Ratna Café was established in 1948 by Jaggilal Gupta, a former resident of Mathura who moved to Chennai. Steeped in nostalgia, the franchise is known for its sambar that is drunk by the litre.
Lokesh, who is now the fourth generation running Ratna Café, is an architect by qualification who studied architecture in the United Kingdom. He says, “After I completed my course, I came back to Chennai on 26 July 2012 and had an interview lined up on 27 July 2012. Believe me, I never attended that interview and instead went to work with my father and there was really no looking back after that.”
Asked why it took him so long to join the business, he shares, “Honestly, growing up, I never enjoyed or relished South Indian food. Perhaps that was also because I was exposed to so much of it. Even when we had family visiting us, they would insist on eating at the restaurant. While at the back of my mind I knew I would join the business, I wasn’t keen on getting a degree in hotel management ever. That was never a part of my thought process.”
But Ratna Café evokes a very strong sentiment in its customers. Abdul Rahim Basha, a customer who has been a patron for the last 50 years, says that every morning at 6.30 am he is the first to enter the restaurant to get his daily fix of sambar and idli.
“If you have ever ordered a plate of idli at a restaurant, chances are it is accompanied with two-three small bowls containing sambar and two or three types of chutney. Here the sambar is poured over the idli and is unlimited,” Lokesh reiterates.

“We have been trying to maintain the same taste and quality, because that is what people keep coming back for. For years now we have been following the same ratio of onion, tomato, spices and the dal that goes into making the sambar.”