Rahul Gandhi has lunch at south Indian restaurant

Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Thursday had lunch at a popular south Indian restaurant here, surprising customers and most employees. It was business as usual at Sagar Ratna in Hotel Ashok in Chanakyapuri when Gandhi walked in and occupied a table booked for him.

He came around 2 p.m., had a rava dosa and filter coffee, said a restaurant spokesperson. Gandhi, who enjoys SPG security, is often known to visit restaurants in mostly middle class and upmarket areas in Delhi, with or without friends.

Started in 1986, Sagar Ratna now has a chain of restaurants offering authentic south Indian food. His visit to the restaurant on Thursday came on a day when the Congress badly lost the Jind Assembly by-election in Haryana but handsomely won the Ramgarh Assembly election in Rajasthan.