Desaprakash Paradise Hotel, Mysore

The Paradise Hotel is a branch of the once illustrious Desaprakash group, which was obviously still going strong in the 70's as displayed by the architecture and design of this property.  We had been to the branch downtown for a lunch thali but had heard that this one was better and indeed we agree, although we have only been for breakfast, one of the meals which consider ourselves expert in as we eat out for Indian breakfast almost everyday.

The only dish we order here is the tomato uttapam, a kind of set dosa with tomatoes in it, which for some reason is not on the menu at the other cafes we go to.  It is really delicious but the most winning thing here at Paradise is the coconut chutney, it is by far better than any of our usual places, much thicker and fresher coconut taste.  I will for sure miss this when we are back in the UK.

The design of the hotel is classic 1970s and I think that is also when they stopped upgrades to it unfortunately, however the restaurant is large and airy and the booths are beside big open windows overlooking trees (well after the car park) and you don't feel so much like you are in Mysore, but somewhere more fresh.

Normally it is not so busy and we wonder what the occupancy rate of the once glamorous hotel is, my guess is around the 20% mark judging from the size of the dining room and number of guests in it for breakfast, which is sad as with a refurb it could be a classic retro place, but then again you could say that about many places in India. 

Overall Paradise is quite a bit more expensive than our local cafes, once the hotel tax is added on our bill is usually around 200 rupees with tip, compared to say 59 rupees at our everyday place, Indra Sweet n Spice, but you don't feel rushed, the coffee comes in a pot and you get a little more than one cup each, it's bright and spacious and most of all...the chutney is the best around.  We go about once every two weeks on the weekend.