Chennai meals: 10 unlimited vegetarian and non-vegetarian thalis under Rs 500

(Representational photo by Vidhyatharan via Wikimedia Commons 4.0)

When visitors come to Chennai, they usually go in search of places where they can get the best idlis and dosas, but this city is also filled with quaint restaurants that dish up a fabulous ‘ellai saapaadu’ or unlimited banana leaf lunch meal. Now, you may think that these meals (thalis) are limited to just vegetarian food but they are not and that’s why one shouldn’t miss a ‘ellai saapaadu’ if you are ever in the capital of Tamil Nadu. Below is our pick of 10 restaurants where you can enjoy a hearty feast, and all below Rs 500 per person.

Anandam, Maris Hotel

In the heart of Gopalapuram, you’ll find Hotel Maris which was built in 1975. This hotel may not be the epitome of luxury, but its vegetarian restaurant, Anandam, dishes up one of the best unlimited meals in the city. The food is simple yet tasty and that’s why it has people flocking there for lunch. Priced at about Rs 160 per person, the lunch – served on a banana leaf - comprises dishes such as vegetable korma, poriyal (dry vegetable), kootu (vegetable gravy), pachadi (raita), rasam and sambhar served with chapati or poori, rice, papad, curd and sweet. Given the hotel’s proximity to The Music Academy, Jayalalithaa’s home and Kalaignar Karunanidhi’s home, many political party members and music aficionados (particularly during December music season) are seen dining here.

Menaka, Hotel Palmgrove

Another old hotel in the city that is frequented by many for its meals is Hotel Palmgrove on Kodambakkam High Road. Built in 1973, this hotel was quite popular a few decades back for conducting weddings, thanks to its beautiful lawns. Now, Menaka, the vegetarian restaurant, is the main attraction for guests, some of whom have been going there faithfully for decades. There are two meals at Menaka you can choose from namely Tamil Nadu and Andhra. The Andhra meals have Andhra items like paruppu podi (dal powder) and gongura chutney which are staples in their diet. The thalis here range from Rs 240 to Rs 400, depending on what you choose and are as tasty as they come!

Geetham Veg Restaurant

While many may think this is a new restaurant in Chennai, this is the result of rebranding five Sangeetha restaurants, which are all veg, as Geetham. The Geetham restaurant at T Nagar is buzzing with activity, especially during lunchtime when people come to feast on the thali. Their unlimited meals consist of rice, sambhar, rasam, kootu or avial (vegetable gravy), poriyal, special kozhambu (another gravy for rice), vadagam (papad), pickle, buttermilk and curd. The lunch meal costs about Rs 180 per person and is quite filling to say the least.

Thaligai

If you are around Mylapore, then you must head to Thaligai which was started by well-known caterer Pattappa in 2016. Thaligai serves up authentic traditional dishes which are made in homes and, yes, it is also pure veg. The unlimited meal here is called ‘Kalyana Thaligai’ (Wedding Feast) - priced at Rs 450, it has some 25 items. The banana leaf meal has several sweet dishes in addition to the regular fare and a special drink. Make sure you skip breakfast if you are planning on this meal. They also serve several other thalis, like the Navratana thali and Alankara thali, which have fewer items and are priced lower as well.

Mathysa

The location may not be as fancy as you might wish, but Mathsya has remained a favourite for many over the years. The Udupi restaurant at Egmore was started in the pre-Independence days and it is the food that continues to do the talking here. Mathsya also has branches now in Adyar and T Nagar. The thalis here include several types – one being an Udupi thali and another being a Tamil Nadu one – and they are priced between Rs 200 and Rs 400. The Udupi thali has some Karnataka favourites obviously like rasam vada, Mandalore bonda, neer dosa and keerai dosa (spinach dosa).

Anjappar

Tamil Nadu is not all about veg food obviously and the type of non-veg food varies across the state. Chettinad food is very popular among the people here, and Anjappar serves up some pretty good Chettinad food and seafood as well. There are many outlets of this restaurant, but the best one to go to would be the one in Mylapore. The non-veg meals that most people like include Chettinad chicken / mutton soup, chappati, plain biryani, Chicken 65, Chettinad chicken, mutton gravy, fish gravy, veg kootu, keerai kootu, poriyal, rasam, curd and rice. The other non-veg meal that you can opt for includes chappati, chicken curry, mutton gravy, fish gravy, rasam, veg kootu, keerai kootu, poriyal, curd and rice. What people often do here is order a basic non-veg thali and order extra non-veg dishes on the side. Typical cost for two people would be between Rs 600 and Rs 800.

Dried fish (Representational photo by Kikomori 012 via Wikimedia Commons 4.0)

Junior Kuppana

This restaurant chain originated in Erode, Tamil Nadu, in 1960, and has food from the Kongu Nadu belt which is flavoured with spices and makes use of millets and other local ingredients. The Junior Kuppana in Nungambakkam, as at its other outlets, offers fish meals, chicken meals and mutton meals. Like the names suggest, the dishes for every meal consist only of that particular meat but again you can order extra dishes off the menu. The thalis here range between Rs 250 and Rs 400.

New Pattukottai Kamatchi Mess

This place is more recent on the restaurant scene in Chennai but has captured the locals’ hearts through their stomach. Pattukottai is a town in Tamil Nadu and the restaurant came to Chennai in 2001 with an aim to bring those dishes and flavours to the city. Located in T Nagar, this place has a variety of non-veg meals on offer, from prawn sukka meals to pepper chicken meals, fish fry meals, mutton fry meals, Pattukottai naatu kozhi meals (country chicken), crab fry meals and more. The meals start at Rs 250 and go up to around Rs 350 based on your choice of seafood or meat.

Madurai Kumar Mess

Madurai Kumar Mess in Ashok Nagar does brisk business. The Chettinad food restaurant came to Chennai in 2015 from Madurai, and now there are several branches in the city. Again, people who head to lunch here usually order a non-veg meal and non-veg side dishes separately. The basic non-veg meal here includes rice, omelette, kootu, poryal, mutton elumbo kozhambu (mutton bone gravy), chicken kozhambu (chicken gravy), fish kuzhambu (fish gravy), rasam, buttermilk and pickle. The side dishes you can order include a variety of meats like dove and quail, and seafood like crab, prawns and fish. The side dishes cost about Rs 250 each while the thali is priced lower.

Nair Mess

Nair Mess serves up food from Kerala and is located in the busy area of Triplicane near the Chepauk cricket stadium. Some might call it a hole-in-the-wall type of place, but the food here is what attracts everyone. The fish or mutton meals cost about Rs 90 but again you need to order side dishes to get a true taste of the entire menu. The most popular dishes here are the prawn masala, brain fry, mutton fry, vanjaram fry, mutton sukka and so on. Next time you are in Chennai, do check it out.

*Please note that prices may have been revised