Hello,
This is going to be another restaurant review on The Great Ambini. I am super excited to write about this amazing restaurant as I had such a good meal there. We went to Paati Veedu during my first week here in Chennai.
The Restaurant
Opened in March 2018, currently considered the hottest restaurant in Chennai, we headed here purely as it was on the long list of places to try – and we needed to go out with other colleagues of my boyfriends.
Apparently, the popular trend in Chennai is dim-sum, appealing to millennials and club style restaurants. So the refined decor here is much more manageable on the eye, it is traditional and comforting to appeal to the ‘grandma’s kitchen’ vibe.
When discussing with the Hindu, the owner Mohandas discusses his menu. “We wanted to start it in Chennai because this is the difficult market,” says Mohandas. “This is our baptism by fire.” Catering to Chennai meant there was no room for error. Chennai’s customers may forgive a lopsided pesto pasta, but no Mylapore aunty is going to tolerate a sloppy sambar. “We took more than a year to perfect the recipes, to source good ghee, vadams, podis etc.”
The food at Paati Veedu
It was so good. The food is aimed at Instagram and I promise it is beautiful. You pay a set price (it was 990 Rs the day we went) and can have extra portions of anything you like.
Juices
This was the first course, it was 4 different fruit juices and they were lovely. The flavours were nannari sharpath, orange apple and ginger, watermelon twister and lemon and mint flavoured, but the local spiced one was my favourite.
Starters
The first plate of starters was some spiced chips, which I found a little hot. Then some flavoured beans and some fried vegetables. It was lovely and elegantly presented.
The next starter was a rava dosa with accompanying sambar and dishes. The sambar was so thick and the best I have ever tasted! I ordered a second dosa and one of the group ordered 4 thinking this was the main course.
Rasam
This was my least favourite course, it was a thin soup with one flavoured of pineapple. I found it a little oily but had half of it.
Main course
This was another dosa, a roti and rice along with the accompanying dishes. It was lovely, the food was wholesome and felt like ‘grandmas’ cooking.
I loved this course, it all went together so well.
The dessert
This was javarisi payasam and elaneer halva and my personal favourite Gulab Jaman, it was a very lovely course. There wasn’t a massive portion so thankfully we didn’t have a sugar overload.
Except I love saffron and syrup so I had 4 Gulab Jaman. (Not even sorry though!)
The meal was then finished with a south Indian coffee, served in two pots.
I have been drinking them every day at breakfast so I can mix them between the two dishes. It is meant to help the flavour and also cool the coffee down, but I love it because it is fun!
There is also a sweet shop on site and the whole ambience of this restaurant was beautiful. I will be returning!
This was my favourite meal I have had here so far. I was very full when we finished, the staff were lovely and attentive.
It was such a good meal and I would recommend this restaurant to anyone who wants to experience Grandma’s south Indian cooking.
Until next time,
The Great Ambini
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When it comes down to it nobody should tolerate a sloppy sambar. Chennai looks like a wonderful restaurant that takes pride in their food from the initial ingredients to the presentation at your table.
The starter looks really good ! I love a good dosa !!
The food looks delicious, I love Indian food. I definitely need to add this restaurant for my list.
Looks yummy! My husband and I both love South Indian food and good filter coffee. We’ll definitely try to check out this restaurant when we travel to Chennai next. Thanks a lot for the review and recommendation.
South Indian cuisine is my absolute favorite (as I’m half South Indian). I think I eat an idli or dosa every week! haha.The food at Paati Veedu looks delicious and authentic..just like Grandma’s cooking 🙂 I’m glad you found it to be your favorite meal ever! I would love to stop by here on my visit to Chennai. Thanks for sharing the review!
Certainly don’t choose my restaurants based on Instagram LOL, but as you said, the food does look yummy in square photos. Love Indian food too — though I have yet to have Indian food in, well, India. Soon I hope.
This looks delicious. I would love to try the different dosa and especially the not-too-sweet gulab Japan. Good review.
Mmmmm, this just made me so hungry! What an absolutely delightful meal, both the food and the presentation. The main course of dosa, a roti and rice looked delicious, and the coffee and dessert looked like a perfect menu. Looks like I’m going to have to go out and find some good Indian food to satisfy these cravings tonight!
Food is an enriching travel experience. When we hit the road we try to taste all the flavors on offer. Paati Veedu looks like it offers many interesting tastes and cultural flavor. We would happily dip our dosa in this place!
Thanks for sharing and remember adventure is better shared with friends!
What a fantastic looking meal. I love doing multi-course meals at restaurants, because it really gives you a chance to try all sorts of different flavors in one meal. I bet the South Indian coffee was delicious!