Naturellement Garden Cafe — Restaurant in Tamil Nadu

Tldr: Bad food, extremely bad service and an absolute disaster. Avoid. Basis the many many 5 star reviews, we decided to visit this place. A decision I regret till date.

Heads up: The place closes by 7PM. Understandable as it is located deep in the woods inside Auroville. What's not understandable is the treatment we received from the staff.

The story: I and my wife were looking for some top restaurants in the vicinity of Auroville and this was recommended to us by our BnB host. It was 6:35 PM when we reached Auroville's checkpost when we called the restaurant to check for availability. The cashier said we are open and you are welcome. It took us another 15 mints to reach the restaurant. Once there, the cashier hurriedly gave the menu to us and asked us to make a choice and to pay upfront as the kitchen was closing. It was a bit odd for a restaurant which boasts impeccable service. However, we obliged and placed an order for tiramisu and lasagna. Post which the cashier asked us to go sit wherever we want. The chef/chef's help comes down to take the order from the cashier and she retorts in Tamil: "I thought there would be no work and we could go home. Why did these people have to come". I found that extremely rude and had I not paid upfront, I would have walked out. Then the chef informs that they are out lasagna to which they ask us to select something else from the menu. But we just asked for a refund. The cashier called the owner to check for the refund which we received in cash. Post a lot of discussion among themselves, they served us stone cold tiramisu. It was probably the worst tasting tiramisu ever, frozen like a rock. I could probably break glass with it. At this point service and food were the worst. We took a quick 5 mint to finish whatever we could of the rock tiramisu and I had to visit the restroom. Once I come out of the restroom, to my horror, I see that the staff has left the premises, switched off all the lights and my wife is sitting all alone with just a single light. And mind you, this is not some city establishment that there are lights elsewhere. No. It's in the middle of the jungle with few random resident men as neighbours. I understand that its past your work timings. But it's basic courtesy and etiquette to wait for your guests to leave or to atleast stay company. We left with out pockets burnt, hungry and extremely disappointed. Do not go post sunset. Basis the reviews maybe they work better in the mornings. But food is bad too. So, not...

Woooaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwhhh!!

What a place!! If they give me a room in this place to live forever, I would spend rest of my life working and eating here!

Such a worthy place!

All the items are unique and tasty. I have eaten salads at many places but in my experience, this is the only place even any type of salad can be tasty and kid friendly.

I'm searching for words to describe how delicious and yummy the food was. The people working there are women and they are very friendly and make dishes as per request. They even understand the type of food you are asking for and give suggestions which is the best part as we visited daily when we stayed around there for 3 days in auroville. Mushroom Ravioli is my favorite. Salad as well. Lemon mint juice. Peanut smoothie. Almond pie stole the show. And Martina special cake was woow. I missed to mention pasta in the first, dont know how to rate and rank the foods because everything is at its best. What not, the menu is perfect for all 3 meals.

Ambience is quiet and sitting in nature around trees is good. Even the wash basin aligns with nature and they keep hand towels to wipe and reuse and eco friendly.

Overall the best place i would love to visit and also highly recommend.

They have some bakery products for sale and also concentrated juices. My favorite is mango juice. Just few spoons of it with water makes perfect juice. Tastes like maaza but this one real mango juice without any preservatives or adulteration. Must buy.

One cannot find a place with everything being perfect. Something or the other will be missing. But this place is perfect, complete and fulfilled. As a family with 2 kids, we are very much content, happy and satisfied visiting this place and will visit everytime we go to pondicherry because this place we feel is very clean, hygienic. Though we are yet to explore many places, we will still visit this once a day whenever we are there. Such a divine feeling food!

Kindly keep up the same quality. Price is reasonable. Kids friendly...

It's a magical place right in middle of Auroville, #Pondicherry. Both AC, non a/c covered, terrace & under the canopy seating is available. Food options are limited but reasonably good spread. Salads are really good with hot food options limited, so please ask when you order as we may not be familiar with the names of the menu. It was our 2nd visit, the first one not so good with cold soup etc. (our ignorance) but last week we were prepared so we were in control - pasta, tofu based Thai curry & gelato. Gelato (mango) was awesome. Wifi available as well. It's one of the few eateries on North side of Auroville & it closes by 6.30pm with Tue as holiday. Try their squash & preserves, really good. Overall not very light on the pocket but given the quality & location, it's a trade-off. Do try Auroville Bakery as well about 5km from this place. Dessert portions definitely need a bit of augmentation, the cake I remember is just paper thin...