New Delhi, Aug. 26: The state government has asked commercial restaurant chain Dalma that had been running the Odisha Nivas canteen here for the past one year to move out by September 15.

The state government’s in-house catering department would manage the restaurant here, sources said.

Those who had relished the state-run canteen’s fare and Dalma’s samples swore that the food offered a greater variety of Odisha cuisine and tasted better than before.

The earlier canteen had far limited stuff on its menu, a regular said. Like any other government department, they did not pay any special attention to vary their menus or ensure that more varieties of the state’s to-die-for sweets were available at the counter, he said.

The food was very basic earlier, said a family at one of the tables. Others said that even the cuisine range was very limited. Special items could only be made to order at a day’s notice, another Odisha Nivas regular said.

But Dalma had a range of speciality items on its menu, sources said.

Pakhala (fermented watered rice), special thali with dalma, bhaja (fry), aloo chakata (mashed potatoes), saga (spinach) and three different types of fishes, prawns, crabs and at least two sweets — soft rasogollas and chena poda (Odia cheesecake) or chena gaja — were a staple on the menu.

On certain days, one could get fish swimming in mustard paste and in others a thin watery (jeera, haldi) turmeric-cumin base. Non-vegetarians could also get the elusive prawns and crabs at about 15 per cent less than the market price, all at subsidised prices.

Reacting to the notice issued to Dalma, its Bhubaneswar-based owner Deboo Patnaik said the contract was only for one year, renewable at the state’s instance every year. “So, it was as if the Damocles’ sword was hanging over our heads all the time,” he said.

He refused to comment on the justification behind the state’s decision. He, however, said business in the canteen had jumped four to five times since they had taken over.

“We increased the seating capacity, but still there was always a queue outside,” Patnaik said. “On weekends, the rush was more.”

“It was a very good experience,” he said, adding that food lovers could expect a full-fledged Dalma restaurant at Hauz Khas village of Delhi by 2013. “We can then look forward to more revenue,” he said.

The state will also lose a god amount of money by way of rent paid by Dalma for the canteen. The in-house catering department did not give a rent for the place, he said.

Most other Bhavans in Delhi are run on a professional basis. Banga Bhavan is run by Bijoli Grill. Even Assam, Andhra, Maharashtra and Gujarat Bhavans have professional catering services running the place.

Those not run on professional lines are known for their bad fare, sources said, terming the Odisha government’s decision as rather “quixotic”.