A comprehensive review of the food scene in Pondicherry.

Food listings by cuisine: French and continental cuisine : Le club, Satsanga, Rendezvous, the courtyard at de L'Orient, le Dupleix are the obvious all time favourites... they are all near the beach, though not by the seashore,. They primarily serve french and continental cuisine.. The sunday brunch in de L'Orient is to die for.. Awesome! Speaking of week end brunches and buffets, the spread at the Hidesign hotel Promenade is totally droolworthy, though you get more of indian dishes in this spread! Pork vindaloo in Rendezvous, and chicken in wine sauce, shrimp buna, grilled fish in Satsanga are in the must haves list! Among these, the ambience is probably the best in Le club, and probably its the costliest. The continental breakfast combos at Hot breads in Ambour salai and cafe extasi on mission street are easy on the pockets for the budget conscious! The banana cafe in Rue suffren street also serves yummy continental food through out the day, and it has a majority of vegetarian dishesNice place to hang out with friends on a lazy sunday afternoon. La terasse at the beach corner is a simple french restaurant with nice lighting and ambience, and its also easy on the wallet compared to any of the above said places. South/North indian veg fine dining: If you are looking for some south indian veg fine dining, Sudguru Spot in JN street opposite A2B is the best. Hotel Jayaram in Kamaraj salai has probably the best vegetarian meals in Pondicherry in a fine dining setting! South indian nonveg fine dining: Hotel Aristo in Nehru street has both south indian non veg in ground floor and a multicuisine restaurant in 1st floor. It has been there for nearly 30 years now and quite famous! It is known for its biriyanis, parottas and kothu parottas and pepper, onion masalas. Anjappar in Kamaraj salai s just okay, but if you are particular on chettinadu cuisine, its a safe bet. The Appachi restaurant in Rangapillai street also serves close to authentic spicy chettinadu nonveg meals and biryani. Hotel Virundhu in Chetty street proclaims itself as a chettinadu nonveg restaurant and its quite good, and it has some strange dishes like Lipu chicken, Black label chicken, Black forest fish, chicken 007, dragon parotta, murungai- kozhi energy soup, Adaengappa meals and chocolate dosa. Most of these dishes are not bad :) Hotel Kamatchi in 100 feet road, Mudaliarpet (near railway gate) is also famous for its lipsmacking biryani, elaborate non veg meals and signature dishes like chicken and fish kamatchi, kuzhi/spoon omlette stuffed with fish prawn or chicken. Hotel White residency in Kamaraj salai serves some delicious Moghul biryani and parottas. Kerala chicken curry is a must try here!

South Indian non veg (small shacks- better for take away or if you are comfortable, sit cramped and eat) : Hotel Salamath in Anna salai, without any arguments, has the best parotta in Pondicherry.the side dishes are also mouth wateringly good, and biriyani is also authentic muslim type. Hotel salamath is open only from 710 Pm.

Hotel Taste and fast (aka kerala mess as its fondly called) serves wonderful appams, beef curry, liver fry, chicken stew and parottas.Again this place is also cramped and lacks any kind of finesse. It is located adjacent to Hot land cafeteria in Kamraj salai. Good for take away. The beef/chicken biryani from Arcot biryani stall near Rajiv Gandhi square, in Tattanchavady is also yummy with the kadai 65 and beef fry, but some havent liked it. It depends on how you like your biryani, but worth a try. Again better for take-away. South indian veg shacks: A pure veg shack called Hotel Udipi in lenin Street in Saram serves some delicious dosas and puris. Dosas (esp podi dosa and butter dosa ) are also famous in another veg shack called Dosa corner which is located in Kamaraj Saalai opposite Poorvika showroom. Both of these are cramped and have minimal facilities for dining. Fine dining shacks with wonderful ambience: The rolls, steaks and momos at Kantos in Mission street are simply awesome. Its a small outlet with some great ambience. Perfect for a short meet. Cafe Xtasi again in Mission street has some good pizzas ( a signature huge pizza which can be eaten by 6 people), closed pizzas, pastas and also a few continental breakfast options. The cottage restaurant near Bsnl office run by the ashram is also a famous eatery in Pondy. The Rasamalai, rasagadham, jilaebis, dry fruit sweets, samosas, kachoris, masala dosas are all worth trying. North Indian Non veg fine dining: The Punjabi Dhaba in 31, Mission street first floor is punjabi cuisine at its authentic best. The butter chicken, chicken saagwala, tandoori chicken, aloo and paneer parathaas, lassi, jal jeera are all to die for. Hotel A1 Food land in SV Patel Salai also serves very good butter naans, rotis, romali rotis, kulchaas and north indian curries. North Indian veg fine dining: The North Indian meal combos in Hotel Surguru spot and Hotel Jayaram are also worth the money. South Indian breakfast : The one and only Indain coffee house in chetty street. If you havent tasted the idli, vada sambhar at seven thirty in the morning, after a brisk jog in the beach nearby, well... forget it! try the magic soon! The onion tomato oothaapam, bread toast with butter, jam and the omlette sandwich are also delicious here. Chinese fine dining: One and only China town in Ambour salai, in the first floor of Hot breads. And its really good. Some dishes are quite indo-chines but sure tasty.Not to be missed here are stuffed pan fried momos, mutton prawn fried rice, ginger garlic rice, five taste fish, chicken basket, sea food sizzler platter, jumbo prawns, shrimp fried rice, lobsters (if available) and finally fried ice cream (the best). Vietnamese fine dining: There is Hotel le Vietnam in the french town at 5,bussy street which serves yummy vietnamese cuisine (Quite authentic). Dont miss the Noodle soup, roast duck dumplings and all kinds of sea food! Italian fine dining:

Don Giovanni in 170, Mission street, serves tasty authentic italian cuisine and also has an Italian chef (Quite heavy on the wallet though). Must-Try- the pizzas and the grilled chicken. The Pasta bar venito located at 248, Mission street is also a more cost friendly alternative. The pastas and lasagne here are yummylicious. Arabian cuisine fine dining : Arabian style biryani, spiced rice, grilled chicken, and also south indian dishes like kothu parottas with an awesome signature grape juice are all worth trying in Hotel Food Paradise located att 29, 45 feet road, vallalar salai. The grilled chicken and chicken shawama at Hot Land Cafeteria directly opposite to Hotel Food paradise is also famous and lipsmacking. Ask specifically for the yummy garlic sauce and salad Mallu cuisine fine dining: Hotel Maison Perumal in Perumal Koil street has a great ambience and tasty dishes like egg appams and stew. some other pondichery special dishes like kadugu era are also good here Week end getaways by the beach(resorts): If you are looking for some getaways by the seashore, Le Pondy in cuddalore road is good (Though, again expensive). This is probably the restaurant with the most beautiful ambience and sea view in Pondy. Also the only and the best Elaneer Souffle in Pondy, next only to CC :) Hotel Ocean Spray In ECR in Manjakuppam has a delectable weekend brunch buffet spread and a good pub/dancefloor Street food: The mutton samosas, aatu kaal soup in the road side tallu vandi opposite railway station is probably as old as pondicherry. Miss them at your own risk. The tallu vandi shop opposite nilgris in Rangapillai street is known for its awesome sea food (fish fry, small crab fry, squid masala and stuff). Nice side dish shop :) The burmese tallu vandi shop opposite Cafe Xtasi in Mission street has indianised versions of mohinga and khow suey. Try them with the least expections. There are two tallu vandis on either side of this tallu vandi, one serving mutton rolls and cutlets and the other one is a pani puri soup, both of which are quite good. Another tallu vandi in Saaram opposite to Hotel Udipi in Lenin Street probably has the best road side masala puri here, and a talluvandi nearby this serves totally ymmy mushroom bondas and mushroom soup. Musttry! Might-night eateries: Hotel Rolex opposite to Ratna theatre in Anna salai is probably the only decent road side eatery open from 11 to 1 AM. The mutta dosas, brain fry, pepper chicken, botti fry and parottas here are good, but there is always a risk of infection :) take the risk if u have a brave heart and stomach! Between 12 and 2 AM, dosas are available at Hotel Annapoorna opposite to JIPMER. Again the risk of infection lingers! If all you want is to grab a sandwich or burger at midnight, you can just head out to Cafe coffee day, which is situated inside The Ginger Hotel In ECR bypass. Signature dishes in Pondicherry Idli vada sambhar - Hotel Indian coffee house, Chetty street>

Paper roast, Ghee roast, Onion oothaappam - Hotel Jayaram Kamaraj Salai Parottas - Hotel Salamath shack, Anna salai (better take-away), Hotel Aristo, Nehru street (better for dining) Parathaas with butter chicken - Hotel Punjabi Dhaba, Mission Street. Biryani - Hotel Aristo, Nehru street; Hotel kamatchi, 100 feet road; Hotel kaarai, Indira Gandhi square; Hotel Anjappar and Hotel Food paradise (Mughal biryani),45 feet road,;Arcot biryani centre, tattanchavady. Chicken shawarma with grilled chicken - Hot land cafeteria, 45 feet road Pizzas - Undoubtedly, Tantos in auroville (Firewood pizzas at its best). The pizzeria restaurant at 22, bussy street, french town also a good option.there is also Pizza hut very nearby Pizzeria and pizza corner in Casablanca in Mission street. Don forget to try the choco lava cake if u are in Casablanca. Pasta, lasagne - Pasta de Venito, Mission street. Grilled chicken- Indian style : Hot and cold restaurant, Anna salai, Hotel Food paradise, 45 feet road. Beef burgers, beef sandwiches, Pork pepper fry, Chilli pork - the best in Qualithe hotel near Bharathi Park near to beach. Rolls and steaks - Kantos in Mission street. Highly recommended. Coffee by the sea- Hotel Le cafe. Barbeque- Roof top barbeque restaurant at Hotel Adithi in MG road provides fine dining with an awesome view of the city Sizzlers - China town and Daily breads, both of which are in Ambour Salai Sea food- Fish fry, squid masala, crab soup and also fresh sea food at Fish O Shop in 100 feet road. Its just a small shop with some chairs. But real tasty and value for money and its clean. Chaats in a fine dining setting : Mithai mandir at 26, Ambour Salai. the samasas, kachoris and jelabis are also famous here. Week end Lunch and dinner buffets (Nonveg) - Hotel promenade, Hotel sunway, Hotel Adithi< hotel Du park.Hotel Le park Week end lunch buffets (Pure veg): Hotel Abirami, Anna salai. Delicious spread. Value for money. Cakes and breads- Bakers street, bussy street - undoubtedly the best. Bon bakes, Ambour salai is also good. Hot breads and Daily breads adjacent to each other in Ambour salai are the other options. Cookies are good in Bon bakes and Daily breads. Auroville has quite a few bakeries, all of which are good. Desserts and chocolates - If you are a chocolate fan, you must not miss Choco la at 310, Mission street. There are atleast 100 yummy varieties of chocolates here in all forms and shapes- the chocolate lollypop for example is so droolworthy that you cant stop at one. The ice creams at The Naturals outlet in rangapillai street adjacent to Pazhamudhir solai are special in the fact they are home made and natural.. Must-try. If you are looking for Italian softies, Richie rich in Nehru street is a good option, but its always crowded and noisy.Kulfi - Lallu Sweets, Nehru street. Juices - Juice Wagon, Mission street. auroville bakery in auroville for freshly baked cakes and croissants right from the oven price range - 15rs to 60rs tanto in auroville for pizza ,run by an italian expat, as authentic as pizza in india can get , great ambience , wood fired oven pizza and amazing desserts , all the produce that goes into the making of the pizzas here including the cheese are made in auroville :) price range - 80rs to 300rs solar kitchen in auroville , amazing oraganic food , set back ambience but u would need to book the meal a day in advance . price range - 50 rs to 150 rs cottage restaurant in the town near bsnl office, ppl go here the for the sweets and the ambience . the rasamalai and rasagulla are not to be missed. snacks also available.monday closed price range- 8rs to 50rs

vada kada on mg road near perumal koil on the right side. onion vadas at their best..from 5pm sold out by 7pm i guess. price range - 2rs per vada :) maison rose on romain rolland street , the restaurant set in an 17th century bungalow's backyard is a great place for drinks and french food , is really good in the night with all the candles lit :) .and a boutique functions in the bungalow.go here with your partner and fall in love again:) price range - 60rs to 300rs