Ever been to one of those places where you ate so much, you had to just stop and rest a bit? Those kind of places are harder to come by now since food in general is too expensive, but at long last we found another in Chennai restaurant. You can pretty much stuff your face full of tasty Indian dishes and it’ll cost you less than Rs.400, guaranteed.
Food
Chennai has been around for a while, and it’s quite popular amongst Tamil communities. They currently only have one restaurant in Bamba, but they formerly had a larger one in Wellawatte which has since been closed down. They offer a wide range of Indian dishes most of which are priced between Rs.100 – Rs.250 with a few special dishes at Rs.300, with plenty of stuff on the plate. When it comes to affordability this place is pretty tough to beat.
Spicy Ghee DosaiWe ordered the Spicy Ghee dosai (Rs.240), Parotta with Korma (Rs.130), Masaala Dosai (Rs.180) and a Lassi (Rs.180). We’ve tried their regular Ghee Dosai before and we liked it, so we thought of trying the spicy one for a change. It doesn’t really look very much different from the regular ghee dosai, but it’s packed full of a spicy potato masaala, which makes it all the more filling. We also tried the regualar Masaala Dosai, which is pretty much a less spicy and oily version. All their dosai dishes come with the customary sambar and sambols (chutneys), which all taste very authentic with a great balance of seasoning and spices.
Parotta with KormaThe Parottas were also equally impressive. They were crispy, light and flaky. The korma that it came with was probably the best of the side dishes we had. It had a nice tang from the Tamarind, just the right amount spice and a very mild sweetness. The Lassi was ironically one of the more expensive items we ordered, but it too was thick and tasty, and went well with the rest of the South Indian cuisine.
Ambience & Service
The service was super fast. They asked us in which order we would like to have the dishes, so just as we finished the first one the next would be at the table. The staff was also surprisingly professional, like with uniforms and all.
Generally, when the prices are cheap you can expect the place to be somewhat dodgy, but that wasn’t the case here. We wouldn’t classify Chennai as a saivar kade. The place is quite clean, and they even have an air conditioned room upstairs.
Conclusion
If you’re really hungry and you’ve only got like 300 bucks in your pocket, then Chennai is just the place you’re looking for. They do a great take on classic South Indian vegetarian dishes, with a clean space and efficient service. Give these guys a try over the usual buth kade the next time around.
