A Guide: Eating out in Chennai

JMaruru · 4th February 2011, 19:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by pypkmsrikanth

You could try Rajbhavan which is opposite the Police Station on Royapettah High Road. You could try Cafe Amin & Hotel Safari on Royapettah High Road for Non Veg dishes. Offourse Ponnusamy is already listed.

Thank You. Are these places walkable from 'Saravana Bhavan'?

joe · 4th February 2011, 20:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by DWind

^^^Is it not at the same place where the Kumarakom was previously?

This is opposite hotel palm grove and owned by the same people as Kumarakom, heard its the first boutique kerala restaurant in India.

Thad E Ginathom · 4th February 2011, 23:45

first boutique kerala restaurant in India.

What on earth would a "boutique kerala restaurant" be?

Visaster · 5th February 2011, 16:52

This thread started as cheap and good food, now reviewing some expensive restaurants too.
So I will give a quick guide on the places i frequent.

Chinese-

Cascade (Besant nagar and Quality inn sabari Tnagar) - Good place, decent Chinese food, family eatery. Per head food bill be appx Rs.300

Momo (Tnagar) - Nice place, good Chinese food, total privacy on week days, family eatery. Per head appx Rs300.

Mainland china (Between Nungambakam and Loyola college) - Great place, crowded and noisy all the time, Good chinese food, family eatery. Per head appx 450

Continental/Western...

Duchees (TTK road) - Good small restaurant, Crowded all the time, Tasty food menu, Family eatery, Dirty loo (it shares it with the neighboring owned by the same management, i think Kabul something north Indian theme restaurant) Per head appx Rs400

Galloping goose berries (Greems road) - Nice place, Old time eatery, clean enough, Good food (burgers, fries,...) tasty, filling. Per head appx Rs180

Subways (all) - Awesome health food, satisfaction after the meal, bit expensive. Per head appx Rs.200 (but if you are lucky you will get your favorite, on the Sub of the day list costing hardly Rs100)

KFC (all) - good for fried chicken, new crushers & popcorn chicken, clean and well maintained. Completely unhealthy. Per head appx Rs 200.

McDonalds (all) - Good for fries and burgers. unhealthy again. Per head appx Rs 200.

TamilNadu / South style

Orusoru (near kodambakam bridge)- the best of madurai style, clean, small time, family eatery, like the pains they have taken to mention small things like usage of sunflower oil, filtered water for cooking and so many more...
Tasty food. Will beat any parota shop in chennai.
per head appx Rs.150

Karaikudi (100 ft road)- Dirtiest place, stale food,... Please stay away as much as possible. Too expensive for nothing.

Anjappar (100 ft road)- Again a dirty place, poorly light, food is ok, Expensive for nothing. Stay away.

Sangamam (Ashok nagar) - Ok food, Crowded all the time, not clean enough, expensive for what they serve, poor service.

Pandiyas (vadapalani) - Tasty food, you will like every dish, best for take away, Again a dirty place to eat in.

New Andhra mess - Crampy place, trying to be clean, Unlimited meals is the USP. Per head appx Rs 200

More reviews soon... (only if you guys and mods are interested)

joe · 5th February 2011, 20:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

first boutique kerala restaurant in India.

What on earth would a "boutique kerala restaurant" be?

I have no idea

but curious to find out if the food was good or better than what they serve at Kumarakom.

Thad E Ginathom · 5th February 2011, 23:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by joe

I have no idea

....

I have a theory: I bet it means expensive

joe · 6th February 2011, 20:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

I have a theory: I bet it means expensive

Thats a given for sure

silversteed · 6th February 2011, 22:05

Came to chennai on a brief visit. Tried Vegnation on LB Road. I tried their so called breakfast buffet. Dishes, the common a-la-carte breakfast items found in most restaurants, viz. idli, dosa, uthappam, pongal, vada et al, kept on a desk from where u help yourselves. Sambar and chutneys were bland. Cost INR 99. I didnt find it VFM.

jeevmenon · 27th February 2011, 19:48

Saturday night: The last painter leaves home at 7:30 pm. We leave home at 8 pm. A2B at Velachery - lots of parking. It would be crowded. I plan on a masala dosa, little Neha on a pav-bhaaji. We walk past the parking lot and its a chaos, cars are blocking the main traffic coming from the Vijay-Nagar round-about signal and getting in, the security of A2B is guiding the car in and there is a car trying to get out of the parking lot and into the main road. Wow! We walk in, all the tables are occupied, wifey suggests we can try the "Fine-dining" hall. I peep into it and see groups standing behind the sofas of people who are eating. Thats the worst thing! It happens only in Chennai? People are waiting for others to finish and get up so that they could go and sit. If it happens to me and I am in the seat and someone's behind me, I would just take the food on my plate and stuff it into the mouth of the person who is waiting. Eat eat eat! Damn.

As we walk out, ditching the place we see queues (rather the lack of it, groups of 10 in a bunch each pleading with the staff to take his order) on all counters. Then subsequently get that bill to take the serving, etc... We rush out as soon as we could.
We see a group of mid 20s boys and girls posing for photos outside the restaurant making their visit memorable, but inconveniencing the people walking in and out, people parking their car, etc.

We run out as soon as possible, get to Kumarakom on the opposite side. Woooosh! What calm, what peace, we get a nice table, order for fish-curry/tapioca, rice/chicken-curry, rice-steamed-cake/kadala-curry. Wow! No one behind us. It was a nice dinner!

Thad E Ginathom · 27th February 2011, 20:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by silversteed

Came to chennai on a brief visit. Tried Vegnation on LB Road. ... ... Cost INR 99. I didnt find it VFM.

"Guys, lets start a restaurant"

"Good idea. but... What food?"

"Meals, idly, dosas... that sort of stuff"

"Errr, right: Like millions of other Chennai hotels, no?"

"Wrong, not at all like them."

"So. What's different?"

"The decor!"*

I haven't been to Vegnation, so I can't criticise it, but the above is a business plan that I deeply distrust!

*Oh, and the trendy name, of course.

~

silversteed · 27th February 2011, 20:10

@jeevmenon: Never knew the Kumarakom was still open. I think they'd closed down the Velachery one for a while. That's a good place. Even on weekends, when other Kumarakom hotels (Anna Nagar, Nungambakkam, Adyar) are teeming with people, this one would have only a manageable crowd. I've never had to wait for more than 5-10 minutes compared to 30-45min at Adyar. Seating and service are better too.

@Thad: Their business plan is to capitalize on the buffet breakfast. Otherwise, there's nothing special in their menu.

jeevmenon · 27th February 2011, 20:23

@Thad: Why not? The business plan could be

- same food but freshly made.
- have good large parking lot.
- have waiting areas/reservations/call-in-reservations.
- will be served by waiters and bill will be at your table after your meal (err... no one stands behind you as you eat)
- a better ambience and decor too. Why not?

Why is a plate of idli in a 5* hotel 100 bucks? I can sit there and eat 2 idlis and spend 2 hrs and no one will rush me out.

Thad E Ginathom · 27th February 2011, 21:38

I can get most of that at Vasantha Bhavan. My wife is sometimes not 100% satisfied with the food, but she is satisfied enough to be a regular there. My only complaint is about the toilets: how can an otherwise very decent restaurant have such dreadful toilets?

(Talking about the Mylapore branch, by the way: I think some of their places are a lot more modern)

Closer to the boutique model is Mahamudra, and they do very good food in a nice environment. Service needs a big improvement, though.

rajushank84 · 27th February 2011, 23:21

@Thad: My 2-paise bit: Its not only the decor, it is actually the taste too. Ironically it has become very difficult to find tasty idlis, dosas, sambar and the like in Chennai. Forget about good thali meals. Nowadays the key attraction even in a "south indian thali" has become a chappati with a small cup of kurma

.

Nowadays in Chennai we can get authentic Andhra food, authentic Kerala food, authentic North Indian food... but where is authentic Tamil Nadu food?! Few and far between!

If you manage to offer good south indian food - decor will be an added a bonus - guys like me who are sick and tired of butter naan and paneer butter masala won't mind paying for it!

By the way, Vasantha Bhavan and Ratna Cafe are not what they used to be, IMHO. I used to frequent these to places in the late 90s and early 2000s, and their food used to be out of the world! Now it is not that great.

Thad E Ginathom · 28th February 2011, 02:02

You have over a decade more Chennai-hotel eating than I do, to which I willingly bow!

4th February 2011, 23:45	#378
Thad E Ginathom Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 11,005 Thanked: 26,443 Times	Re: A Guide: Eating out in Chennai first boutique kerala restaurant in India. What on earth would a "boutique kerala restaurant" be?
	() Thanks

5th February 2011, 16:52	#379
Visaster BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Chennai Posts: 605 Thanked: 261 Times	Re: A Guide: Eating out in Chennai This thread started as cheap and good food, now reviewing some expensive restaurants too. So I will give a quick guide on the places i frequent. Chinese- Cascade (Besant nagar and Quality inn sabari Tnagar) - Good place, decent Chinese food, family eatery. Per head food bill be appx Rs.300 Momo (Tnagar) - Nice place, good Chinese food, total privacy on week days, family eatery. Per head appx Rs300. Mainland china (Between Nungambakam and Loyola college) - Great place, crowded and noisy all the time, Good chinese food, family eatery. Per head appx 450 Continental/Western... Duchees (TTK road) - Good small restaurant, Crowded all the time, Tasty food menu, Family eatery, Dirty loo (it shares it with the neighboring owned by the same management, i think Kabul something north Indian theme restaurant) Per head appx Rs400 Galloping goose berries (Greems road) - Nice place, Old time eatery, clean enough, Good food (burgers, fries,...) tasty, filling. Per head appx Rs180 Subways (all) - Awesome health food, satisfaction after the meal, bit expensive. Per head appx Rs.200 (but if you are lucky you will get your favorite, on the Sub of the day list costing hardly Rs100) KFC (all) - good for fried chicken, new crushers & popcorn chicken, clean and well maintained. Completely unhealthy. Per head appx Rs 200. McDonalds (all) - Good for fries and burgers. unhealthy again. Per head appx Rs 200. TamilNadu / South style Orusoru (near kodambakam bridge)- the best of madurai style, clean, small time, family eatery, like the pains they have taken to mention small things like usage of sunflower oil, filtered water for cooking and so many more... Tasty food. Will beat any parota shop in chennai. per head appx Rs.150 Karaikudi (100 ft road)- Dirtiest place, stale food,... Please stay away as much as possible. Too expensive for nothing. Anjappar (100 ft road)- Again a dirty place, poorly light, food is ok, Expensive for nothing. Stay away. Sangamam (Ashok nagar) - Ok food, Crowded all the time, not clean enough, expensive for what they serve, poor service. Pandiyas (vadapalani) - Tasty food, you will like every dish, best for take away, Again a dirty place to eat in. New Andhra mess - Crampy place, trying to be clean, Unlimited meals is the USP. Per head appx Rs 200 More reviews soon... (only if you guys and mods are interested) Last edited by bblost : 6th February 2011 at 22:18. Reason: Please refer forum rules. No mention of alcohol is allowed. Thanks.
	() Thanks

6th February 2011, 22:05	#383
silversteed Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Electri-City Posts: 2,336 Thanked: 2,195 Times	Re: A Guide: Eating out in Chennai Came to chennai on a brief visit. Tried Vegnation on LB Road. I tried their so called breakfast buffet. Dishes, the common a-la-carte breakfast items found in most restaurants, viz. idli, dosa, uthappam, pongal, vada et al, kept on a desk from where u help yourselves. Sambar and chutneys were bland. Cost INR 99. I didnt find it VFM.
	() Thanks

27th February 2011, 19:48	#384
jeevmenon BHPian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: TN07 Posts: 472 Thanked: 23 Times	Re: A Guide: Eating out in Chennai Saturday night: The last painter leaves home at 7:30 pm. We leave home at 8 pm. A2B at Velachery - lots of parking. It would be crowded. I plan on a masala dosa, little Neha on a pav-bhaaji. We walk past the parking lot and its a chaos, cars are blocking the main traffic coming from the Vijay-Nagar round-about signal and getting in, the security of A2B is guiding the car in and there is a car trying to get out of the parking lot and into the main road. Wow! We walk in, all the tables are occupied, wifey suggests we can try the "Fine-dining" hall. I peep into it and see groups standing behind the sofas of people who are eating. Thats the worst thing! It happens only in Chennai? People are waiting for others to finish and get up so that they could go and sit. If it happens to me and I am in the seat and someone's behind me, I would just take the food on my plate and stuff it into the mouth of the person who is waiting. Eat eat eat! Damn. As we walk out, ditching the place we see queues (rather the lack of it, groups of 10 in a bunch each pleading with the staff to take his order) on all counters. Then subsequently get that bill to take the serving, etc... We rush out as soon as we could. We see a group of mid 20s boys and girls posing for photos outside the restaurant making their visit memorable, but inconveniencing the people walking in and out, people parking their car, etc. We run out as soon as possible, get to Kumarakom on the opposite side. Woooosh! What calm, what peace, we get a nice table, order for fish-curry/tapioca, rice/chicken-curry, rice-steamed-cake/kadala-curry. Wow! No one behind us. It was a nice dinner!
	() Thanks

27th February 2011, 20:10	#386
silversteed Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Electri-City Posts: 2,336 Thanked: 2,195 Times	Re: A Guide: Eating out in Chennai @jeevmenon: Never knew the Kumarakom was still open. I think they'd closed down the Velachery one for a while. That's a good place. Even on weekends, when other Kumarakom hotels (Anna Nagar, Nungambakkam, Adyar) are teeming with people, this one would have only a manageable crowd. I've never had to wait for more than 5-10 minutes compared to 30-45min at Adyar. Seating and service are better too. @Thad: Their business plan is to capitalize on the buffet breakfast. Otherwise, there's nothing special in their menu.
	() Thanks

27th February 2011, 20:23	#387
jeevmenon BHPian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: TN07 Posts: 472 Thanked: 23 Times	Re: A Guide: Eating out in Chennai @Thad: Why not? The business plan could be - same food but freshly made. - have good large parking lot. - have waiting areas/reservations/call-in-reservations. - will be served by waiters and bill will be at your table after your meal (err... no one stands behind you as you eat) - a better ambience and decor too. Why not? Why is a plate of idli in a 5* hotel 100 bucks? I can sit there and eat 2 idlis and spend 2 hrs and no one will rush me out.
	() Thanks

27th February 2011, 21:38	#388
Thad E Ginathom Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 11,005 Thanked: 26,443 Times	Re: A Guide: Eating out in Chennai I can get most of that at Vasantha Bhavan. My wife is sometimes not 100% satisfied with the food, but she is satisfied enough to be a regular there. My only complaint is about the toilets: how can an otherwise very decent restaurant have such dreadful toilets? (Talking about the Mylapore branch, by the way: I think some of their places are a lot more modern) Closer to the boutique model is Mahamudra, and they do very good food in a nice environment. Service needs a big improvement, though.
	() Thanks

27th February 2011, 23:21	#389
rajushank84 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Chennai Posts: 1,116 Thanked: 1,098 Times View My Garage	Re: A Guide: Eating out in Chennai @Thad: My 2-paise bit: Its not only the decor, it is actually the taste too. Ironically it has become very difficult to find tasty idlis, dosas, sambar and the like in Chennai. Forget about good thali meals. Nowadays the key attraction even in a "south indian thali" has become a chappati with a small cup of kurma . Nowadays in Chennai we can get authentic Andhra food, authentic Kerala food, authentic North Indian food... but where is authentic Tamil Nadu food?! Few and far between! If you manage to offer good south indian food - decor will be an added a bonus - guys like me who are sick and tired of butter naan and paneer butter masala won't mind paying for it! By the way, Vasantha Bhavan and Ratna Cafe are not what they used to be, IMHO. I used to frequent these to places in the late 90s and early 2000s, and their food used to be out of the world! Now it is not that great. Last edited by rajushank84 : 27th February 2011 at 23:23.
	() Thanks

28th February 2011, 02:02	#390
Thad E Ginathom Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 11,005 Thanked: 26,443 Times	Re: A Guide: Eating out in Chennai You have over a decade more Chennai-hotel eating than I do, to which I willingly bow!
	() Thanks