Copper Chimney (827-5770), 74 Cathedral Rd, is a popular place with an elegant decor. It is open 7.30 to 11.30 pm. A meal cost around Rs 200.
Fruit Shop (823-3548), 11 Greams Rd, makes fruit juices with mineral water. The “sheikh shake” made of dates and nuts is good. No artificial items are used. Open 10 am to 8 pm.
Madras Cafe, Prakasam Rd, in George Town, has good, cheap thalis.
Bhoopathy Cafe, opposite Egmore station, is a good place.
Omar Khayyam, in the Hotel Imperial in Egmore, is good.
Vasanta Bhavan, at the intersection of Kennet’s Lane and Gandhi Irwin Rd, Egmore, is a popular place.
Hotel Tirumulai, Quaide Milleth Salai, Triplicane, serves good thalis on banana leaves and has good dosas.
Srinivasa Hotel, Ellis St, Triplicane, is a good place.
Aavin, Anna Salai, near the Government tourist office, has good lassis, cold milk and ice cream.
Hotel Palmgrove (827-7161), 5 Kodambakkam High Road, has two restaurants. One, the Menaka, is a South Indian place with good thalis and the other, Oorvasi, is an A/C tandoori restaurant.
Nilgiri Dairy Farm, next to Nilgiri’s Nest Hotel, Dr Radhakrishnan Salai, is a good supermarket. It is closed Tuesdays.

Where to Eat—Pure Vegetarian
Chennai has some of the best vegetarian restaurants in India.
Mathura Restaurant (831-777), Tarapore Towers on Anna Salai, is one of the better vegetarian restaurants in India. It is a big, very popular place and is recommended. The Vegetable-pulau, Vegetable Imperial, and Macaroni are all very good. They have a good lunch thali for Rs 75.
Woodland’s Drive-In (471-981), 29/30 Cathedral Rd, 6 am to 9 pm, serves excellent food and is a recommended place set in a garden.
Also recommended is the New Woodlands Hotel (827-3111), 72/75 Dr Radhakrishnan Road, which serves good thalis, South Indian, and tandoori food.
Balaaji Woodlands in the Vee Yes Hotel is a good restaurant.
Yamuna Restaurant, at the lower end of Anna Salai, is a good place. It is clean, reasonably priced, and has tasty food, good lassi and ice cream.
Hotel New Maharaja, 307 Quaide Milleth Salai, by Broadlands, has cheap meals. The “limited meal” (not on the menu and only during lunch) is dirt cheap. It also has good ice cream and sweets.
Hotel Dasaprakash (825-5111), 100 Poonamallee High Road, (9 am to 6 pm) and AVM Dasa (House of Dasaprakash Ice Cream), 806 Anna Salai, are excellent places. They have salads, ice cream and meals for around Rs 150.
Annalakshmi (855-0296), 804 Anna Salai, managed by devotees of Shivanjali, is an excellent place. A thali is Rs 150 and the special thali is Rs 250. Open daily except Mon, noon to 3 pm and 7.30 to 10 pm.
Saravana Bhavan, 77 Usman Rd, T Nagar, near Ranganathan Street Market (Mambalam Station), is a very good, popular place that serves cheap South Indian food. They have a deluxe “Tamil Nadu meal.” On the ground floor they serve snacks, and on the upper floor there is an A/C restaurant. They have a lunch thali, and from 3 to 11.30 pm they serve North India food and pizzas. They have several other branches in Chennai. They have a branch on NSC Bose Rd in George Town.
Matsya Restaurant, at the Udipi Home Hotel (825-1515), 1 Hall Road, Egmore (7.30 am to 12 midnight), is a recommended A/C place.

Restaurants in Luxury Hotels
Hotel Connemara The Rain Tree Restaurant has an excellent outdoor location and good Chettinad cuisine. Some nights they have live classical Carnatic music and Bharata Natyam dance performances. A meal here costs around Rs 400. In the Verandah Coffee Shop there is an excellent lunch buffet for Rs 300. There is also a good bakery.
Ambassador Pallava The Other Room has very good Continental dishes. A main dish is about Rs 100 and the excellent lunch buffets are Rs 200.
Welcomgroup Chola Sheraton The Peshwari has really good Northwest frontier cuisine. The pleasant rooftop (good views) Sagari restaurant has a lunchtime buffet and good Chinese food. There is a dinner buffet in the 24-hour coffee shop, the Mercara.
Welcomgroup Park Sheraton  It has the excellent Dakshin South Indian restaurant. The Residency has Indian, Chinese and Western cuisine.
Hotel Taj Coromandel  There are buffet meals in the Pavilion restaurant. During dinner a different cuisine is featured each night. Golden Dragon has good Chinese food.
Trident Oberoi  The Shanghai has good Thai and Chinese food.

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