There are scores of restaurants in the city dishing out vegetarian fare in the land of porotta and beef fry. However, if you want to dine at a vegetarian joint that has only veggies on the menu, then your choices rapidly diminish. And if you want vegetarian food in a comfortable space, then the choice is really limited. Mainly because many places serving vegetarian only are quite utilitarian and aren’t always a pretty sight to see. These are places where you step in, eat and step out, all in minutes.
In spite of that huge drawback, MetroPlus team went on a hunt around the city to find the most interesting places serving only vegetarian food. No chicken 65 on the menu!
In addition to traditional Punjabi and Tamil eateries, the city is also home to restaurants that highlight the best of Kerala cuisine. And while most of these restaurants spoil foodies with their extensive menu, MetroPlus scoops out the best from their platter. Read on to find the best vegetarian restaurants in town that serve much more than the usual idli and dosa.
Pathayam Naturopathic Organic restaurant
‘Feel free to visit our pharmacy’. This invitation from a restaurant might baffle you, but at Pathayam ‘pharmacy’ stands for kitchen. This place is sure to be the delight of every vegan’s heart.
Sugar, milk, maida, curry masala, artificial colours and flavours are a strict no-no at the organic restaurant. Lunch hours are crowded and the menu has ordinary and special meals, biriyani, chappathi and sprout salad. Special meals might be tad heavy with cut fruits, juice [with coconut milk and honey], salad, chappathi, rice, curries, payasam and more. Breakfast has different kinds of puttu, salads and cut fruits. Ela appam, ottada and veg tapioca are served in the evenings. Rice/wheat gruel and puttu [rice, corn and wheat] are for dinner. Juices are available throughout the day. Try the wheat grass juice and mixed vegetable/fruit juice for a change. Or go for the jappi. On Sundays, you get only lunch and can even opt for a sadya.
Cost factor: Meals for two cost around Rs. 300.
Address: First floor, Navaratna hotel, near YMCA
Time: 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Contact: 9387391082
Chidambar restaurant - Punjabi Dhaba
You may have to hold your nose all the way to the restaurant that’s situated in a by lane off the now deserted Kripa Theatre road. But once you find yourself in the dhaba, which is reasonably neat and clean, you’ll be overwhelmed by the wonderful aroma of typical Punjabi dishes wafting from the kitchen on the first floor. There are parathas (only available till 6 p.m.), rotis, naan, paneer, aloo, baingan… We recommend the paratas, butter naan and the paneer dishes. The most popular item on the menu, is, however, the Punjabi thali, available throughout the day. For Rs. 125 you get a portion of scrumptious dal, subzi (usually potato), lentil curry (green peas, chana, and so on), curd, pickle, masala papad, white rice and three thick rotis (either plain or tandoor). Top off the meal with smooth and silky ‘butter lassi.’
Cost factor: Meals for two cost Rs. 250
Address: Kripa Theatre Road, next to M.G. College
Time: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Contact: 2470351
Sharma Restaurant
Nowadays, Sharma has a number of branches in and around the city. The one near Infosys (Sharma Dhaba) and the newly refurbished one at S.S. Kovil Road, Thampanoor, are our favourites. The service is quick, the food is tasty, not too spicy, it is authentic and it’s easy on the pocket too. We also love it because the paneer in the dishes such as paneer butter masala is large and chunky and not there just for namesake. The menu changes, sometimes on a daily basis, but you’ll almost always get the all-time favourites: aloo paratha, gobi paratha, tawa paneer, dal fry, aloo gobi, rajma, channa masala, masala pappad, thick and creamy lassi and the likes. Thali meal, meanwhile, is a great option for lunch.
Cost factor: Rs. 200 for two people
Address: SS Kovil Road
Time: 9.30 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Contact: 8891613677
Venkateshwara Bhavan
Although chappathi, dosas and the like feature on the restaurant’s menu, kara vadas are this joint’s speciality. With a crisp, slightly spicy outer coating, the hot-from-the-wok kara vadas are surprisingly soft inside. Made from a mixture of a variety of dals, dopi rice, green chilli, curry leaves and ginger, these golden-brown vadas make perfect snacks.
Although sambar is served if requested, the vada goes best with the smooth-textured coconut chutney that is served along with these crisp delights. We recommend breaking the vada into two, smearing some of the chutney in between and turning it into a mini-vada sandwich.
The vadas are available in the mornings and evenings.
Cost factor: Rs. 7 per karavada
Address: At the corner of West Nada Junction
Time: 6 a.m. to 1 p.m.; 3 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Contact: 8089458904
Mani Mess
A 36-year-old establishment, this tiny joint is known for its wholesome, vegetarian meals. It is perhaps one of the few joints in the city that serves piping hot parippu vada at the start of the meal. Nice and crunchy, it is an interesting addition to the plate. The two vegetable dishes that are served along with the rice, changes daily. If its thoran and erissery on one day, it’s avial and olan the next day. Sambar, rasam, buttermilk, curd and pickle make up the meal spread. You can ask for extra vadas and pappadam if you want.
Cost factor: Rs. 50 per meal
Address: Krishna Kripa, TC 40/540, 3rd Puthen Street, Manacaud
Time: 12.30 p.m. to 3.30 p.m.
Contact: 2453202 / 9447705775
Mothers Veg Plaza
Sadya, the mother of vegetarian feasts of Malayalis, is usually associated with special occasions such as marriages, birthdays and so on. One of the few restaurants in the city that serves a multi-course sadya, which brings out the best in Kerala vegetarian cuisine with its host of flavours and tastes around the year, Mothers Veg Plaza's sadhya is served on banana leaves as per tradition.
Steaming rice is accompanied by sambar, thoran, avial, dal, pickles, curd, papadam, payasam… The dosas that are served in the evenings are popular too, especially the Jini dosa.
Cost factor : Rs. 160 per meal
Address : Bakery Junction, Palayam
Time : 11.30 a.m. to 3.30 p.m.
Contact : 4012255
Saurashtra Home
Ideal if you crave for puri and curry. No other reason would persuade hungry diners to crowd outside and inside the cramped space where this tiny eatery is situated. There are only puri and tea on the menu. However the three hot oily puris come with pappadam, sliced onion, raw mango and three sides, of which one of which is a sweet dal and one is a potato curry.
Cost factor : A meal for two costs about Rs. 100.
Address : Situated in the lane next to Parthas
Time : 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Arya Nivas
This is perhaps the haven of veggies in the city. As is usual with such joints, the menu has Chinese, Punjabi and a whole lot of other dishes, but my choice is the variety of dosas that they have. Each one is crisp and done carefully with all the flavours in place. If you are watching your calories, binge on the paper roast. Golden brown in colour, its lacy texture melts in the mouth. It comes with an assortment of chutneys and sambar.
This is perhaps the haven of veggies in the city. For one, it has an air-conditioned dining area too.
As is usual with such joints, the menu has Chinese, Punjabi and a whole lot of other dishes, but my choice is the variety of dosas that they have. Each one is crisp and done carefully with all the flavours in place.
If you are not watching your calories, binge on the paper roast. Golden brown in colour, its lacy texture melts in the mouth. It comes with an assortment of chutneys and sambar. The rava dosas and uthappams come close behind. The family roast is a speciality of the place. Top it off with the piping hot filter coffee.
Cost factor : A meal for two costs about Rs. 250.
Address : Aristo Junction
Time : 7 a.m. to 10.30 p.m.
Contact : 2330789
Up North
Parathas, phulkas or paneer? Up North serves all these and more. The taste is authentic and they know the difference between paneer and malai. Try the breads, all fresh and hot, with the dals or the delicately spiced curries that do not overpower your taste buds. All the paneer items on the menu woo your palate. They also have a sumptuous thali if you plan to drop in for lunch. The soya preparations are a revelation.
Cost factor: Time: 11 a.m. and 11 p.m.
Address: Up North is in the basement of the building next to the petrol pump at Vazhuthacaud.
Time: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Contact: 9846974271 or 0471-2338373
