Vadodara.

Laxmi Vilas Palace

Canara Coffee House

Signature: Poona Missal and hot filter coffee

Vadodara's oldest café — operating since 1945, 80 years in continuous run. The Poona Missal is the signature (a Vadodara-only variant heavier on chivda than the Pune original) and the filter coffee was the first in the city. Tripadvisor 4.1, still family-run by descendants of the original Karnataka migrants who opened it.

Tip: Morning is the right slot — fresh idli batter, fresh coffee. After 11am the South Indian queue empties and you can get a corner table. The pineapple juice is fresh-pressed; the cold coffee is the order if you want something sweet.

Duliram Pendawala

Signature: Mathura Peda

Founded 1864 by Duliram Pendawala — 161 years old, in the same Raopura location, still run by the family. Sources mava daily from Ratlam; the Mathura peda is the bestseller (and uses the original 1860s recipe). They still pack in traditional cardboard boxes, which regulars send by post to relatives in the Gujarati diaspora.

Tip: Go before 11am — pedas sell out by lunch most weekdays. The Mathura peda is the must-buy; doodh peda is a softer, milkier variant. Skip the Bengali sweets here (kaju katli is fine, but anything chhana-based is bought from elsewhere and resold). Cash only at the original counter.

Mandap

Signature: Authentic Gujarati thali (lunch and dinner)

Open since 1974 — 51 years of homespun Gujarati thali inside Hotel Express Towers in Alkapuri. Won 'Best Gujarati Restaurant' Times Food Award 2008. The seasonal menu rotation is tight (winter undhiyu, summer aam ras, monsoon corn dishes); thali is unlimited, plated on bell-metal. Tripadvisor 4.1, one of Baroda's most-recommended thali spots for business travellers.

Tip: Lunch buffet (12-3pm) is the value play — same thali, sharper kitchen. Dinner gets crowded; reserve. Ask the server which subzi is from today's market — they rotate two-a-day; the just-cooked one is the move.

22nd Parallel

Signature: Stuffed kulchas and tandoori platter

Tripadvisor 4.1, ranked in Vadodara's top 10. The Old Padra Road/Vasna stretch caters to the south-side residential cluster; 22nd Parallel is the most-recommended sit-down in that band. Multi-cuisine but the tandoor and Punjabi side are the strongest. Wins for groups where some want chaat-snacks and others want full meals.

Tip: The Amritsari kulcha is the order — they import the stuffing mix and the dough technique from a Punjab connect. Skip the Italian section; the kitchen overextends there. Weekday afternoons are empty; Saturday dinner runs a 30-min wait without reservation.

Bayleaf Multi Cuisine

Signature: Sizzler platters

Bayleaf is the Sayajigunj-anchor multi-cuisine sit-down — Tripadvisor 4.4, ranked in Vadodara's top 10 restaurants. The sizzler platters and Indo-Chinese specialty pulls the railway-station/MS University crowd; the kitchen handles both veg and non-veg well, which is rarer in Vadodara than it should be.

Tip: Order the paneer tikka sizzler — it's the signature, and louder/hotter than any other in the area. Avoid the weekend evening 8-10pm slot if you want to talk; the restaurant noise is high. Lunch is calmer and the kitchen runs the same recipes.

Jagdish Farsan

Signature: Bhakharvadi and lilo chivdo

Jagdish farsan brand — the bhakharvadi (spiral fried gram-flour roll with masala filling) is what most Gujarati diaspora orders boxes of when they travel back. Subhanpura flagship is a 2-floor outlet: ground floor packed farsan to take home, first floor sit-down with fresh dhokla/khaman. Owns the Vadodara farsan-export market.

Tip: Buy bhakharvadi only same-week; flavour drops after 7 days. Mini bhakharvadi (the unsalted variant) is the long-haul one for flights. Skip the made-to-order chaat upstairs — they're better at packed snacks than fresh ones. The sev (thin masala variant) is a tier above what supermarkets stock.

Garba Dance Masters