The Ultimate Shopping Guide To Chickpet Bangalore

The main Chickpet area is made up of boxed-in complexes and age-old shops that specialise in sarees. Silks are the mainstay and pretty much all through the year, you’ll see brides and their families troop in and out of these establishments. In glitzy shops like Kuberan, you can browse through stacks of Kanjivarams and other silks. If you are looking for a more curated collection, then, the iconic Rukmini Hall is the place to be. You don’t have to limit yourself to silks. All the shops sell blingy, Bollywood-style synthetics, kinds of cotton, crepes, Tussars and whatnot.

Stores & Markets To Check Out: Rukmini Hall, Kuberan, B Byrappa & Sons, Devatha Market, Navrang Fashion, Sudarshan Family Store, Rajatha Complex 

Whether you are a dedicated bookworm or someone who scurries for textbooks at the last minute, Avenue Road is the haven. At the start of the busy shopping street, you’ll find hawker after hawker displaying neat stacks of books – from the latest bestseller to college books. Looking for everyday stationery? Then, step into one of the shops at the side of the street where you can pick up notebooks and pens. You'll also find a lot of shops selling packaging materials here -- think bubble wrap, parcel containers, cake boxes, and wedding favours gift bags. 

Stores To Check Out: Ravi Fine Arts, Mahipal Arts & Stationers, Hitesh Stationery World, Art Avenue  

Looking to floor your guests with a knockout wedding invite? All roads, for you, lead to Sultanpet. Just around the corner from Chickpet, Sultanpet is home to rows of shops, each displaying invites of all kinds. From fancy wedding invitations to Chota Bheem-themed party invites – there’s little you can’t find here. 

Pro-Tip: Explore the best shops in Sultanpete here. 

Forget Commercial Street, one trip to Chickpet and you’ll know which is Bangalore’s real budget shopping paradise. In Chickpet, the crowded roads are lined with hawkers standing over large displays of earrings. Skip over to OK Road and you can scour shops selling cute clips, scrunchies, bindis and fashion jewellery.

Pro Tip: There are no particular shops to pinpoint to but you'll find lots of hawkers, and hall-in-the-wall establishments selling the wars. 

The bylanes of OK Market, which are right behind Raja Market, offer everything you need to stock up on your home supplies and kitchen cabinet. This is best for those of you on a budget and who want functional plastic and steelware. Utensils, laundry baskets, storage bins, plastic jars, and basic cutlery – they have it all!

Light up your home with budget lamps and chandeliers on BVK Iyengar Road. You can get simple wall lamps for your bedside, vibrant cascading chandeliers, geometric metal lamps, and even simple, fairy lights. 

Stores To Check Out: PK Lamps & Shades, Dilpasand Lights, Madhav Sign, SJ Lighting House, Lighting Junction, Gupta Lamps, Mayank Lightingss, Crystal Lighting, MK Lights, Ganesh Lamp, 

Pro-Tip: Don't just stick to the main BVK Iyengar Road. Explore by lanes such as AM Lane, HT Cross, Hospital Road.

For that next big blowout, head straight to OK Road. You can get sparkly streamers, peppy banners, party hats, pom poms, and candles. Want to stock up your fridge? Then, head to Gundopanth Street near the Metro for stacks of fizzy drinks and packets of crispies. You can also pick up use-and-throw cutlery here.

Gunning for gold or just want plain silver, Chickpet and Avenue Road are great places to pick up the bling. Avenue Road has plenty of shops selling traditional gold ornaments and is popular with wedding parties. For silver, you can hop over to CT Street for trinkets and even idols made with metal. If you’d like to get something polished, then, Raja Market is the place.

One of the city’s oldest, the bustling KR Market is made up of countless stalls and street vendors, hawking everything from strings of jasmine to dumbbells. The flower market is touted to be one of Asia's largest! The fresh veggies market here sells seasonal produce and many a time you’ll be directly buying from a local farmer. Plus, the prices are a quarter of what you’ll be paying at the supermarket near home.

Chickpete's food scene is a bustling one with many old-school establishments, street hawkers, and hole-in-the-wall establishments selling everything from masala dosa to juicy kebabs. Whichever part of Chickpete you are in, you will come across many hawkers and makeshift stalls selling vada pav, sandwiches, Bangalore-style chaat, and carts selling spiced guavas to fafda-kadi. There are also places that sell full-blown South Indian meals as well as biryani. Oh, and not to mention, countless sweet shops selling all your favourite mithais and snacks. 

In fact, the Thindi Beedi at Nagarathpet is one such. Every evening, the crowded streets get busier with carts, stalls, and shops opening up to dish out everything from Masala Dosas to Pav Bhaji. 

Hotel Raghavendra Prasanna: For South Indian breakfast, North Indian and South Indian meals, and sandwiches and snacks 

Srinidhi Chats: For samosa, kachori, pakoda, rasgulla, and gulab jamun.    

Harsha Refreshment: For South Indian breakfast and snacks 

Dosa Point: For dosa, idly, vada, chitranna

Hotel Vijaya Vihar: For South & North Indian meals, chaats, fresh juice 

Masala Papad Man outside Raja Market Gate 1: For masala papad and spicy papad chaat

Udupi Sri Krishna Bhavana: For South Indian food

Sri Raghavendra Prasanna Coffee Club: For South Indian Meals, coffee, and snacks 

SGS Gundu Pulav: For chicken pulav and kebabs 

SLV Bhavan: For South Indian Meals, snacks, and coffee

Annapoorna Sweets & Chats: For kachori-pakoda kadhi and kachori chaat

Jodhpur Sweets: For mithais and snacks like samosas, and kachoris

Banaras Sweet Shop: For mithais

Taj Hotel: For biryani, North Indian meals, dishes, and snacks

Kamat Hotel: For South & North Indian meals, coffee, and snacks