What you see - Katani is a popular family dhaba-style restaurant, located in Phase 3B2 in Mohali, Chandigarh. This vegetarian restaurant has been running since three decades. The interiors are simple, clean and without any frills. The restaurant is air-conditioned.

What you get - Katani Restaurant serves multi-cuisine vegetarian food. This includes North Indian, South Indian, Mughlai and Chinese cuisines.

In South Indian food, the varieties of dosas are very popular. Idli, Vada and Uttapam are also available. We went for the North Indian dishes and sampled Dal Makhani, Paneer Masala with Naan and Parathas in the main course. These are must-haves. In appetizers, we didn’t experiment much and chose Paneer tikka. Those who wish to try something new could go for Bread pakodas. The restaurant seems to specialize in paneer dishes though as Kadhai paneer, Paneer tikka and Paneer Pasanda are good to taste too.  Cheese Chilli, Shahi Kurma, Mushroom Matar, Navratan Korma and Kaju Curry are the other dishes on the menu. If you don’t want to waste time ordering a la carte, try the Makki ki roti and Sarson ka saag thali. It is among the best you can get in the city.

Chinese dishes like Spring rolls, Manchurian, Chili paneer and Chowmein are there too.

You can round this off with Indian sweets and desserts like gajar ka halwa, gulab jamun and the like. In fact, Katani has a separate sweets division too; so the variety is ample. Alcohol is not served. Soft drinks, Lassi, tea and coffee are available. Do try the tea here. Katani also does catering for outdoor parties. It provides free home delivery for orders above Rs. 100. You can even host parties and family functions here. Katani arranges for the decoration too.

Our verdict - Katani Restaurant is a great place to visit for vegetarian food. The crowd includes mostly families. Though it serves multiple cuisines, our recommendation is that you go for the North Indian varieties especially the thali. The staff is well trained and friendly. Ample parking space to accommodate around 40 cars is available.

What you pay for a meal for two – around Rs. 200

Anytime between – 8 AM – 4 PM and 7 PM – 11 PM

By Harmeet Singh