Kumarakom Restaurant — Restaurant in Tamil Nadu

During an official visit to Chennai, I had the opportunity to dine at Kumarakom Restaurant, known for its Kerala cuisine. The ambiance is modest but inviting, with decor reflecting the essence of Kerala’s backwaters. We ordered Karimeen Tawa Fry, Appam, Puttu, Kerala Chicken Curry, and Chicken 82—a spread that promised an authentic culinary experience.

The food certainly lived up to expectations in terms of taste. The Karimeen Tawa Fry was well-marinated and crisp on the outside, retaining the juicy flavors of the fish. The Appam was soft with a nice lacy edge, pairing beautifully with the rich and flavorful Kerala Chicken Curry. Puttu was served warm and crumbly, a perfect traditional complement. Chicken 82, though unfamiliar, turned out to be a spicy and satisfying side that added a unique touch to our meal.

However, the overall dining experience was let down by the service, which was disappointingly poor. The staff appeared overwhelmed or inattentive, and we had to wait unusually long for our food to arrive, despite the restaurant not being overly crowded at the time. Even basic follow-ups for water or cutlery required multiple reminders. This significantly affected the otherwise enjoyable meal.

Finally, while the food was authentic and flavorful, the slow and unresponsive service made the experience less than satisfactory. Kumarakom has potential, but it urgently needs to improve its service standards to truly offer a pleasant...

We went here because we READ good things about this place. We went here after a rather long evening of sightseeing so we were famished and ordered A FEW dishes WHICH SHOULDN'T GO WRONG IN A KERALA RESTAURANT. Unfortunately our experience was not good. Almost all dishes were beyond any grading systems in terms of taste. If this was supposed to be authentic Keralite cuisine then it definitely fell short.

ordered a starter fish fingers - understand it is oily, i can live with that - however, the fish was tasteless. Whoever, is reading this, please be aware that i have tasted river fish, ocean fish - both.

then i ordered appam & chicken stew - which cant go wrong ever!!!!!! in any keralite restaurant coz that's what they are famous for. unfortunately, this belief was broken effortlessly, successfully by this restaurant. It was very strongly flavored with cinnamon & star anise. That ruined & there was no taste of coconut milk.

I ordered prawn ghee roast - again it was super tasteless. Even the prawns. I had better prawn at Elliot beach local shop & it had that oceanic taste.

Ghee rice - How on earth can that be pathetic? It is a facepalm for me!

PRICE - FOR THE ABOVE FOOD - 1/5 - MEANS VALUE FOR MONEY IS NOT WORTH STAFF - 1/5 - SUPER RUDE & JUST READY TO SELL YOU ANYTHING AMBIENCE - gloomy -...

This one of the best outlets in Chennai for Kerala food and it is one of the busiest restaurants in Chennai town. The food which they provide is really amazing. Good Kerala style veg and non-veg food. You can have the typical Kerala dishes with its good tastes. They are prompt to customers taste. Timely service and good ambience. The price is affordable. They have a good parking area and noticeable from the main road. The place is so calm and quiet. They have a party hall for small celebrations. The staffs are very good. Good ambience to have food with family and friends. Really delicious dishes. Afternoons are bit crowded here and you can expect queues. Whenever I have visited there will be a number of people waiting outside for getting a seat and it is really worth waiting. Have a variety of tasty foods available with moderate rates. The place is always crowded and the services are really very nice. Very friendly staff and down to earth management. Credit cards are accepted. Interior works are really very nice. The restaurant air-conditioned. Waiters and cleaning staff do their job well. A good spot for Kerala food lovers in Chennai. I really suggest this hotel, Worth a visit....