A new restaurant centering cuisine from the Indian state of Karnataka has opened on Solano Avenue in Berkeley. Bangalore Blues is the latest from budding restaurateur Aravind Pochiraju. It’s the next evolution of his fast-casual spot Pochys, which opened in West Berkeley in April 2024, building up a fanbase of diners who’ve fallen for food highlighting dishes from Bangalore, Mumbai, and Tenali. While that restaurant has since closed, customers have followed to Bangalore’s sitdown space that sees the initial Pochy’s menu expand far past its fast-casual beginnings.
Bangalore Blues has been in its soft opening stage since January, but as of April they’ve made the leap to adding an $80 tasting menu that pairs the restaurant’s best dishes (with a few off-menu items) for dinner. The current tasting menu begins with mini bonda, or fried potato fritters, and a choice of gobi or chicken Manchurian, a saucy, crispy chicken dish that was one of Pochys’ staples. From there, expect lesser-seen dishes from Karnataka, such as a cucumber salad with lentils and carrot, combining two dishes one would get at temples, Pochiraju shares. “It’s very reminiscent of the Southern Indian palate,” he says.
Diners can also expect items like chicken chops, a dish from Bangalore that stars a slow-roasted chicken cooked in a herby sauce made with spinach, fenugreek, cilantro, and mint. The main star is the koli saaru, a spicy South Indian chicken curry served with chapati and rice, which Pochiraju calls “a classical Karnataka-style chicken dish.”
In addition to that tasting menu, the restaurant offers a la carte options for lunch, weekend brunch, and dinner. Think: four types of dosa, including a ghee masala dosa filled with a turmeric-spiced potato hash, idlis, and regional specials such as Chicken 65, a spiced, deep-fried chicken dish popular in South India. Biryanis, stuffed kathi rolls, and curries round out that menu. Meanwhile, a brief drink menu offers items like filter coffee (kaapi), masala chai, and a hibiscus lime tea. Pochiraju is extremely proud of his efforts to make everything from scratch, making his own spice blends from whole spices rather than pre-ground powders, and importing items like seeraga samba rice, which he prefers over basmati. It’s these touches that he feels separate him from other Indian restaurants of the area, befitting of the village-style dishes he grew up with, and of his family’s background in farming.
The restaurant will see a few more upgrades in the months to come. Next on the docket is a full bar once Bangalore Blues’s liquor license is approved, and the brunch service will expand with custom teas from a friend who creates blends featuring tea from the Indian states of Assam and Meghalaya. The menu will introduce slow-cooked dishes made with a proper tandoor in the coming months.
Bangalore Blues (1889 Solano Avenue, Berkeley) is open 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.