Sangeetha Desi Destination - Adyar

Chettinad Treat

If you are a veggie and u miss chettinad food, which generally consists of a lota meat, forget karaikudi! there is sangeetha adyar with veg chettinad tiffun items, made classically and served unconventionally. The place is always crowded so be ready to wait for sometime, nothing good comes for free, does it? and one more thing is chettinad items are available only after 4 30 as those are snack items. So as such the place is good for dinner than lunch, since they also have some specials for each day.

The most mouth-watering dishes here are paniyaram (salt) and the cauliflower masal dosa (the best i've ever had). There is also palpaniyaram on somedays and chettinad idli is great too. The unavailability of certain items everyday creates the whole craving i guess. I dono why, maybe they are holding supply to increase demand. But i think the demand is great already and i hope they serve everything everyday.

The ambiance is much more sophisticated than any other sangeetha in chennai. Other than the chettinad items, the usual pulao, chenna batura, ghee dosa, quick lunch, poori, you name it and its yummmmmmmy. There is an unbelievable list of desserts from icecreams to sundaes to juices to what not!

The service is quick and efficient. The price, is just right for the quality, i mean you can taste the quality literally!

Ambiance - 4/5

Food - 5/5

Service - 4/5

Price - around 250 to 300 for a couple if u wanna go for desserts

Will i ever go bak? - i go there all the time for their paniyaram!

Sangeetha Desi Destination
1st Main Road, Gandhi Nagar,
Adyar, Chennai- 600020
Phone 24426554, 24426792

I usually make a note of the special item for each day from the menu card and drop in the day i want to!

ID (Idly & Dosa) - Royapettah

Absolutely loved the ghee roast

The menu card looks like a piece of paper, don get disappointed cos there is so much to taste here! the vada being offered as starters without being ordered for is a very good way to service, tempt at the same time sell! so it was plain vada - yummy!, keera vada - crispy, masal vada - ok!

The ambiance is just breathtakingly classy and chic and u wudnt want to touch ur idli and dosa with ur hands at sucha place! but wat to do, some food are meant to be eaten the way they should be to taste good... so quitting the helpless efforts to eat idli and dosa with a spoon they offer, and without being able to resist the ghee dripping yummy crispy dosa,.. we had to jump in! give a short at everything .. idli - ok, rava idli - not bad, ghee roast - nothing less of heaven, rava roast - heaven again if u like rava, aapam, with coconut milk, stew and theeyal - all yummy... they shud definitely increase their menu soon so people don get bored of havin the same items, considering the fact that most ppl who come here are movie freaks and will return often for sure! there are some south-indian sweets available (i dono y they are called pastries!), weren't that inviting, so let go since we were already greedily stuffin ourselves with the dosas! Also there is of course the mandatory filter coffee, some juice, masala tea and buttermilk, the last one was what i tried and liked it a lot!

Oh yea they definitely need to give finger bowls! m sure they learn that soon, cos their dosa's are so drippin and greasy, and one wudnt want to run to the wash area at other corner in sucha place, fine-dining it seems to be, but fast food is what south indian is known for, a lil confusion here!

as such, the place is perfect!, yummy food, great ambiance, wonderful service and the best of all u wud think this kinda place wud charge u a 100 bux a dosa... but surprise no! everything included for 4 people came up to jus 330 and its a lot lesser than even HSB m sure! so its totally affordable! i think they have clearly seen the need for sucha place in Chennai and has hit the spot rite on!

Ambiance - 4/5

Food - 4/5

Service - 4/5

Price - You eat ur stomach full for at the max 200 per couple trust me

Will i ever go bak? - all the time from now on just for the dosas!

ID (Idly & Dosa)
Sathyam cinemas,
1st floor, 8, Thiru-vi-ka Road,
Royapettah, Chennai - 600014

Tho ambiance looks fine-dining, its absolutely typical south-indian experience! Come, eat, relish, get out!

Saravana Bhavan - K.K. Nagar

Can close my eyes and say, its HSB!

I guess this is the first of the saravana bhavans in the city or atleast one of the first ones that started cos the class is apparent in it! The downstairs as in any south indian restaurant is non ac and u can have juices and fast food items here. I've tried the cakes and the juices, perfect quality as expected. They even have sweets and a bakery here. The a/c dining in the first floor is very nice with a class of service and ambiance.

The food is yummy, no doubts its HSB! My favorites are paneer biryani (must try), poori, the 5-idlis (so soft, cant find it newhere else except hsb), chilli parata, ofcourse the fresh juices and rose milk. The icecreams and esp the kulfi is great here! To experience class in south indian food, vast menu and food so tasty u ll wanna try it all, anytime hsb in the best and this is one of the best ambiances u can find in all the hsb's in the city!

i dono y ratna cafe and murugan idli shop are even compared! They are so dirty and horrible in service, the taste of food depends on ur luck, no consistency that is! Mayb namma veedu vasanth bhavan or sangeetha can come close in quality, but havent seen any place beat HSB yet...

Ambiance - 4/5

Food - 5/5

Service 4/5

Price - you can snack at 100 to 150 per couple or hog urself away to close to 500 bucks...

Will i ever go back? - Yea to all the branches, always!

Saravana Bhavan
B-55, Ashok Pillar Road,
K.K. Nagar, Chennai - 600078
Phone 24745577

HSB sweeps the number one spot in south-indian food anytime without doubts....

Any time, GRT Grand - T.Nagar

Duh! Heartbreaker!!
Bad luck befalls good restaurants sometimes; maybe it’s just a day. I wish I could write a review with such generosity, since I had a soft corner for this place. The GRT Grand Days’ lobby buffet ‘Anytime’ has been my ‘Alltime’ favorite. Since 2002 I guess, I’ve been there ‘n’ number of times and it has never let me down. Now what better ‘tried and tasted’ place to recommend to fellow burrpers from all around the country for a meet? How frustrating it is, when you are let down so badly and it involves the ‘food honor’ of the city by itself!

Burrpers from every metro in India graced the GRT Grand Days that weekend, and it was all fun except for the food at ‘Anytime’! I mean, what’s got into these guys? It was probably the best buffet in terms of quality and quantity even until a few months back that I visited. The crowd is still the same as it used to be, lot of family esp. on the weekends. The ambiance is typical, nothing innovative. There is an attempt to sophistication though. The food used to cover up for any other inadequacies here. But it seems the other way now. The service is quick and we were actually offered complimentary ice cream brought right to our room, for providing melted milkshaky ice cream in the buffet.

To be precise, there is nothing left to remember, nothing finger licking.. oh well nothing edible! No wait, I need better words! The starters were ok, weird names and weird tastes, the main course was nothing weird for a change, it was absofreakinlutely boring set of side dishes, some paneer, some okra, some brinjal, some gourd. The gobi pulao had not a single piece of gobi in it and I guess no salt in it either! What I found funny was the ‘Grand’ rice, tasted like a road-side brinji or whatever. Whoever decided to give that rice the signature name! The desserts were not bad, but definitely not the variety there used to be. Only good mention I can give here, is that the Bengali sweets viz. rasagolla, rasamalai, gulab jamun, etc. were awesome.

I didn’t make the mistake of reviewing this place few months back! Shame on you guys, even if it’s for a day, even if you’ve not satisfied a single customer, you are a loser already. But as a genuine patron, am still wondering where has it gone wrong? Has the chef changed? Or has he become really really old?? Whatever! Mainstreet is right next door and serves their buffet hundred bucks less than GRT. I hear the breakfast buffet is good though (continental/south Indian), no reason to be forgiven for letting me down!

Ambiance - 4/5

Food - 2.5 /5 ( i would ve given a 5 few months ago :( )

Service - 4/5

Price - 1100 and above for a couple

Will i ever go back? - hmm.. tough one! actually yes, i wud like to chek it out again hopin not to be disappointed...ahhh naaa...ahhh..mmmm...

Any time
Hotel GRT Grand,
106 Sir Thyagaraya Road,
T.Nagar, Chennai
Phone 28150500, 28150793

Adios, my old friend!

Balaji Sandwich Stall - Egmore

Egg n cheese go good together

well if u did ur schooling or college in chennai, m sure u kno this place that sells the best sandwich in the city. I would go to the extent of saying that alsa mall gains crowd jus cos ppl come to to this road side stall that now has a big menu with increased prices.. hmm who doesnt fall for fame.. n yea y not? CCD inside alsa mall shud stop sellin those namesake sandwiches atleast in this outlet.

The ambiance is ofcourse roadside, maybe in your bike/car. So make urself comfortable. The price is obviously cheap, though its increased now still its the saviour of college kids and teenagers. There is complementary cucumber with chaat masala which is sooo yummy u wud long to get somemore. The sandwiches are the tastiest in town, literally makes ur mouth water and the green chutney is the culprit i think. My fav is the egg and cheese with the chutney, but also like masala sandwich, veg and cheese, boiled egg sandwich, egg and cheese again without the chutney.

Ambiance - You talkin to me?

Food - 5/5

Service - 4/5

Price - Less than 50 bucks for a couple :D if u dare to stop there!

Will i go back there? - Well i do all the time...

Balaji Sandwich Stall
Next to Alsa mall,
149, Montieth road,
Egmore, Chennai - 600008

Oh did i mention the egg and cheese? oh man egg and cheese sandwich it is...

Kumarakom - Velachery

Keralicious and more!

Great food Less expensive! A good place for the localites of Velachery to grab a quick and easy dinner while shopping in the so-many new outlets opened lately. Typical Kerala food. The appam is great. Try the egg fry and biryani and ofcourse the puttu and kadla curry or the stew. I prefer it with sugar tho! Yummy Yummy!

Dont miss the paratta that comes at 10 bucks, it's the softest i've known and i can eat a dozen of it! The place is definitely a delight for the fish eaters tho it does serve a variety to the veg/eggaterian tongues! Best thing about the restaurant is that it doesn't just serve kerala food but stuff like rotis, naan and the north indian gravies are awesome. I usually prefer only the specialities in a place but this one is an exception! I make sure to order some north indian items on the menu too. My only regret is that avial and some other mallu specialities are available only with the meal in lunch time and i mostly get to go only for dinner!

Service is very friendly and ambiance is pleasant too. The waiters do offer music to the ears quite literally. But some people say that its a CD player thats doin the work actually. I am not really sure about this. As for me, everything is yummy here and i jus love to hog and don really care bout nething else!

Ambiance - 4/5

Food - 4/5

Service - 4/5

Price - 200 to 300 for a couple for yummy tummy-filling food!

Kumarakom
Velachery Tambaram Road,
Vijayanagar Extn,
Velachery, Chennai - 600042
Phone 42022277, 43036570,
9840738200, 9840081852

I always have an ice-cream and walk out with a smile whenever i dine here :)

Subway - Nungambakkam

Lipsmacking lettuce!

I know what you are thinking! How can something as boring as lettuce be lipsmacking? trust me i have never had such fresh crunchy yummy lettuce (dripping is an awesome honeymustard/sweet onion sauce) in my life. The salad at the subway in nungambakkam is to die for, though am not a big fan of their 'Indianised' version of subs which is nothing like the actual ones. You find it funny to see words like 'tikka' in an American fast food.

They let you add any sub pattie to your salad which adds to the taste. Btw, the sweet onion sauce is fat-free which is so not believable cos it tastes really good. I have always wondered why health food never taste good and tasty food never seem healthy. Guess I found a solution, this place is hidden somewhere in wallace street (road parallel to Khader Nawaz Khan road) in Nungambakkam but its worth searching for and payin 145 bucks for a veggie salad if not everyday atleast once in a while. Of course, the ice tea at subway is the best u can get in India. It also gives a good mood uplift cos of its ambiance which seems fresh too. I would not recommend the subway counter at the citi centre food court, it definitely is not so impressive.

Ambiance - 4.5/5

Food - 5/5

Service - 4/5

Price - 300 bucks for a couple

Will i go back - Definitely wish i cud go everyday but beware they almost charge us in dollars!

Subway
2, Crystal Lawn,
Wallace Garden 2nd street,
Nungambakkam,
Chennai - 600034
Phone : 42038800, 28111177

There is a fat-free Italian gelato counter inside ... have a healthy and yummy feast all-together!

Benjarong - Alwarpet

It IS simply WOW!

This place is just awesome in every way. Its probably the best restaurant i been to in chennai. First of all it has a different cuisine - Thai, which is getting popular only in recent times in Chennai. The ambiance is great and the service is just so wonderful you feel like a queen! The place is a bit expensive, but that comes for the premium quality food, service and ambiance i guess, its fair.

As for the food, its so yummy you can never get enough. Forgive my ignornace but the Thai names are too much to rem after so long and i don think its of any use unless i explain the ingredients in it. So lemme say in simple english, the beetle leaf thing they give in the beginning complimentary is awesome I loved it.

The pineapple fried rice is sweet but it is a must try here. I've been longing to have one like it since i had it and havent food an equal yet. I heard Lotus at The Park has awesome Thai food, shud try once. The noodles i had was a thick flat one and wasnt too impressive. The Thai red curry was perfect too. Wish I had space for some desserts cos they really sounded unique and yumm on the menu card but then i was too greedy about the food and had no choice but let go of the desserts. Went there again with a huge group of friends and had the same problem wen we reached desserts!

Ambiance - 4/5

Food - 4.5/5

Service - 4.5/5

Price - 500 for a couple (definitely more with desserts)

Will i ever go back? - Yes i will .. wen i itch for some yummy thai food (and cant afford the park)

Benjarong
146, TTK Road,
Alwarpet,
Chennai - 600018
Phone 24322640, 42110061

If you ever get to taste the desserts, do lemme kno how it is....

Parfait 3 - Velachery

One of a kind in Chennai

There are not many american breakfast places i know in Chennai, this place is a real surprise. But it is still small time in Velachery, it wud have been more successful in nungambakkam or besant nagar.

Eggs made to order (esp the sunny side up) are great and reminds you of the breakfast places like iHop or Waffle house in the US. But the ambiance is ofcourse not so, its a typical coffee day kinda indian atmosphere. Service is great. They got bakery stuff and pastries in addition. The variety of icecreams can be increased. The mango smoothie is a must try. The burger and sandwiches are good too. No complains. The best part is they do door delivery u jus need to give em a call! The rates are reasonable.

Ambiance - 4/5

Food - 4/5

Service - 4/5

Price - 300 to 350 per couple (if u order drinks too, psst non-alcoholic!)

Will i go back there? - All the time.. i cant think of another choice wen i miss Waffle House!

Parfait 3
#80B, CSI Church Gate Road,
Annai Indira Nagar,
Velachery, Chennai - 600042
Phone - 22432022

If you are a sucker for eggs, just like me .. u sure shud join!

Olive Garden Vegetarian Eat Out - R. A. Puram

Awesome is the word

Where? It is behind cafe carnival in RA puram.

Find your way through the the small street near by. It is in the 2nd floor of the first building on the left . It is a weird place to get into, you almost want to come back when you are climbing the stairs, but trust me and go ahead its worth it!

When? Go for the sunday lunch buffet around 1 o'clock to get the best dishes they serve in the restaurant.

The ambiance is awesome and very family friendly. The food tastes great, even on any other day of the week but buffet is available only on sunday.

What? One of the very few restaurants in Chennai that does justice to the word 'muticuisine' in my opinion. Whatever you choose is sure to be nice.

My recommendation is the 'quesadillas' (which is available in the lunch buffet) i did not really expect it to be so yumm in a place where Indian food is the main attraction. It is much better than the ones they serve in the so-called authentic Mexican restaurants in the city.

How much? The buffet is actually unbelievably inexpensive. (somewhere around 100 bucks!)

You will want to go back over and over again when you receive your check. The sweet and icecream that comes to your table in the end delights you like you were a 5-year old! Probably the 'a la carte' is a bit expensive but the mouth watering taste overshadows the damages to your wallet.

Who? The applause for the 5 stars i have given goes to the waiters/managers.

The service is too good, even when you take the buffet, you dont feel neglected cos anything you want comes to your table prepared 'hot hot'!

Overall a pleasant dining experience for vegetarians with great food to go with family on a weekend.

Ambiance - 4/5

Food - 5/5

Service - 5/5

Price - Around 400/500 for a couple (Sunday-buffet costs just around 100 bucks/plate!)

Will i go again? - Yes and i will take you too!

Olive Garden Vegetarian Eat Out (Formerly Carnival),
68 CP Ramaswami Road,
Abhiramapuram, (off RA Puram)
Chennai - 600028
Phone 24996839, 24980349

You get to see some local celebs here sometimes :)

Rangoli - Pondy Bazaar

Death by Thali!

I definitely want to start this review quoting that this is by far the best food i have had in the city of chennai. Well no wonder it is from THE Saravana Bhavan, but surprisingly it aint authentic south indian food but tis authentic rajasthani/gujarati food!
Precaution: DO NOT EAT the entire day or if possible the day b4 too, so u have enough space to eat the entire thali. It is unbelievable that sucha high quality tasty fine dining experience at sucha restaurant is available at 170 bucks per thali which is UNLIMITED!

Coming to the food, dont hog on the starters. Beware! There is hella lota stuff comin from the kitchen served hot and yummy by the waiter with so much care as you would treat a guest at a wedding. But yes the starters are the yummiest of all especially the Veg roll and the Dhokla (irresisable)! The jal jeera with boondi is gr8 too.

The Thali has chapathi, poli, some 4 to 5 variety of side dishes like paneer butter masala, mixed dal gravy, a special sweet rajasthani gravy(which is too good). kesari, srikand, pickles(not the usual boring ones), and a lot more i cant remember now! Then comes hot hot puris, the dal kichdi and biriyani. After all this the waiter asks you if you need white rice for your curd (btw curd is too good dont miss it). Finally you get a pan too. But trust me, it is too hard to stop eating.
Nobody can not be stuffed with this meal not just because of the quantity but also the quality. Man! I can keep on writing let me stop here!

Ambiance - 4/5

Food - 5/5 (can i give a 6/5?)

Price - around 350 per couple and its freaking inexpensive considering the thali!

Service - 5/5 (feel like a princess!)

Will i go back again? - Yes i have already many times!

Rangoli
Hotel Saravana Bhavan
102, Sir Thyagaraya Toad,
Pondy Bazaar, T.Nagar,
Chennai - 600017

Go for dinner so you can have the poli and dal kichdi too!

Cedars - Kotturpuram

A Connoisseur's Treat

A sunday brunch buffet.. sounds interesting for we dont get to hear the word 'brunch' in most chennai restaurants. Supposedly the place is meant for mediterranean food, I should say it was a mix of continental, Italian, american breakfast, pizza and mediterranean varieties ofcourse.

The ambiance is like a cozy fine dining breakfast house. The food for a change was nothin Indianised. Man, whata relief from all the places who tag 'international' cuisine but Indianise it. I was almost hoping to see panneer falafel, but this chef seems to know what he's doing.

The food tastes how it should, thats bland. The made-to-order egg is great, i was suggested the Ejjah Bil Jebn omelette which is filled with feta cheese and was perfectly made as in any American restaurant. The mushroom fritters were amazing, i ate it tho i hate mushroom. The pasta was so soft and creamy. The wheat bread with apricot jam was a good start. There was pita with hummus and a white chutney, which was the best. The nuts rice was ok, so was the Russian salad.

When you go back to your table, you've got a surprise there already, french toasts and the waffles - not bad, the pancakes - yummy maple-syrup dripping and falafel stuffed wrap - authentic. I didnt try the other salads, chocolate doughnut, croissant, etc. Too many choices though it doesnt look so at first sight. I guess you can even order pizza choosing your own toppings.

Now for the desserts, the tart, its the best i've ever had. There is chocolate mousse, icecream of the day and fruit salad. Not much of choice here. To drink there is ice tea and fruit juice. I have two complaints, one the juice glass is too small and two is the price of the buffet being 420 including tax. I guess the pricing helps attract the right crowd. Service is good too, considering its a buffet.

Ambiance - 5/5

Food- 5/5

Service - 4/5

Price - close to 1000 bucks for a couple

Will i go back again? - definitely when i got loads of cash to blow & deserve complete satisfaction

Cedars
29, Gandhi Mandapam Road,
Kotturpuram, Chennai
Phone 66855111, 24472323

Get your basics right before you explore different cuisines to enjoy the show better!

Cholayil Sanjeevanam - Nungambakkam

For all you health conscious ppl out there...

I was just riding through Nungambakkam looking for a NEW place to have my lunch. Suddenly i c a board popping outa nowhere saying sanjeevanam HEALTH restaurant! Now wat is that? Novelty! That is one good thing bout this place. A must try atleast once for everyone. Mind you, it is a health conscious restaurant dont expect a treat for your tongue here. and all you dieters NO NO this is not a reduce-belly-fat-in-10-days way of eating, its just a balanced diet.

Ok so i enter and the ambience is kewl fine dining with a lot of 'oldies' eating in banana leaf (i love it) but the atmosphere is completely sophisticated. The lunch they suggest for you is called the Rajakeeyam meals. First they serve you with banana and coconut and some 5 variety of juices which has to be taken in the order you are told to! i guess it included a nut milk, veg clear soup, bran milk, etc. everything except the nut milk was tasty.

Only after this the banana leaf is brought and served. One row of uncooked veggies (salad, raitha, puttu, etc.), one row of semi-cooked veggies (okra, olan, theeyal, etc.) and one row of cooked veggies (avial, thogayal, kootu, etc.). Now i dono what the puttu was doing in the veggies but that was the first thing i was asked to eat. The theeyal and thogayal were awesome. Everything else was typical Kerala style almost tasted home made. Things i skipped are keerai, banana stem kari, etc. Then comes rice (red and white) with sambhar, rasam, morkozhambu and buttermilk (not curd). I couldnt handle the red rice and since i already ate the veggies alone dint have much space to eat the white rice either.

In the end you need to drink payasam and a spoon of honey. Since i am not a very 'sweet' person I decided not to have it and the waiter called the manager. For a minute i freaked out thinking he was gonna force me to have it. For foodies like us who dont like to be told what to eat, this is not the place!

Anyways, this place is really nice, the meal costs 123 bucks including tax and the service is very good. If you dont want to go for this meal, you do have other options like a normal Indian restaurant in the menu too

Ambiance - 5/5

Food - 5/5

Service - 5/5

Price - 250 to 300 for a meal for two

My favourites - Rajakeeyam meals, evening snacks, health drinks

Will i go back? - Hit the place often for lunch, wen i urge a healthy meal..

Cholayil Sanjeevanam
97, Old No.45, Nungambakkam High Road,
Nungambakkam, Chennai - 600034
Phone 64508427, 64508428

Pamper yourself with an ayurvedic massage if you please!

Bella Ciao - Kottivakkam

As Romantic .... As Italian

Probably one of the very few truly Italian restaurants in Chennai, of course has the romance that comes with every Italian restaurant attached to it. On the beach, open air, Italian food and awesome wine, everything to fall in love with. Best place to take your date and sip on some champagne. It is a bit expensive but the soothing sea breeze makes it all completely worth it!

PS: I dono if they are allowed to serve wine anymore. Try your luck tho!

Ambiance - 5/5

Food - 4/5

Service - 3/5

Price - 3/5

Will i go back? - Yes definitely for a special date.

Bella Ciao
4, Sree Krishna Enclave,
Water Land Drive, Valmiki Nagar,
New Beach, Kottivakkam,
East Coast Road, Chennai - 600041
Phone 24511130

Don forget to take your flowers!