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The last few weeks were special for me. No, I didn’t get a promotion or found the love of my life (yet), instead, I visited a score of vegetarian restaurants. Finding a pure vegetarian restaurant in Hyderabad was difficult a few years ago, but it isn’t now. Coincidentally I see quite a few vegetarian eateries come up.
One such chain of restaurants from Namma Bengaluru – Sattvam – has set up its first satvik buffet restaurant in Hyderabad. Maharaj was invited for their launch lunch a few weeks back. While this blog post is coming out now, the stories were already put up on Instagram, so if you don’t follow me on Instagram, Why?
Concept of Satvik Food
I think, before I even get talking about Sattvam, I think it’s important to talk a little about Satvik food. Most of you might guess that this is food without Onion & Garlic. Partly correct. There’s more to it.
Satvik food originates from ancient Indian traditions and is rooted in Ayurveda and Yoga. The term “Satvik” is derived from the Sanskrit word “Sattva,” which means pure, harmonious, and balanced. It emphasizes pure, unprocessed, plant-based ingredients like fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and seeds. The philosophy aims to promote mental clarity, spiritual growth, and overall well-being by maintaining a tranquil and balanced state of mind.
Keeping this philosophy in mind, Sattvam has been serving delicious Satvik food in Namma Bengaluru for years before opening its first outlet in Hyderabad a few weeks ago.
Simple Ambience at Sattvam
Sattvam is located in Banjara Hills, bang opposite Park Hyatt hotel, next to MG Motors showroom to be more precise. It’s in a building with multiple other establishments which means parking can be a concern, but they have a valet service so you can peacefully enjoy your food.
You’re greeted with a wall in Orange with the Sattvam branding. What you may fail to notice is the huge, intricate entrance along with the Jagannath Puri-inspired paintings on the walls. This is present all across the restaurant which makes it refreshing.
As soon as you enter, you’ll have ample space and a seating area. There are regular chairs in the middle, a sofa-type set up at the side, and a relatively larger private dining space. The buffet area isn’t one of the largest, and it may feel even smaller when crowded. They also have a live counter right opposite the buffet area. Luckily, all of it can also be served on your table on request.
Overall a nice and simple setup, not amongst the largest, most spacious places but still feels new, refreshing, and pure.
Satvik Buffet at Sattvam Review
Sattvam is known for their vegetarian Satvik buffet and on the launch day too, we had a taste of their buffet. The spread was huge but luckily we had a major chunk of it served on our tables.
Soups, Starters & Live Counters
To being the proceedings, we started off with a sweet corn soup. A comforting soup to start the proceedings. For starters, we had Paneer Tikka, Mutter Kebab, and a couple of other items which were nice. However, the highlight for me was the Crispy Spinach Bowl. Think of it as a panipuri bowl stuffed with crispy spinach. The flavor was quite unique and had a tinge of sweetness to it.
There are chat items also available, so you find your favorite Papdi Chat, Dahi Bhalla, Pani Puri too. I didn’t try it but they looked delish. The live counter has some desi and videsi dishes. There’s everyone’s favorite Dosa served with a variety of chutneys. There’s also pizza for those craving some Italian Satvik food.
However, the star of the show for me were these cute little cookers with Pulihora and Lemon Rice. Remember those small Hawkins pressure cookers? There were many of these placed with Pulihora and Lemon Rice. Felt like flicking one off from there.
Delicious Mains
The Satvik main course had a lot of time to choose from. We had some desi and videsi stuff. On the desi front, there were curries from Koftas and Bhindi to Kolhapuri and Palak Samosa. Yes, Palak Samosa. Tiny little samosas dunked in Palak gravy. Unique and delicious. Then there were also dal and rice options to choose from. So your typical buffet but vegetarian and satvik.
One highlight of course was that the quality of buffet items was pretty good. The curries were richer than what I’ve seen at other buffet restaurants of a similar type. And I guess it’s the Satvik way of things that is making it delicious.
Desi & Videsi Desserts
How can a buffet not have desserts? Sattvam has a basket of desserts to choose from, desi or videsi. And an assortment of pastries and tarts along with desi dishes like Jamuns, Ras Malais to name a few. While I enjoy both of them, that day I leaned towards desi desserts that looked delish There was this Chenna Aam Roll that I absolutely loved. Very rarely do you find good quality desserts in a buffet, this was pretty good. Even the Ras Malai was nicely done, sweetened to perfection.
The desserts were a perfect way to end the meal. They do have salads, fruits, welcome drinks, and everything else that you may expect from a buffet restaurant. So if think that just because it’s Satvik, you’ll have to compromise, nope, it happening.
Nice Place For A Vegetarian Affaire
the best thing about buffet restaurants is that there’s something for everyone. From North Indian curries to Rice and Sambhar to Pizza and Pasta. While it’s usually difficult to find a vegetarian buffet place, it isn’t impossible.
Sattvam brings in a refreshing take on a vegetarian buffet with added Satvik philosophy in place. So you’ll be guaranteed high-quality, fresh ingredients being used. The starters were quite nice, especially the crunchy spinach bowl. The mains too were satisfying and rich.
This vegetarian satvik buffet at Sattvam is priced at Rs 850 per head on weekdays which I feel is good enough for the assortment of dishes you get. While it’s far for me to travel to, folks in Hyderabad now have a great destination for some good vegetarian meals. That’s about it for this blog post, let me know your thoughts in the comments below, tweet to me at @Atulmaharaj, DM on Instagram, or Get In Touch.
