First Time in Ujjain? What Nobody Tells You About the Food

Most first time visitors to Ujjain plan the temple carefully and the rest of the day not at all. That works fine until about eleven in the morning, when the queue has taken an hour longer than anyone expected and nobody has thought about where to eat.

This is the part the travel blogs skip, so here it is.

The area is not what older guides describe

Since the Mahakal Lok corridor opened, the food situation around the temple has changed substantially. There are more places, they are closer together, and several sit inside the parisar itself rather than out on the main road.

That last point matters more than it sounds. Walking out of the corridor and back in during a busy period can cost you the better part of an hour once you factor in the crowd. If a guide written before the corridor tells you to head towards the main road for food, it is out of date.

What you will actually find

Street food first, because you should eat it at least once. Poha, kachori and jalebi in the mornings, samosa through the day. It is cheap, it is good, and it is genuinely part of the experience of being in this city. If you have a reliable stomach, do not skip it out of caution.

Then the sit down places, which is where most families end up at least once a day. North Indian meals and thalis, South Indian breakfast, snacks and cold drinks. Almost everything near the temple is vegetarian, which suits most people who have come for darshan.

The range is wider than visitors expect. South Indian in particular is well represented here, which surprises people who assume Madhya Pradesh means only North Indian food.

Mistakes people make on day one

Leaving the meal until after the queue

The queue is unpredictable. It can take twenty minutes or two hours depending on the day, the season and whether there is a festival. Eat something before you join it, even if it is small. Going in hungry is how the whole day slips.

Underestimating the heat

Between March and June the walk through the corridor is longer than it looks and there is not much shade in stretches. Carry water. Drink chaas or lassi rather than another cup of tea in the afternoon. Heat exhaustion on a temple day is more common than people admit.

Going out to the main road unnecessarily

If there is somewhere inside the parisar, use it. On a quiet day walking out is an inconvenience. On a festival day it is an hour of your life you do not get back, and you will be walking against the crowd in both directions.

Eating heavily before Bhasma Aarti

Eat light, sleep, and have a proper breakfast afterwards. The aarti is long and starts very early. A full stomach at four in the morning helps nobody.

Not thinking about the group

If you are travelling with grandparents or small children, the nearest place with seating beats the best reviewed place a kilometre away, every time. Optimise for the walk, not the menu.

A reliable option inside the corridor

Rasmantra by Shiva Group is inside Mahakal Lok Mandir Parisar, near Triveni Sanghralaya. Pure vegetarian, open 7:00 AM to 10:00 PM daily.

For a first visit, the two useful things are the hours and the location. You can eat before an early darshan and still have dinner in the same place after you have walked the corridor properly. The menu covers dosa, idli, medu vada, uttapam, chole bhature, rajma chawal, mini thali, papdi chaat, and the drinks worth having in summer.

It is also, straightforwardly, somewhere clean with proper seating, which on a first visit with family is most of what you are looking for.

If you only remember one thing

Decide where you are eating before you join the darshan queue, not after. Everything else about a trip to Ujjain is flexible. That part is not, particularly with children or elderly relatives along.

Come and eat with us

Rasmantra is inside Mahakal Lok Mandir Parisar, near Triveni Sanghralaya, on the corridor road. Pure vegetarian, open every day from 7:00 AM to 10:00 PM, which covers everything from the Bhasma Aarti crowd at dawn to a late dinner before your train.

Walk in whenever suits you. If you are six or more, or you are coming during a festival week, call ahead on +91 90390 20855 and we will keep a table.

See the full menu or plan your visit at rasmantra.com.