BERHAMPUR: It has a traditional setup. While wooden planks make up for the sitting arrangement, the food is served on leaf plates. Welcome to Pidha Hotel.
The four-decade-old hotel near Berhampur municipal corporation office is quite popular here, especially among those frequenting the registrar office.
The lunch served is priced at ` 35 and the menu includes rice, dal, curd, chutni and meat curry. The meat curry is a speciality here, prepared with grounded spices which is a closely guarded secret.
The owner Balakrushna Sahu starts cooking early and the food is ready to be served by 11 am. Once 1.30 pm, one-side of the door is closed indicating closure of the eatery.
The hotel is open five days a week.
While Sahu along with two staff members serve the food with great care, the customers are required to lift the leaf plates themselves and thrown in a bin placed outside.
Space constraint, however, allows only 22 persons to have food at a time. The food is cooked for about 250 people.
The hotel was started by Sahu’s father and he kept the tradition going despite the minimum profit he earns from the business.
At least it is hassle-free, he says.
And for his regular customers, it’s the great treatment and homely food that draw them to the hotel.