
1 Dakshin
Authentic south Indian food with a slight Chettinad influence, this place is the perfect must go.
You can either opt for the buffet or place your order from the variety in the menu. The few favourites include rasam, chutneys, dosa, Andhra style chicken. The ambiance is wonderful with traditional Tanjore paintings and live Karnatic classical music. Here you can have your fill of south Indian delicacies, the flavours are delicate and delicious.

2. Winter palace
Beautiful baroque designed architecture with summery blue and white façade – a romantic place for all the couples who want to enjoy scrumptious food with mesmerising ambiance.
This Russian palace offers delicacies like Piroshki which is delectable little meat pies, blinis – crepe like pockets oozing with cream or ice-cream and honey. Also try their dumplings and salted fish.

3. Annalakshmi Chennai
India’s gateway to south, Chennai has several eateries which will make you visit this place again and again just for the food! One of such places is anna Lakshmi. With the intricately designed interiors to the plush seating arrangement, everything is near to perfection. The food is authentic south flavoured with variety in menu, a beautiful place for all the food lovers.

4. Madras Pavilion
One of the Chennai’s fine dining restaurants, madras pavilion has an array of western and eastern palate dishes. A royal touch to your dining experience this restaurant provides a classy and refined setting. You should visit it once if you are looking out for a royal dining indulgence.

5. Shiraz Art Cafe
The Shiraz Art Café at Neelankarai beach is Iran’s gift to Chennai. Come here to forget all your worries and leave behind the screenful world, the serene ambiance offers peace and tranquillity, you can hear the waves lapping nearby and enjoy a delightful authentic Ghaalieh Mahi Fish with coriander sauce. Go for the Sunday brunch which offers a buffet of Iran cooking.

6. Karishma Pani Poori Shop
Craving chat and don’t know where to go in Chennai? This is just the right place to give your taste buds a tangy chaat experience. The delectable paani puri flavour will make you want to eat one after the other.

7Karpagambal Mess, Mylapore
If you wish to try the authentic Chennai food try this place. You will be fascinated by the beautiful Rangoli and pictures of deities on the wall. A humble abode this place offers various south Indian delicacies, a must try is Keera Vada and the vazhai poo acai served with avial, both are lip smacking delicious. The place also has pickles and south Indian edible powders like podi that you can purchase.

8. Inseoul
A treat for all the Korean food lovers, here you get mouth-watering kimchi, bibim bap and beef bul go ki. For the prodigious who are craving for sea snail and octopus. A marvellous delight for all!

9. Ma Tint Tint
Lip Smacking Burmese street food at this joint. Go for the although noodles which feel like an explosion of flavours in your mouth with oodles of spices, cabbage, onion, tamarind in a thick sauce, also try the masala egg, Moinga (boiled noodles in a steamy fish broth), and the Chicken Lo Mein.

10. The Fruit Shop on Greams Road
A favourite joint among students is this fruit shop, one of the beloved restaurants of Chennai. If you are visiting Chennai during summers make sure to make a stop at this place, the relishing flavours will quench the summer thirst plus leave a delightful taste on your tongue. This place has fruit juice, shakes, yogurt or milk shake and selected desserts all of which are delicious. The shop uses no artificial additives, only fresh fruits.

11. Murugan Idli Shop
An age old favourite, you simply cannot miss the murugan idli shop. Initially it was started as a breakfast food joint specialising in south Indian delicacies. A must have here is idli with milagai podi which is a chilli powder served with delicious chutney and sambar. The dosas here are crisp and light.

12. Southern Spice
This one is for the elite class, for people who wish to have a royal dining experience in Chennai this is the place for you. The menu offers best of south Indian cuisine delicacies with delightful flavours in each bite. You can find dishes from Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. The ambiance is all elegance with carved pillars, mural paintings of dynastic architecture, temple art. The thali meal is a must have with countless. The coconut chutney is to die for.

13.Y Cook
This tiny restaurant near Elliott Beach with very subtle interiors. The striking food features here are red and white Puttu which are cylinders of rice and coconut sprinkled with Seeni Sambol, it’s a condiment made of caramelised onions with chilli and flakes of cured tuna fish and enjoyed with a delectable fish curry, try the soft Idiyappams also called as steamed string hoppers that go well with the Devilled Chicken. At last go for the Watlapam, a srilankan pudding.

14. Manhatten Fish Market
A food heaven for all the fish lovers, you will find all varieties from America and Europe. Be it Seafood Chowder or the Mediterranean Baked Fish. A must have is their Battered Fish and Chips served with the yummy garlic herb sauce. You might not find it to be a upper class food joint but the flavours you get here are very hard to find. Finish your meal with a Chocolate Mud Pie, it’s velvety soft with a crumbly Oreo crust and an oodles of chocolate syrup. Dig in!

15. Ciclo café
Meal for two- 1200
A place that will enchant you and make you visit a second time for sure!! The restaurant has a cycle ‘spa’…now have you heard of any such thing before! Not only this, it also has a retail zone for the niche cycling brands.
IT’s a two storey café with elegance and design. As you enter you will see a chandelier that’s made from cycle chains swinging beautifully from the ceiling, a bookcase made of cycle parts, bicycle parts are used as table legs, to encompass the plush feel there are walls of leather-seat hangings. Must try are the coffee and quiche. It’s the first restaurant in India with a cycling theme.

16.OSB Hot and Chaat
A restaurant famous for its scrumptious chaat flavors. This eatery is very famous and a must visit if you wish to have delicious chaat, be it aloo chaat, kachori, dahipuri or dahi papdi… Everything in the menu is mouth-watering and a must have.

17. Indiska Magic
You must have never heard of sizzling chaat before! Give your taste buds a sizzling experience by visiting this joint at least once, I am sure you’ll keep going once you have a mouthful. This is a new place in Chennai where they serve sizzling hot chaat, try the tawa mutter kulcha or also the sizzling pao bhaji Kulcha, Sizzling Pv Bhaji which ought to throw you into Mediterranean.

18. Thattu Vadai Settu Kadai
What an unusual name! Not only the name the food varieties here too are unusual. You will find this eatery in central Chennai. A must have here is the goli soda. The specialities include manga settu, murukku settu and norukkal.

19. Ratna Cafe, Triplicane
A landmark by itself this café is one of oldest in Chennai, started in 1948 by triloknath the family has continued the legacy. The dosas here are crispy golden roasted in ghee, oh so delicious! The sambar too is mouth-watering, a must visits if you visit Chennai!

20. Go Go Ramen
A must visits for all the Japanese food lovers. A delight for all the pork lovers! Chennai is the only city in our country to have a ramen bar. The delicacy comprises of kombu, slow-braised pork and a soft-boiled egg in a pork broth with ginger, leek and scallions. The restaurant does offer chicken and vegetable varieties too but the signature dish is the pork ramen. If you are there you must give the gua bao a try too, it is Taiwanese braised pork belly buns in a thick sweet and salty sauce. For drinks go for the cold barley tea.
