Tiruvannamalai
Super-chilled Dreaming Tree dishes out huge portions of exquisite, health-focused veg fare, prepped with mostly organic ingredients, on a breezy thatched…
Must-see restaurants in Tamil Nadu
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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…
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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…
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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…
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Chennai (Madras)
Perfect for a five-star splash-out, the ITC's signature Northwest Frontier restaurant serves inventive, flavour-popping creations at intimate booths…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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.
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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,…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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Tiruvannamalai
This popular and relaxed cafe with floor-cushion seating, up a lane off Chengam Rd, serves wonderful croissants, cakes, baguettes, pancakes, juices,…
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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…
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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…
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Chennai (Madras)
Half Higginbotham's bookshop, half casual cafe/restaurant, this is one of the best spots in Chennai for inexpensively priced, finely prepared,…
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Ooty (Udhagamandalam)
All wood walls, intimate lighting, live piano and plush orange velvets, the Savoy's candlelit dining room dishes up fabulous contemporary continental,…
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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…
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Coonoor
Tucked between manicured gardens, this signature heritage-hotel restaurant is a lovely place for splurging on polished global cuisine and brilliant…
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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…
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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,…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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,…
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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…
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Ooty (Udhagamandalam)
This sparkly Ooty favourite is constantly crammed with locals and tourists filling up on delicious, swiftly delivered South Indian staples (dosa, vada,…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
