Modern South Indian. Chettinad and Madurai cooking on Alwarpet's oldest street, seven mornings of kaapi and six nights of dinner.
Three plates the kitchen is proud of this week. The full board is 29 dishes long.
Two mud crabs cracked and cooked in a thick pepper masala. Bring people you like.
Dosai, egg, minced mutton. Eaten hot from the tawa with a spoon of ghee on top.
Reduced milk, badam pisin, nannari syrup and a scoop of ice cream, in a tall glass.
Chef Kavitha Ramanathan grew up above her grandmother's kitchen in Karaikudi, where the Chettiar houses kept cooks who could feed two hundred at a wedding and four at a Tuesday lunch with the same care. Fourteen years in restaurant kitchens in Bengaluru and Singapore taught her the rest.
The other half of the board is Madurai. Sous chef Arun Pandian came from the Simmakkal night stalls, and his kari dosai, bun parotta and jigarthanda are on the menu exactly as he learnt them, at Alwarpet prices because we buy the good mutton.
Nothing here is fusion. It is the food of two Tamil towns, cooked with better fish and slightly less oil, and served in a room with the fans on.
Dinner only, whole table, book a day ahead.
Peaberry from Yercaud, pulled in a davara. Or a sukku coffee if you ask.
Two sweet, two savoury, with a Karaikudi kara chutney.
Anchovies from Kasimedu, fried in a black pepper and curry leaf crust.
Sun-dried turkey berry in a tamarind gravy, over ghee rice. The course people come back for.
A thin dosai, an egg, and minced mutton chukka pressed onto it. Half a piece per person; it is rich.
Seer fish in a Chettinad tamarind curry, with idiyappam to soak it up.
Tender coconut, its water reduced with jaggery and cardamom. Served cold.
Five minutes from Thirumayilai station on foot. Two-wheelers park in front; cars go to the Sri Krishna Sweets lot next door after 7 pm. Ask for Selvam at the door.
+91 44 4213 6621 · WhatsApp +91 98401 26621
| Hours | Kaapi bar | Lunch | Dinner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Closed | Closed | Closed |
| Tuesday to Friday | 7 – 11 am | 12 – 3 pm | 7 – 11 pm |
| Saturday and Sunday | 7 – 11 am | 12 – 3.30 pm | 6.30 – 11.30 pm |