Food: ☆☆☆

Service: ☆½

Ambiance: ☆½

Cost: $$$

Must try: Thali Meal, Kottu paratha, Katrikai Kozambhu

Chettinad food is one of my favorites when it comes to regional South Indian cuisine and there finally is a decent rendition of it being served at Anjappar on curry hill in the city.

Anjappar is a chain restaurant which started in Chennai, India and now has about 30 outposts worldwide. It is so heartening for someone like me, a hard-core foodie but most unforgiving when it comes to Indian food (especially South Indian food as I grew up there) – to actually relish the authenticity of their dishes.

Do try their appams with stew or their eggplant vatta kozumu. Chettinad cuisine is known for its spicy meat and seafood items which are a must try – crabs, mutton, prawns is just a few of the dishes that they do best.

A good way to get a taste of the multitude dishes that are offered by Anjappar is to get the thali meal which is a platter on which you get several small bowls containing different lentils, chores, vegetables and so on which are accompanied by rice or parathas.

So what’s the problem with Anjappar? I’m my opinion what’s lacking here is service which is virtually non-existent. None of the servers here are from the South and are totally unfamiliar with the nuances of the cuisine they are serving and so they bumble, not just with lacklustre service but also by making abominations of suggestions like paring Appam with a chicken tikka masala (inexcusable in my book)!

However, if one get past that – and you should because the food is really worth it here… Anjappar might very well become one of my go to spots for South Indian cuisine.

Here is some of what we ate: