Bengaluru man finds beedi in Zomato pav bhaji order; company responds
A Bengaluru man’s pav bhaji order from Zomato came with a surprising and unwelcome addition.
A Bengaluru man got an unexpected surprise after ordering pav bhaji online. Along with the usual onions and chutneys, he found a beedi tucked among the onions. He shared the unusual experience online and tagged Zomato, prompting the food delivery platform to respond.

Man finds beedi in pav bhaji onions
The post was shared by LinkedIn user Priyam Tahabilder, who described the strange experience in his caption.
“Ordered pav bhaji from Zomato and got a beedi for free. It was fully smoked though. Not the kind of freebie I’d have wanted honestly,” he wrote.
The post showed the beedi placed among the chopped onions that came with the pav bhaji. What was presumably meant to be a routine food order had turned into an unexpected hygiene concern.
Zomato responded to the post, asking Tahabilder to share his order details so that the company could investigate the matter.
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“Hi Priyam, please DM us your order ID so we can look into this,” Zomato wrote in a comment.
Tahabilder later shared an update, saying the company had offered him a ₹100 coupon for his next order.
“Update: Zomato offered a ₹100 coupon for my next order,” he wrote.
Take a look:
Internet reacts to unusual food delivery
The discovery left social media users divided between jokes, speculation and concerns about hygiene. One person joked, “Restaurants knew your habit I guess.”
Another quipped, “Extra smoke flavour added.”
Some users, however, took a more serious view of the incident. “It’s time to eat home cooked food. Peace,” one person commented.
Another pointed out that the restaurant, rather than Zomato, would generally be responsible for packing the food. “Not the fault of Zomato, the packaging is done by restaurant itself, Zomato is only a delivery partner,” the user wrote.
One commenter imagined how the beedi may have ended up in the food, suggesting, “Maybe he was smoking a bidi while packing it and, instead of throwing the bidi somewhere else, accidentally packed it along with the food.”
Another user added to the humour, calling it a “seasonal offer” and writing, “You got the seasonal offer! Kudos.”
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One particularly amused commenter said they had initially mistaken the beedi for a personalised note, before realising it was “a highly unhygienic surprise instead.”
(Hindustantimes.com has also reached out to Zomato for a response and will update the copy once a response is received.)
(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)
ABOUT THE AUTHORVaishali KapilaVaishali Kapila is a Senior Content Producer at Hindustan Times Digital, where she covers internet culture, viral social media moments, human interest stories and workplace trends. She believes the best stories often come from ordinary experiences and everyday conversations. Through her stories, she aims to help readers understand not just what is trending, but why it matters. Vaishali has over five years of experience in digital journalism. Before joining Hindustan Times, she worked as a Sub Editor at NDTV, where she specialised in food and travel writing. Over the years, she has written and edited stories on recipes, nutrition, restaurants, destinations and travel trends, while building expertise in digital storytelling and audience-focused content. Today, her work spans topics including consumer issues, lifestyle, workplace trends and stories that reflect everyday life. She enjoys finding fresh angles, speaking with people and adding context that helps readers make sense of a story.Read More

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