Kadavu — Restaurant in Kerala

Our experience at Kadavu Restaurant, Aluva, was average. Out of the 12+ dishes we tried, only a couple stood out.

Food: We ordered fish curry meals, pomfret fry, squid, crab, clams, small fish fry, prawns, fish eggs, egg fried rice, chicken, and juices. While the seafood was fresh, the masala didn’t meet expectations—it had more of a North Indian barbecue flavor rather than an authentic Kerala taste. Personally, I enjoyed the crab and pomfret, but the rest were just okay.

Service: Service was average. Nobody attended to us for the first 10 minutes, and we had to call someone to take our order. They served the meals first, but the side dishes came 10 minutes later, by which time we had almost finished eating since we were very hungry. This could have been better managed.

Ambience: The setup was basic. The chairs and tables could use better cleaning, and the outdoor toilet was dirty. However, the view of the Aluva river was nice.

Accessibility: The restaurant is conveniently located near the NH and has ample parking space.

Price: The prices were reasonable, except for the fish fry, considering the portion size. But overall, the cost didn’t feel justified given the service and ambience.

In summary, it was a one-time...

Kadavu Restaurant – Aluva, Kerala (on Periyar Riverbanks)

Kadavu Restaurant is a standout choice if you're seeking delicious meals, buffet options, and a soothing river view without breaking the bank. Conveniently located along the NH near Mallu’s Dhaba, it’s easy to spot and offers ample parking—perfect for families and larger groups .

The ambience is relaxed and scenic, with both indoor seating and outdoor tables overlooking the Periyar River and the adjacent bridge. The gentle murmur of the river enhances the dining atmosphere—many guests recommend seating outside to make the most of the view .

Their buffet offers a broad selection of Kerala-style dishes, seafood highlights like clams, crab, prawns, and fried fish, as well as vegetarian curries and sweets like payasam. Most diners find the food quality good-to-very good, especially noted are the chatti-choru, crab roast, and traditional fish fry served on banana leaves .

With a reasonable price range (₹200–₹400 per person, roughly ₹500 for two), it’s excellent value for generous portions and a riverfront setting . Staff are courteous and attentive, though during peak lunchtime service can be...

First of all the restaurant has increased the price per person to 365 including GST.

We went for dinner. Two Chicken dishes ( Alfam & Ginger Chicken), One Beef Dish (Beef with Potato curry), 4-5 fish dishes (Kozhuva Peera, Koontal ulathe, Ayla curry, chaala fry, Kera curry etc) were available in the spread. The quality and taste of meat and fish was not that good. If you are too specific about food quality and taste then you will be disappointed. Porotta they serve is a coin porotta type which didnt taste well. Appam was looking great but had some sour taste. Grape juice was served as a welcome drink but was not that tasty. Fruit cuts tasted good, Jamun in the Gulab jamun was a disaster.

Even though there were only few people while we entered, later there was around 50% occupancy that day for food.

As this location is near highway side there will be new customers coming in without much check about the customer reviews. Suggest it is high time for the owners to think about increasing the quality of food so that customer also feels satisfied for what...