Bangalore Blues, the sit-down evolution of Pochys on Solano Avenue, has quietly leveled up this spring with an $80 tasting menu at dinner, nudging the East Bay spot well beyond its fast-casual roots in dosas and rolls. The multi-course lineup keeps a few crowd-pleasers up front — mini bonda and a choice of gobi or chicken Manchurian — before diving into deeper Karnataka dishes like koli saaru and chicken chops.
As reported by Eater SF, the tasting program rolled out shortly after the restaurant’s soft opening in January and is the latest project from restaurateur Aravind Pochiraju. Eater notes that the set menu starts with those mini bonda and gobi-or-chicken Manchurian bites, then moves into temple-style sides and mains, with Pochiraju describing koli saaru as “a classical Karnataka-style chicken dish.”
What’s on the tasting menu
Per Pochys, the kitchen leans hard on housemade spice blends and imported seeraga samba rice, and the tasting menu is where a few of those region-specific recipes, including chicken chops and that koli saaru, really get to strut. The broader a la carte menu still covers a lot of ground — dosas, idlis, Chicken 65, biryanis and stuffed kathi rolls all stick around — so the tasting option sits alongside a full South Indian spread rather than replacing it. Those details line up with Pochiraju’s focus on whole spices and scratch cooking instead of preground mixes.
Hours, soft opening and future plans
Bangalore Blues has been operating in soft-opening mode since January, and the new tasting menu is part of a slow, deliberate build-out of its evening service, according to Eater SF. Eater also reports current hours as 11 a.m.–3 p.m. and 4 p.m.–9 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. The team is looking ahead to a full bar, expanded brunch teas and slow-cooked tandoor dishes once permits and equipment clear, so this is very much a work in progress in the best way.
Where it sits on Solano
Set at 1889 Solano Avenue near The Alameda, Bangalore Blues lands on a busy stretch that local roundups say has seen several new openings this year. Berkeley Eats tracked Pochys’ move into a full sit-down concept here, and Hoodline’s earlier coverage of Pochys helps sketch out the owner’s original fast-casual footprint and the restaurant’s neighborhood roots.
The tasting menu clocks in at $80 per person, and with a relatively small dining room, reservations are a smart call. Bookings run through the restaurant’s site at Pochys. Expect Bangalore Blues to keep tinkering with the lineup as the kitchen ramps up service and that long-promised full bar comes online later this year.
