South Indian cuisine is one of the most widely consumed cuisines in the country. This cuisine is sold in every part of our country but is actually not in its original form; rather, it is customised to the palate of the local consumer. So used are we to this customisation that we seldom realise that what we eat is probably not the authentic flavor of the Dravidian culture.
Welcome to 22nd Parallel (22.17°)! A brainchild of Deepti, whose love for cooking, eating and feeding south Indian food, has led to the inception of 22nd Parallel (22.17°). Without any formal education in hotel management or a background in running restaurants, she took it upon herself to give the "friendly south Indian neighborhood" experience to all those who appreciate the taste of exclusive south Indian food. Her management background and her experience of having worked with big corporate houses over the past 8 years gave her the capability to put a business plan in place. However, the heart of this venture was to create a spread which would give a good representation of food served down south. Under the watchful eyes of her two mothers (read mother and mother-in-law) she began the process of finalising the food that she wished to serve as part of this experience.
22nd Parallel (22.17°) is the latitude that embraces the city of Vadodara on its journey across the globe. When we embarked on our journey with a vision to provide a great south Indian dining experience, Vadodara was chosen as the first destination to set up our dream project.
- Our idea from day one has been to create, produce and serve fresh, full-flavoured food that has a beginning, middle and finish to every bite. Everything at 22nd Parallel is ruled by taste and freshness.
- The inspiration has been to get as close to “homemade” as possible. We want to be a place that serves great food at reasonable prices while laying the utmost importance on hygiene.
- We believe in having something on offer for everyone within the boundaries of authentic south Indian food.
- We constantly try and innovate to provide our customers with new preparations within the purview of all that south India has to offer from time to time to ensure that our customers get to explore more.
- We strive for efficient, sincere and caring service in line with our philosophy of the “friendly south Indian neighborhood”.
- We are excited about building strong relationships with everyone we interact with: our customers, our community and our suppliers.
- We have no inhibitions about communicating openly – with our customers and within our organisation.
- We provide a caring, genuine, free-spirited, diverse place to work.
- We want to be a place to learn and in learning we measure our growth.
The Story So Far
Established in February of 2011, we have come a long way to where we are now. From a modest 450 sq.ft (with a seating capacity of 40 patrons) establishment near the Race Course Road then, to a fully air-conditioned 1500 sq.ft (with a seating capacity of 72 patrons) casual family dining restaurant on Jetalpur Road today, 22nd Parallel (22.17°) has been successfully providing its customers with an authentic South Indian culinary experience.
Testimony to this success has been the consistent feedback that we have been receiving from our patrons who today not only have turned into loyal customers, but have been spreading the good word about their experience with 22nd Parallel (22.17°).
So have you experienced 22nd Parallel yet?