Tucked away in a bylane of Manoharpukur Road, in south Calcutta, next door to Uttam Mancha, is one of the oldest and best-loved restaurants in Kolkata selling south Indian food. This is Hotel Homely Raj, a mutistoreyed hotel run by Tamilians, with AC and non-AC sections and an ice-cream parlour on the ground floor.

Hotel Homely Raj isn’t the swankiest place in town, but it definitely is one of the cleanest. Their kitchen is the most interesting part of their floor plan. It spans the entire length of the building and has two service entrances, one for the AC restaurant and the other for the non-AC section.

Hotel Homely Raj opens for breakfast at 7 am, and runs through till lunch-time before shutting down at 3 pm. It reopens for dinner at 5 pm and dishes out yummy meals till 9.30 pm. They have recently started home delivery within a limited radius, but you’d be lucky to get through to them on the phone.

Unlike in South India, idlis here constitute a whole meal (not just tiffin) and sell like hot (rice) cakes all day long. Once you have had the idlis, go for the dosas. The regular sada, masala and rava dosas are delicious but try the ghee sada and the ghee masala dosa. If you hail from the south of the Vindhyas, their set dosas are sure to make you nostalgic.

Feeling a bit adventurous? Try the newly-added cheese dosas. Also on the menu are regulars like utthapam, puri-bhaaji and medu vadas. For those who can’t do without their rice and sambar, there is the thali option with unlimited rice and sambar.

Ever wondered why they call it Homely Raj? Simbly because it is a home away from home for the south Indians of Kolkata.