Kaati Zone
Ratings
Food 4/10
Ambience 4/10
Service 4/10
Price: Rs. 200
Description
India’s original non-vegetarian fast food has shrugged off its street roots and come into town with formica tabletops and tray service. In my view this is one transformation I would have rather not witnessed. Khati rolls are best eaten standing up and straight from the fire. Like its vegetarian equivalent – bhel puri – much of the fine flavours in a Khati roll are drawn from the cooking technique in unsavoury ways you’d rather not dwell upon overmuch. While there are hygenic benefits to the formica ambience, without the smell of a coal fire and tang of roughly cut onions, all you are left with is a fried chapatti rolled over some mutton curry.
I guess some people will patronize this place. It has been set up at a good location and should attract some of the unemployed youth who seem to populate the streets of Bangalore in the evenings these days. I have eaten cheaper Khati rolls though never sitting down at a formica table with teen pop blaring from the speakers – so I guess there is an economic reason behind the prices.
Before you ask – I have tried the take-away as well just to see how they manage to serve a roll that will, by its very nature, go soggy within minutes of preparation. The answer is not very well. The rolls were warm and moist (but in the perspiration kind of way) and the packaging was just to hard to unravel.
All in all this is probable a restaurant you might want to avoid.
Getting There:
Church Street is filled with eating places and woefeully lacking in suitable places to park. If you want to try your luck you are going to have to be prepared for a long walk. You can either get there by driving down from Brigade Road or up from Rest House Crescent. Or if you are walking from MG Road, head down towards Church Street at the Times of India building.
Recommendations
None really. If you have eaten Khati Rolls at Nizams on the back alleys of Calcutta, you really don’t want to be eating here. If you have only been so lucky as to sample the imported version in the BDA complex in Indiranagar – you will still be disappointed. If you have never eaten a Khati Roll before in your life – this is not where you want to go to try your first.
Ideal For:
Nothing. I can’t think of a reason why you might want to inflict this upon yourself.
Anonymous Foodie 
Hey! Good to have you back.
You need to try the rolls at Best of Bengal, opposite Coles Park. They are very good. Better than the BDA complex ones for sure.
More reviews? More often?
Glad to be back. Thanks for dropping by.
Best of Bengal is good – but only for their rolls. But I am still partial to the BDA complex rolls. Very much like what I am used to eating in Calcutta.
More reviews. More often. Promise.
My Bong friends think that the Best of Bengal rolls are not very good. Hmmm…
The regular “mughlai food” is pretty bad.
(I live opposite the place, for what it’s worth.)
Having lived in Calcutta for a while I can assure you that the rolls at Best of Bengal are not a patch on the Khati Rolls in the back streets of New Market. And yes any other food they serve is really bad.
Good thing you own a restaurant you can order from Madman…
@ MadMan. My, only, Bong friend is partial to the Bhetki Fry, which is nice and very reasonably priced. The rolls are my favorite.
6 BP is the place for Bong food. Bleddy goodly it is. Their smoked hilsa is worth a try.
[…] Kaati Rolls Here’s an idea I’m a true believer in. Right around the corner from the my Café Coffee Day office is a new fast food restaurant named Kaati Zone. They sell Kaati Rolls, which are basically paranthas (Indian flatbreads) rolled up with some kind of indian curry inside. They are served in an innovative cardboard boxes to hold them together (same concept as burritos wrapped in aluminum foil), and with mint chutney in easy-to-dispense containers. They are sold by themselves, or in combo meals with other indian snacks like aloo tiki, vada pav, and drinks. They are….SO GOOD! I have been eating at this place at least 3 times a week because it’s clean, fast, cheap (and so good). They’re even relatively healthy, as you can ask for “lite’ or “diet” rolls, meaning they cook your paratha with less oil. By now, they know my name & my order (one methi paneer, one egg & cheese), as soon as I show up. I think Kaati rolls would be a huge hit in the US. The closest thing to Indian fast food I’ve seen is Chaat Café in the San Francisco Bay Area, which is very good. But the problem with chaat is that it is complicated and the American consumer, still uneducated about Indian food outside of places like the Bay Area and New York, has no idea what to order. Kaati rolls, on the other hand, are as simple as it gets (and so good). I’ve heard about the Kati Roll Company in Manhattan, but believe it’s more of a late-night, after-you’ve-been-partying joint. But I see no reason why this couldn’t take off all over the country. Don’t believe me? Read what these other bloggers are saying about Kaati rolls here and here and here. […]
Kaati Rolls « Billion Rupee Idea said this on August 15, 2007 at 12:45 pm |
Clearly, the Rs 200 in the ratings section above is incorrect. I stopped by KaatiZone the other day and had a hearty meal — Chicken Tikka, French Fries and Coke — for under Rs 100.
Kaati Zone now has several more restaurant outlets. They are at Jayanagar, Banashankari, Indiranagar and the new Bengaluru International Airport. (You can search for “Kaati Zone, Bangalore” in maps.google.com to find the locations on a map.) And yes, Utpal, the prices are much less than the review says.
Hmm… seems like am commenting on a blog thats dated. Anyways – Kaati Zone has changed substantially from when these blogs have been written. They have changed their restaurant ambiance, they have changed their menu – they are good now & its no more a mom&pop joint that home made fare. They still, I believe, make the best Chicken Tikka Rolls in Bangalore no comparison to impies or empire or lazeez, they leave them a long way behind. The restaurants have been made up lately I think – they are a lot more livelier & provide a hangout ambiance. They are still priced reasonably (of course not compared to other local joints around, but hey they are a brand – we of course pay a premium to drink coffee in a cafe by paying Rs.40 & a road side vendor by paying Rs.5. I would say that a person can have a meal combo at Rs.100-120 easily. Another thing is that they are offering paratha meals (2 parathas, dal & curd) which is very filling in 3 varieties – aloo, gobi & something else. The best i thought is that they offer lassi & nimbu paani – its a welcome alternative to coke & pepsi. They also deliver – the other day we ordered from office and beat this we got a very good discount as a corporate order. They have opened 12 outlets across the city – a poster in the restaurant says. its nice to see a welcome Indian alternative in fast foods – hope we get more of such kind.
3/10..not worth a second trip..
Kaati Zone has a totally new menu card these days. The prices are not too high, an average street side roll wala charges about 45/- for a basic chicken roll. Kaati Zone charges 55/- for their Bhuna Chicken roll. The standard of hygiene maintained and the quality of the rolls are far better than the street side vendors.