5

Will surely revisit.