[oss]

Originally Posted by Proxima

Guys, were planning for a team lunch this week. Would like it to be a buffet, @ around 300Rs per head.

Our office is in DLF, Manapakkam (nr Porur) and we dont want to travel too far. Does any one have any good recommendations?

Checkers at Guindy should be within your budget. Don't forget to push for the 15% discount.

[Nikhilb2008]

My experiences:

Sangeetha (Adyar) - Had been there about one and a half years back and again on Friday last week. North Indian food is pretty decent given that this is a hardcore South Indian restaurant. Curd Rice however is horrible!! I mean, they give HOT curd rice! Yuck!

Benjarong in Mylapore is a lovelty Thai restaurant. I've eaten here only once and thank to Mr. Polio Station Wagon, really enjoyed the meal. Expensive but Mr. Polio ordered the good stuff and till date, this is the most enjoyable Thai meal I've had!

Lydies - This is on ECR after the toll booth.

Food is so-so. Macaroni and Cheese was FANTASTIC! However, the crumb fried chicken with green mayo was just crumb fried chicken with chutney! Couldnt taste any mayo in it. The beef burger was good. They dont give you a bun. Just two really fat patties with some mayo, coleslaw. But the beef patty is cooked very well. Veg bruger was also similar and very tasty.

However, the ONLY thing to eat here is the Tiramisu! It is by far the best tiramisu EVER! It is so creamy and rich and tasty, it will blow your mind! I've driven to Madras and back in a single DAY only to have lunch in Lydies and have their Tiramisu. The pancakes with chocolate sauce is also EXCELLENT! More than pancakes, it is actually a crepe. They serve it with LOTS of chocolate sauce and a scoop of ice cream and a few slices of banana. Really excellent.

In my opinion, the so called meal is actually a side show to the desserts. You should have 2 or 3 helpings of dessert. Start with a Belgian chocolae velvet pot (good, but not as good as the other two). Then have a pancake with chocolate sauce and finish off with a tiramisu! Oh man! This will blow your mind!

The people who own the place are really sweet as well. I met with the owner Akbar once. NBext time I went, I met Lydie herself. She is a Belgian lady settled in Madras. I gave them my honest opinion regarding the "chutney" and also told them that everything pales in comparison to the tiramisu.

Anyway, moving on from Lydies, I go to Pondicherry.

Choco La - Actually, I've just used so many superlatives the previous paragraph, this would look silly. I'll come back to Choco La in a while.

La Terasse - A place on beach road but at the end of the road. Not towards the ECR side of Beach road, but the other side. Good wood fired oven pizzas. Really thin base and very well made. However, this weekend it was a bit disappointing. somehow the pizzas tasted flat. The last time I had gone there, they had a certain zing and it was wonderful and we went back twice! but this time, once was enough. However, I would still recommend it.

Le Club -- Very crowded. Mostly with French people. So, I would say it's a good sign. They seem to have a good collection of booze as well but I cant comment on that as I dont drink. The food is extremely good. We went twice to this place. I had the Caesar's Salad. It was awesome except for the fact that they had added boiled egg which I hate! I just removed the egg pieces and enjoyed it! Had the Masala Calamari which was great again. Then had the beef steak with blu cheese sauce. And the french fried they give is superb! It's crisp without bring burnt. I have rarely had such well made fries. We also tried the Veg Lasagne which was really awesome! Usually it can have too mucgh of tomato or too less of it or too much of cheese. This one was perfect.

The second time I went, I had the Chicken Salad. This time I asked them to make it without egg. Then I had the Calamari Fritters which they serve with thousand island dressing. Extremely good. I then tried the Steak with bearnaise sauce. It was good. But I prefer the Blu cheese sauce. Also, the second steak was a little undercooked. I had requested both steaks to be medium, but the one I got the second time was a little raw and I didnt enjoy it as much.

Madam Shanthe's --- Service is lousy They have only two waiters and once they serve you, they disappear. So, if you want some extra mayo or tartare sauce, you have to get up, and go hunting for them. The fish fingers I ordered were decent but nothing great. The steak I had was a pepper steak but the pepper sauce could have been better. We were running out of options to go for dinner as Rendezvous was closed for the summer. If you have better options, avoid this place but it isnt too bad. And this place is extremely well priced. One of the cheapest places in Pondi.

Now, coming to Choco La - It is just an awesome place. As the name says, they deal ONLY with chocolates. The best thing here is the 54 deg C chocolate. This is what they call Hot Chocolate. They serve it in a cup and instead of sugar cubes give you cubes of chocolate filled with chocolate flakes. You can also add a chocolate spoon for an extra 20/- if you want. As you add the chocolate cubes in your drink, it starts to melt. You can stir it using the chocolate spoon which also starts to melt!

A few minutes later, everything is melted and you taste the hot chocolate! It is just mindblowing. I've never had such fantastic drinking chocolate anywhere in India. Not even a fancy 5 star hotel.

Random Thoughts: Choco - La

[bottle]

^ you didnt mention moonrakers ?

[Nikhilb2008]

Forgot! Why dont you write a review on moonrakers for a change?

[Thad E Ginathom]

I'll write a review on moonrakers... vastly over-rated! And too full of young guys drinking and smoking. of course, if that is what you want, then go there!

The place opposite, although owned by the same family has better ambience and food

[ikoneer]

nikhil, a nice foodalogue, just like your delhi food experience.
you have a good taste in writing about tastes.

[bottle]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

I'll write a review on moonrakers... vastly over-rated! And too full of young guys drinking and smoking. of course, if that is what you want, then go there!

The place opposite, although owned by the same family has better ambience and food

It depends, go on a weekday, Monday or so and there is no crowd and you get 5 star service! chocolate pancakes too are recommended.

[Adventourer]

This is one place that's so hard to find and even harder to find it open. I went there hoping to sink my eager teeth onto some juicy momos but it was closed. The second time I passed by Loyola, I tried my luck and got very lucky.

I had some chicken momos and Thupka. They were generous with their portions and it was extremely light on my wallet. I think I got some change back after I gave them a hundred bucks.

If I could rate them I would give them five stars.

I reached that place by taking a left after the nelson manickam road flyover (the one that comes after Loyola) and then searching for a narrow opening to the right. I think they have a sign board there which says Kailash Kitchen

[silversteed]

Here's my contribution to the list:

The Original Delhi Chat
location: Kottivakkom Kuppam Road, about 50m away from the IOB ATM on New Beach Road at Thiruvanmiyur RTO area.
USP: North Indian delicacies at very economical rates (Roti, biryani, dal, Aloo-jeera masala, etc). You get a chicken biryani for 48bucks, parathas for twenty, etc
Quality: Worth the money. But don't expect anything hi-fi. Befriend the waiters, and you can get an honest opinion about the food served that day
My recommendation: Good place to visit regularly

Alreef
location: Along the ECR, at Kottivakkam, after Europa discount store.
USP: Grilled chicken, Arabic food
Quality: Really good. Grilled chicken is too good. So is the shawarma.
My recommendation: Visit once a week
If you go on a weekend, it might be a bit difficult to find seats, and you'd end up waiting for a while.

Murugans Idli Shop, T-Nagar
I've been to this one, and you can go on eating idlis until you empty your pocket. Too good. Delicious sambar and chutneys.

Mainland China
A place that very closely resembles authentic Chinese food. Ambience might not be too inviting, but service is impressive.

Rain Forest
Ambience is good. Service is normally good. But some there are some waiters who get too excited about clearing the plates and giving the bill. And the best part is, they ask you for your feedback which will be evaluated instantaneously - if they don't get "Excellent", the in-charge would come to your table along with the waiter who served your order to find out what went wrong

Adyar Ananda Bhavan's NV outlet in TIDEL Park
Used to be good when they opened.
But recently (~3months back) the quality has deteriorated and prices increased.

Hotel Coronet, Adyar
No justification for the high prices for the quality and quantity of food served.

Hotel City Gate, LB Road, Thiruvanmiyur
I used to endorse this place because they would serve nice Idiyappam. Whenever i went there alone, i got a decent service. Except once, when a waiter demanded a "TIP".
And once i took my roomie there, and he got a dead spider from the curry (don't remember which one)

Kokum, MRC Nagar, RA Puram
A bit expensive, but quality is good. Once I tasted some Goan food. I liked it. THat's the first time I'm tasting Goan food, so need not be authentic Goan.

Tharavad, Breezy Beach Road, Tiruvanmiyur (it faces Tiruvanmiyur beach, before Bella Ciao)
Quality is good. Mallu food basically. Costly. They claim that it's run by the same people who were running Tharavad Besantnagar (which is now rechristened to Nandanam).

Loyola fast food, Nelson Manickam Road
Average quality, but VFM. Avoid drinking water, instead order any bottled drinks. The steel tumblers aren't clean, and sometimes I see a film of oil floating over the water. Parking is a big problem. Don't be a regular there, you might end up with a bad tummy.

Hot Chilly
Located some 200m offset from Nelson Manickam Road, on a cut-road between the Pantaloons shop and Spencer's Daily.
Economical. Tandoori is good. Chicken dishes are good. Rice and noodles to be avoided - they're bland.

Sabari Classic, Navalur
The buffet is too good. Moderately priced. Good for a monthly once or twice visit. Especially on those days when there's an acid leak inside your tummy.

Abiruchi Andhra Mess, LB Road, Thiruvanmiyur
Try the Andhra meals plus Gongura chicken. Delicious. I sometimes visit there - mostly during weekends when the day begins at 12 o'clock... Great place to go when you're real hungry AND you're ready to brave the queue in front of the palce.

<Forgot the name> It's in T-Nagar, you can see Hyderabadi Biryani written in big bold letters on the outside. It's on the first floor, the building is located at the corner, towards the beginning of the flyover on South Usman road, near the Woodland shop. Please don't go there. Everything is bad - food, ambience, service.

Hotel Crescent, Sterling road
Don't confuse this with Hotel Crescent Sterling.
This one is near to the bus-stop on Sterling road. You get good fish fry, and basic meals. Economical.

Hotel Crescent Sterling
This one is the place to go on Sundays and Tuesdays - nice "sadya". The traditional Kerala food, served on plantain leaf with all curries, payasam, pickle, ghee, etc. The only thing that doesn't look good is the way the dishes are served on the leaf - the people who serve food do not know where to put each of the dishes. Except for 2-3 waiters, rest are from the North East.

Kerala Hut, near Royapettah Hospital.
Nice Kerala food. Space is a premium. Be prepared to wait in the queue during weekends, for lunch.

[DRIV3R]

Dosa Calling, Adyar - There are 2 more branches elsewhere in Chennai too.

Pretty decent place with many dosa, idli iterations.

Sangeetha, Adyar - Authentic South Indian food. Pretty fast turnaround time. A busy place at any time of the day.

Hotel Saravana Bhavan, Royapettah / 1000 lights - Nice buffet lunch for 275 bucks. Worth it. Tiffin items a bit costly for the quantity provided.

[aargee]

Originally Posted by bblost

If you like continental food check out Little Italy in Nungambakkam.
Meal for two will easily cross a thousand rupees but they are worth it.
The pasta is excellent.

+1; Pastas are amazing. I'd been there once for lunch sometimes during Sep last year & they made amazing Italian food.

I'd been once to Palimer restaurant at Egmore which is bang opposite to Sparky's (Spur tank road). I liked the ambience very much with lots of good sayings all over the walls. The food was good enough though we only had Idly & Vadai.

I love the food from iHop in US. Where in Chennai can I get a similar food? All I need is 3 pancakes with maple syrup, hash browns, coffee & scrambled eggs; I'm craving for this menu!!!

[anekho]

Originally Posted by aargee

I love the food from iHop in US. Where in Chennai can I get a similar food? All I need is 3 pancakes with maple syrup, hash browns, coffee & scrambled eggs; I'm craving for this menu!!!

Mmmm... me too! Perfect sunday brunch!

If anyone know's of such a place, post up please!

[Pr_007]

Guys, I don't know if this eat-out has been posted in the previous pages, but have you experienced Barbecue Nation in T.Nagar, the Left next to Joy Alukkas.

Great place for barbecues. It cost around 450/- per head (I think, been there a few months ago) but the barbecues are unlimited. They keep serving you till you say "Stop".

Worth the money.

[kiku007]

Been to Crimson Chakra (Opp to Gandhi Nagar Club) thrice this week! Fantastic food, service and ambience.

Expensive but worth every penny.

BTW Anjappar is in my DO NOT VISIT list for a long time now.

[Rahulkool]

@Nikhil2008, nice review mate, never been to Choco La will try to go this weekend

went to influence few days back in vepery, very nice place with good vegetarian food. If you go there don't try Indian, its decent but not as good. Italian food is really nice, penne pasta with red sauce is good and also few starters are good.

Sparky's - burgers are really nice, but didn't like Pasta and Lasagna.
Sparky's Diner - Never Trust A Skinny Chef

Little italy -- great pizzas.

so far remember these .....