I went to Bhubaneshwar for the temples, the way most first-time visitors do, and ended up keeping a rough mental note of meals almost by accident. By the third day, I realised the food had become as much a thread through the trip as the temple circuit itself, and the two ended up shaping each other in ways I hadn’t expected.
Day One: Settling In Near Old Town
We checked out of the hotel that day to head to the Old Town’s main attractions, as we had not yet been able to get our heads into any of them. We walked around for quite a while and ended up at a place that had neither signage nor apparent staff presence. We eventually decided to eat lunch at this small, dull, unassuming establishment based on curiosity and possibly the smell of food cooking. The first thing I ordered was an Odia thali consisting of dalma, and fish curry made with plenty of mustard seeds, served on rice and with a mix of vegetables I could not remember the name of. I would not have thought the place would be particularly memorable to me if it weren’t for the food that I ordered.
We spent the afternoon walking towards Lingaraj Temple without going in, just getting oriented, and ended the evening at a roadside stall near the market, eating dahi vada that was considerably better than it had any right to be for the price.
Day Two: Lingaraj in the Morning, Pakhala in the Afternoon
We visited the Lingaraj temple the next day early enough to allow us to avoid the busiest of the crowds, and we were there for almost two hours. It is one of the oldest and largest temples in Bhubaneswar, built partly over one thousand years ago.
By early afternoon, the heat had become the kind that makes you want to eat something cooling rather than heavy, and a local recommended pakhala, fermented rice served with curd, alongside a few simple sides. The dish we ordered was also mild, slightly sour, and made for the heat of the day. The restaurant was small and appeared to serve almost exclusively this one dish. This location gives us a reason to believe that this is very much a traditional restaurant and thus likely qualifies as an institution.
That evening, we walked through the Rajarani Temple grounds, quieter and less crowded than Lingaraj, known for its intricate carvings rather than active worship since it no longer functions as a temple in the traditional sense. Dinner afterwards was chhena poda, a baked dessert made from cottage cheese, picked up from a sweet shop that had clearly been making it the same way for a long time. It was sweeter and denser than I expected, and we ended up buying a second portion before leaving.
Day Three: The Market and an Accidental Food Trail
We hadn’t planned to spend an entire morning at the local market, but that’s roughly what happened. Walking through the vegetable and fish sections near the older part of the city turned into an unplanned hour of just watching transactions and smelling whatever was frying nearby, which eventually led us to a stall doing fresh ghuguni, a spiced chickpea preparation, served with a side of muri. We ate standing up, the way most people around us were doing, and it became one of the more memorable meals of the trip precisely because it wasn’t planned.
Lunch was at a proper restaurant for once, where we tried machha besara, a fish curry made with a mustard and ginger paste, alongside more rice than either of us could finish. Odia food, I was realising by this point, leans heavily on mustard in ways that distinguish it clearly from the cuisines of neighbouring states.
We spent the afternoon at Mukteshwar Temple, smaller and more delicately carved than Lingaraj, often described as the gem of Odisha temple architecture, and genuinely worth the slower pace it invites.
Day Four: A Final Round Before Leaving
Our last morning was light by design. A short walk back through the market for one final plate of dahi vada, and an early lunch of dalma and rice at the same unremarkable place we’d started at on day one, which felt like a fitting way to close the loop.
Why the Base Mattered
Staying centrally made this entire food trail possible without long detours, eating into temple time. Several hotels in Bhubaneshwar sit within easy reach of both the main temple circuit and the older market areas. That proximity meant we never had to choose between the two on any given day.
Looking back, the food ended up tracking the temples almost exactly, heavier meals after the bigger, more demanding visits, lighter ones after the quieter stops. I hadn’t planned it that way. Bhubaneshwar just seemed to encourage it.
