It’s 8:02 a.m. when New Horizon Middle School English teacher Sandya Krishna flings open the doors to Mylapore — a South Indian vegetarian restaurant chain based in the Bay Area. She is late to breakfast with her friend, whom she had advised seven minutes prior to order for her. As she walks to her table where her friend is waiting and sets down her purse, the waiter promptly sets down her dish, and she is immediately surrounded by the nostalgic smell of the Onion Rava Dosa, filled with mini peppercorns and paired with Mylapore’s signature onion and coconut chutneys along with a cup of piping hot sambar.

Mylapore has 13 locations around the Bay Area, seven of them called Idly Express — a branch of Mylapore that specializes in delivery. Krishna has been to four Mylapore locations and says that at each location, she receives individual attention and service that makes her feel treated like a good patron. 

“They really care when you walk into the restaurant,” Krishna said. “They always try to be accommodating, and when you leave, most times there’s someone who will say, ‘Come again soon’ or ‘thank you.’ You don’t get that in most restaurants, and I’d rather go to a restaurant where they are appreciative of having me there.”

Junior Srithika Barakam agrees, adding that a major component of the restaurant’s inviting atmosphere is the fact that Mylapore markets itself as a traditional, South Indian vegetarian restaurant. She explains that being vegetarian in India is different than in America, as Indian vegetarians usually don’t eat eggs. Mylapore regular Uma Ayyer shares this sentiment with Barakam, adding that she never has to worry about cross-contamination with meat or eggs — a quality that is extremely important to her as a strict South Indian vegetarian.

According to Mylapore founder Jay Jayaraman, the scarcity of exclusively vegetarian restaurants made Indian vegetarians an underserved population in the Bay Area. This influenced him to make Mylapore solely vegetarian, as it would appeal to that specific crowd. Jayaraman explains that there is also no onion or garlic in his dishes: a quality that drives many strict vegetarians to his restaurant.

“We do things differently,” Jayaraman said. “We cater to a very niche crowd, and that niche crowd knows that. And it comes naturally to our customers to say, ‘Oh let’s go to Mylapore’ even if it’s an auspicious day — a day where you don’t generally eat out. Even now, I jokingly tell my team members that being vegetarian is why we are successful.”

Jayaraman adds that the name Mylapore itself subtly conveys that the restaurant is solely vegetarian, as it’s named after a culturally significant neighborhood in Chennai, India, in which many of the restaurants serve Indian vegetarian food. He explains that the area is famous for its traditional Carnatic music, deities and kolams — rice flower drawings on the ground — among other aspects of South Indian culture he drew inspiration from. Jayaraman includes kolams, shlokas — Hindu prayers — and tanjore paintings of Hindu deities in his restaurants, stating that he wanted to “bring Mylapore from South India to America” — something that Krishna believes he has succeeded in.

“The ambiance that Mylapore creates is very much culturally rooted,” Krishna said. “I think the establishment works meticulously to give you a feeling of walking into the city of Mylapore in Chennai. The kolams is sort of a representation of culture. That homey feel is what you get when you see all the Tanjore paintings. Those bring together a lot of the cultural sensibilities as well as a lot of the traditions that are typically South Indian.” 

Aside from the decor, Jayaraman explains that he curated the menu to reflect the traditional flavors of food unique to Chennai. Ayyer explains that as a cook, she can immediately tell if something doesn’t taste authentic. According to Ayyer, she’s never had a bad experience with Mylapore’s food.

“The authenticity and the traditional way they prepare their food is the best value for money that anyone can look for in the Bay Area, I would say even all over the U.S.,” Ayyer said. “Their food is good for health, they make it with care, the taste is on par — it checks all the boxes.” 

To Krishna, Mylapore’s food reminds her of what she used to eat growing up in Chennai. She explains that she grew up in a traditional South Indian Tamil family and moved to the U.S. 35 years ago, so she has been exposed to a lot of different kinds of traditional food. Krishna adds that she used to eat primarily North Indian food when she ate out, but after Mylapore, she felt a dramatic shift in preference toward South Indian food. 

“The best part about Mylapore is that it tastes like home-cooked food,” Krishna said. “Since I grew up in a very traditional South Indian environment, it’s not surprising that I enjoy South Indian food. But at the same time, I think after veering toward other cuisines because I’ve lived in America for so long, some of those traditional tastes have really brought me back to my roots.”

Barakam also says that eating at Mylapore reminds her of home. As a South Indian in the Bay Area, she feels like the restaurant adequately represents traditional South Indian food, as their cooking tastes almost exactly the same as how her mom makes it.

“It’s simply like you’re sitting in your own house,” Barakam said. “One time when we decided to eat at Mylapore, my family and I sat there for an hour and a half and talked about everything. My brother is in college, and I don’t see him too often, but he was there for that. It was nice because the restaurant is not too fancy or anything — it just feels so comfortable.”

Jayaraman states that when creating the restaurant — through the food, decor and the name itself — he wanted his customers to associate Mylapore with memories of South India. Despite the work put into cultivating the ambiance as well as the long hours spent running the restaurant chain, Jayaraman says his job isn’t work for him because he truly enjoys it. He adds that the most fulfilling part of running Mylapore is talking to his customers who thank him for opening new branches around the Bay.

“We create memories every day,” Jayaraman said. “There’s a saying that the shortest path to somebody’s heart is through the stomach, and that is absolutely true in my case.”