Cuisine - South Indian (Breakfast)
Location - Chamundipuram main road
It has a tiny entrance which looks like old retail stores. The restaurant or the ‘tiffin room’ as it is known, has a wide variety of South Indian breakfast items – It serves Idlis, all types of dosas, puris and a myriad rice items.
We placed the order – Masala Dosas, kesari bath and idli vada by the counter at the entrance. The service here is fantastic! We hadn’t even settled into our seats at the special "ladies and accompanied by ladies only" section (Yes - all you men need to be accompanied by women to enter this section), the waiter had already served the items. We started with the Masala Dosa – I must say, we have tasted much better dosas in other restaurants but what was truly appealing about this one was the downright ‘homely’ taste. I suddenly remembered mom. I’d have probably thrown a tantrum or two if a dosa was burnt at home, but at GTR, I ate with gusto – because not many places can remind you of home when you are away.
The most delightful items we tasted were the Idli and the vada. It has been a very long time since we tasted that kind of authenticity. Our breakfast came to an end with kesari bath and coffee. We had hoped for stronger coffee and something extra in the kesari bath but I guess it was the ‘ homeliness’ of it all. I can’t say we were disappointed by that but were just happy that we had finally been to the Iconic ‘GTR’ and had an authentic taste of Mysore.
Location - Chamundipuram main road
Gayathri Tiffin Room or simply GTR is one of those restaurants that define the taste of Mysore (for breakfasts!). It is an iconic restaurant that is a must visit for anyone who comes into this city.
GTR represents the heritage of the city and the building is a testimony to the same. It is a couple of decades old and still maintains the old ‘look’. GTR is open only in the mornings till 11 AM. It is open on all days except Mondays.
After a wait of about one & half years and after facing many barriers – not being able to wake up early, 9 AM classes, landing there on Mondays and so on, we finally made it to the famous GTR. We had no choice but to be extra thrilled.
It has a tiny entrance which looks like old retail stores. The restaurant or the ‘tiffin room’ as it is known, has a wide variety of South Indian breakfast items – It serves Idlis, all types of dosas, puris and a myriad rice items.
We placed the order – Masala Dosas, kesari bath and idli vada by the counter at the entrance. The service here is fantastic! We hadn’t even settled into our seats at the special "ladies and accompanied by ladies only" section (Yes - all you men need to be accompanied by women to enter this section), the waiter had already served the items. We started with the Masala Dosa – I must say, we have tasted much better dosas in other restaurants but what was truly appealing about this one was the downright ‘homely’ taste. I suddenly remembered mom. I’d have probably thrown a tantrum or two if a dosa was burnt at home, but at GTR, I ate with gusto – because not many places can remind you of home when you are away. 
The most delightful items we tasted were the Idli and the vada. It has been a very long time since we tasted that kind of authenticity. Our breakfast came to an end with kesari bath and coffee. We had hoped for stronger coffee and something extra in the kesari bath but I guess it was the ‘ homeliness’ of it all. I can’t say we were disappointed by that but were just happy that we had finally been to the Iconic ‘GTR’ and had an authentic taste of Mysore. Oh by the way, the prices – Modesty at its best! The entire breakfast went really light on our pockets. A breakfast for two would cost about Rs. 100.
Ratings by the Mysore Foodies
Food – 3.75 buurps
Ambience - 3.5 buurps
Price – 3.8 buurps
Service – 4 buurps
So what do we have to say about GTR?? Good place for a decent breakfast, especially if you are on the run. Idli – vada - a must try! For all those of you who haven’t been here before – wake up early and head out to have a tasty start for your day.
My memory goes back to the late '60s and early '70s when they would be open in a.m. till 11 and in the evenings between 4 and 7 p.m. There was full service and they used to serve two small masala dosas instead one big one, with either the standard potato filling or Saagu. All the items were extremely delicious and the restauerant would be busy ALL the time.
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