scribblings

with a huge ambitious aim i started to write about all those restaurants in the city, i have dined at. however, it stopped with just the list for a long time.

however, i m doing it in bits and pieces...

Note: some of these places dont exist anymore. some have undergone wholesale revamping. still i write what i dined.

Treat - in adyar, below the bridge. Has two outlets right next to each other. The same food from the same kitchen is served in a airconditioned restaurant and a self-served-take-away counter. food is good. reasonable prices in the restaurant and the counter is just rock-bottom priced.

Blueberry - a small icecream boutique near sangeetha and krishna sweets. amazing ice cream. decent prices. shady ambi. (closed now i suppose)

Cup 'n' Saucer - a tea pub, next to odyssey in gandhinagar. The first time i went there, we asked if they serve something to drink, they said, its only for tea and no hard drinks. i was floored. A nice spread of teas and sandwiches. perfect for going with a girlfriend and to empty your wallet. two teas and one sandwich costed 100 bucks.

Grand Sweets - arguably the best place for sweets in the city. just behind odyssey in gandhi nagar. authentic sweets made traditionally and quite rich as well. priced according to the quality and richness. If you go in the evening, you will get a free serving of something for sampling and testing. some rice or something... also, make sure u taste some of there savouries and samosas and all else they make there.

Krishna Sweets - poor cousin of grand sweets. quite popular but not as pseud as the grand sweets. decent place. their 28 buck lunch is supposedly very good.

Vasanta bhavan - on LB road, opposite to the telephone exchange. one of those restaurants of the old guard. amazing southie grub. their crispy rava dosas are my favourite. prices are quite affordable.

Adyar Anandha bhavan - on LB road as soon as u turn into it from Gandhi nagar. nice place for sweets and chat. decently priced. They have a million branches all over the city. I personally hate their curd vadas, coz they are served with all the chat masalas...

Jus Parathas - They had two outlets. one next to new college, near satyam and the other on LB road. An amazing spread of parathas and stuffed parathas with awesome sidedishes. And decent prices also. Sadly, both the outlets are closed presently.

Vishranthi - A small restaurant, near bessie beach, of the same kind as "treat" described above. nice place to eat and decent prices also. It is somewhere next to eden on the road leading to besant nagar bus stand.

Dhaba Express at Bessie beach - nice place. dint like the ambi though. food is ok.

The food court there - a host of restaurants are there. food quality and quantity and pricing depends on which counter you buy from. not advisable for thin wallets

Pupil - the burger place on bessie beach. i dint like the ambi or the burger. slaish over priced also. Cozee which existed at this place earlier, was much better.

Gangotree - arguably best chat place in the city. the main outlet is opposite to stella maris. they have other outlets also. amazing chat and really worth the money you pay. must visit place.

Mathura - One of the few restaurants in the city to have a Jain menu (for those who dont like onions and garlic in their food, this place is heaven). A surprisingly posh and fully vegetarian restaurant of the old guard. still maintains quality and standards. decent pricings also. good spread of food. Located on Mount road, near anna road post office, in the second floor of tarapore towers. I love the place for their jain menu.

Cedars - this mediterranian restaurant in kotturpuram serves amazing food. their pizzas are thinner than dosas. the food is good. the variety is nice also. their lebonese coffee is worth a try. priced a little high. they have buffets also.

Cornocopia - another foreign food restaurant. its on cenatoph road. the menu is nice. the half salad they serve fills you to the brim and yet costs only 50 bucks. and what more, The bread and butter are unlimited.

Suryas - it is in alwarpet. right under the bridge. not bad either in food or pricing

Sangeethas - amazing place in gandhi nagar adyar. awesome pricing. quite crowded thanks to the quality and service. want more perks, iit students get a 7% discount on bills more than 200 bucks at the first and second floors.

Sangeethas at RA Puram - Over priced. food is not bad.

Sangeethas at Triplicane - two outlets. both are awesome.

Benjarong - thai restaurant. good food. make sure you load your wallet and take all your credit cards.

Ratna Cafe - the original triplicane ratna cafe is still known for its idli-sambar. Old men who take morning walks at marina beach, come here for their morning tiffin with huge bowls from home, coz the bowls in which they serve at the hotel are a little smaller. The waiter serves two idlis and fills the bowl with sambar, and also serves chilli powder with ghee along. you can get any number of re-fillings of the sambar. Other southie grub are amazing also. decent pricings as well. For lunch and dinner, you get a full square south indian meal served on plantain leaves, for something like 30 bucks.

The franchised new outlets arent that good though. the T Nagar and Vels outlets have the same taste, however the waiter looks at you as if you are an alien when u ask for a second filling of sambar. The prices are a little high. I am told the newer outlets are quite expensive.

Rain tree - On St. Marys road, this hotel's 'rainbow' restaurant serves a nice buffet. food is good. They also have a roof top restauant.

Bajji shop below shakes - one of the well known places for tasty and hot bajjis and bondas and samosas and cutlets. eternally crowded in the evenings. dont go here, if u are a hygiene freak.

Karpagambal mess - The most famous place in Mylapore. Right on the east mada street. Amazing southie food. a bit appreciated pricing. almost home made food served in plantain leaves.

Vasantha Mami shop - officially called some murugan caterers or something. its on a bye-lane opposite to karpagambal mess. self serving counter like place. totally home grub. rock bottom prices.

Royar's cafe - its some total home only. open only from 7 am to 9 am and 4 pm to 6 pm. closed on wednesdays. inside some smallest of the smallest of the smallest bye-lanes off some road on kutcheri road. grub is amazing. prices are very very affordable as well.

Geetha Cafe - This is a restaurant in the middle of pondy bazaar. one of the restaurants of old guard. still retains the old charm. the food is amazing. and ambi is also ok. prices are decent as well.

Madras Bhel - This is some chat bhandar off pondy bazzar. totally tam-ised chat. tastes very nice though. prices are quite ok as well.

Welcome Srinivasa - This is a restaurant in vels. slaisha some distance from ncc gate. grub is nothing great, not bad either. prices are ok also.

Chacha chachi - This is a place in vels again. 35 bucks buffet. eat anything u want. its actually a house in some bye-lane.

Sandeepa - Went here by chance. They have an outlet in G N Chetty road and another on TTK Road. very decent grub and affordable prices.

Sukh nivas - at luz signal. typical mylapore restaurant. i love their rava kichadis.

sukh sagar - its in anna nagar. opposite to the ayyappan temple. awesome food.

ramprasad - on LB Road, right at the signal where u turn for bessie. very decent food and affordable also.

Ganesh hotspot - its on the kutti road which goes into gandhi nagar at adyar signal. self serving place. coffee is awesome. other stuff are not bad either. slaisha over priced for its level.

dhaba @ mangaldeep - usual dhaba. nice grub. decent prices.

Abirami - on LB road. loved their pudina parathas. decent prices also.

Palimar - another chain of restaurants. the outlet i ate was a little spicy. otherwise a very fair place.

aiwo - its a health food place. however no foodie would feel bad. amazing ambi and the 200 bucks conveyor meal rocks. you can never expect to be thulping so much and still not feel full. what more, they serve free juice and tofu. defly a place to check out.

barista - typical coffee shop.

sandhya - its in Kilpauk Garden Road. Amazing grub though. i loved their bombay thali for lunch. it was huge in quantity yet 35 bucks. nice food.

dasprakash - very nice place. on Ponamallee High Road. Food is good. Prices are matching.

carnival - its the revolving restaurant of madras. food isnt all that great. can visit for the novelty only... (closed now i guess)

redE - they have quite a few outlets. i have been to the chetpet place. amazing food and ambi. quite high on pricing. paradise for non veggies

main land china - the chinese restaurant of Quality Inn Aruna on Sterling road. The food and ambi are excellent. i loved their starters a lot. prices are matching... they serve booze also.

raj bhavan - at sterling road signal. very decent southie place. nice good and affordable prices. (they keep changing the way they spell the name of the restaurant.)

Wangs - in Kasturba nagar. amazing food. loved the ambi more. pretty filling and worth the money. nice place.

sakthi fast foods - another place in vels. pretty low end place. food isnt bad though.

Mathsya - its in egmore. pretty famous place in that area. awesome grub. their special rice and soup, changes everyday. nice place.

i started this for a sequel for aafi's 2 part writing on filter copy. however, gave up eventually. started writing on 27th september. eventually posting on 30th november.

PS: i have no enthu to check for grammar or edit anything. just read and adjust for the problems with reading. for directions to any of these places, mail me.

some foot notes:
ambi == ambience
tam == tamil
grub == food
vels == velachery
tarams == taramani
slaisha == slightly
booze == of coz, it means alcohol
aafi == Aaftab. some alumnus of iitm
filter copy == some iitm campus publication.