Must-see restaurants in Tamil Nadu

  • Dreaming Tree

    Tiruvannamalai

    Super-chilled Dreaming Tree dishes out huge portions of exquisite, health-focused veg fare, prepped with mostly organic ingredients, on a breezy thatched…

  • Amethyst

    Chennai (Madras)

    Set in an exquisitely converted warehouse with a wraparound veranda from which tables spill out into lush gardens, Amethyst is a nostalgically posh haven…

  • Café des Arts

    Puducherry (Pondicherry)

    This bohemian cafe would look perfectly at home in Europe, but this is Pondy, so there's a cycle rickshaw in the garden. Perfectly prepared dishes range…

  • Villa Shanti

    Puducherry (Pondicherry)

    Smart candlelit tables in a palm-dotted, pillared courtyard attached to a colourful cocktail bar create a casually fancy vibe at this packed-out hotel…

  • Peshawri

    Chennai (Madras)

    Perfect for a five-star splash-out, the ITC's signature Northwest Frontier restaurant serves inventive, flavour-popping creations at intimate booths…

  • Copper Chimney

    Chennai (Madras)

    Meat-eaters will drool over the yummy North Indian tandoori dishes served in well-lit, stylishly minimalist surroundings, but the veg food here is…

  • Annalakshmi

    Chennai (Madras)

    Very fine South and North Indian vegetarian fare, plus glorious fresh juices, in a beautiful dining room decorated with carvings and paintings, inside a…

  • Villa Helena

    Puducherry (Pondicherry)

    One of Pondy's favourite culinary teams heads up this fashionable continental-Indian eatery, launched in 2016 in a dreamy, lantern-lit patio engulfed by…

  • La Belle Vie

    Coonoor

    With tables on the veranda of a beautifully revamped 19th-century bungalow, La Belle Vie has guests driving miles for its flavour-popping European-Indian…

  • Murugan Idli Shop

    Madurai

    Though it now has multiple Chennai branches, Murugan is Madurai born and bred. Here you can put the fluffy signature idli and chutneys to the test, and…

  • Hotel Astoria

    Kodaikanal (Kodai)

    This pure-veg restaurant is always packed with locals and tourists, especially at lunchtime when it serves fantastic all-you-can-eat thalis.

  • Sri Sabareesh

    Madurai

    Decked with old-Madurai photos, Sri Sabareesh is a popular pure-veg cheapie that rustles up good South Indian thalis (₹90), dosa, idli, uttapam and vada,…

  • Place to Bee

    Ooty (Udhagamandalam)

    Brush up on Nilgiri-bee facts over meals at this arty, fairy-lit restaurant tucked inside the Keystone Foundation's little Bee Museum. It might sound…

  • Double Roti

    Chennai (Madras)

    'Double roti' refers to burger buns – the semi-open kitchen at this always-packed, super-casual, industrial-chic cafe plates them up with fun, flair and…

  • Enté Keralam

    Chennai (Madras)

    A calm ambience seeps through the four orange-toned, three- to four-table rooms of this elegant Keralan restaurant. Lightly spiced pachakkari vegetable…

  • Junior Kuppanna

    Chennai (Madras)

    From an impeccably clean kitchen (which you're welcome to tour) come limitless, flavour-packed lunchtime thalis, dished up traditional-style on banana…

  • Earl's Secret

    Ooty (Udhagamandalam)

    You get a taste of everything at this elegant heritage-hotel restaurant up above Ooty. Half glassed-in conservatory, half tables scattered across Raj-era…

  • Garden All Day

    Madurai

    If you're splashing out, the panoramic all-day restaurant at Gateway Hotel, 6km southwest of central Madurai, works up an astounding array of delicious…

  • Southern Spice

    Chennai (Madras)

    Silver palm-shaped plates, wood-carved pillars, candlelit tables and flower bowls recreate a swish South Indian palace setting for some of Chennai's…

  • Shanti Café

    Tiruvannamalai

    This popular and relaxed cafe with floor-cushion seating, up a lane off Chengam Rd, serves wonderful croissants, cakes, baguettes, pancakes, juices,…

  • Chap Chay

    Chennai (Madras)

    Zingy Thai curries, delicately flavoured dim sum and outstanding, unlimited build-your-own stir-fries set the scene at this classy (but pricey) pan-Asian…

  • Le Club

    Puducherry (Pondicherry)

    The steaks (with sauces like blue cheese or Béarnaise), pizzas, pastas and crêpes are all top-class at this romantically lit garden restaurant. Tempting…

  • Writer's Cafe

    Chennai (Madras)

    Half Higginbotham's bookshop, half casual cafe/restaurant, this is one of the best spots in Chennai for inexpensively priced, finely prepared,…

  • Savoy

    Ooty (Udhagamandalam)

    All wood walls, intimate lighting, live piano and plush orange velvets, the Savoy's candlelit dining room dishes up fabulous contemporary continental,…

  • Cloud Street

    Kodaikanal (Kodai)

    Why yes, that is a real Italian-style wood-fire pizza oven. And yes, that’s hummus and falafel on the menu, along with oven-baked pasta and homemade cakes…

  • Gateway All Day

    Coonoor

    Tucked between manicured gardens, this signature heritage-hotel restaurant is a lovely place for splurging on polished global cuisine and brilliant…

  • Hotel Saravana Bhavan

    Chennai (Madras)

    Settle in for the ultimate all-veg South Indian thali at this uberpopular Chennai chain, which is also excellent for South Indian breakfasts (idlis, vadas…

  • Chamiers

    Chennai (Madras)

    This bubbly 1st-floor cafe feels a continent away from Chennai, except that Chennaiites love it too. Flowery wallpaper, printed cushions, wicker chairs,…

  • Raintree

    Chennai (Madras)

    This refined, wood-ceilinged restaurant is arguably Chennai's best place to savour the flavours of Tamil Nadu's Chettinadu region. Chettinadu cuisine is…

  • Hotel Saravana Bhavan

    Tamil Nadu

    Tamil Nadu's favourite veg chain is a welcome addition, turning out delectably simple idlis, dosas, thalis and other South Indian staples. The air-con…

  • Surguru Spot

    Puducherry (Pondicherry)

    Fill up on crispy dosa and vada, pillowy idli and spicy lunchtime thalis in a smarter-than-average AC dining hall with yellow-washed pillars, just a…

  • Tanjore Hi

    Thanjavur (Tanjore)

    On a boutique-hotel rooftop, this industrial-chic restaurant is a welcome surprise in traditional Thanjavur. The world-wandering menu is fuelled by fresh,…

  • Surguru

    Puducherry (Pondicherry)

    Simple South Indian in a plain, modern setting. Surguru is the fix for thali (lunchtime only) and dosa addicts who like their veg with good strong AC. The…

  • Adyar Ananda Bhavan

    Ooty (Udhagamandalam)

    This sparkly Ooty favourite is constantly crammed with locals and tourists filling up on delicious, swiftly delivered South Indian staples (dosa, vada,…

  • Palais de Mahé

    Puducherry (Pondicherry)

    On a magical roof terrace just back from Pondy's seafront promenade, the Palais de Mahé's superb restaurant specialises in ambitious, beautifully…

  • Bungalow on the Beach Restaurant

    Tamil Nadu

    The upscale and super cute restaurant at Tranquebar's main hotel serves excellent multicuisine dishes on the soothing sea-facing veranda or inside the…

  • Banyan Restaurant

    Madurai

    Set in the green-clad Kerala-inspired grounds of the top-end Heritage Madurai hotel, this elegant eatery does beautifully spiced pan-Indian dishes, along…

  • Maison Perumal

    Puducherry (Pondicherry)

    In a romantic teak-columned courtyard, Maison Perumal's Tamil/French restaurant turns out brilliant, daily changing market-fresh dinners full of local…

  • Ten Degrees

    Kodaikanal (Kodai)

    Honey-coloured wood and monochrome Kodai photos set the tone for tasty, elegantly prepared Indian and continental food. It does mouth-meltingly spicy…

  • Hotel Saravana Bhavan

    Chennai (Madras)

    The Thousand Lights branch of this prominent Chennai vegetarian chain is more upscale than most and does a 30-odd-item, ₹320 lunch and dinner buffet (11…

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