Paprika — Restaurant in Tamil Nadu

The brunch at Paprika takes you to the streets for Europe, where you get to witness exquisite paintings from the talented artists and enjoy scrumptious food. They have a wide range of options to choose from and have setup attractive counters that serve the most unique dishes exclusively curated for this festival.

As you enter Paprika, you see huge paintings aesthetically placed around the dining area. You also have a live band playing throughout the afternoon. And then as you take a walk around the place, beautifully plated dishes (art of plating done right) invite you (even when you’re really really full). Good music and great food-what more can you ask for?

Salad: The cheese platter (say cheese)-This was the best part of the brunch and my personal favorite counter. You have a variety if cheeses including brie, gouda, emmental, edam and a huge cheese wheel. These were displayed with assorted nuts—cashews, walnuts and almonds and fruits like grapes and figs. You also have breadsticks and cheese sticks. Order your favorite wine and enjoy cheeses.

Seafood platter-You have a variety of shelled fishes like scallops, prawns and mussels, which are fresh out of the water and seasoned with lime juice. These come with cherry tomatoes and olives.

Poached pears with mint-This was again a personal favorite. Pears are poached in wine and served with mint caviar, mint leaves and asparagus.

Mango with mango basil sauce-So this was a surprise. A huge piece of sweet and juicy mango is placed on a mango basil sauce and served with asparagus and mint caviar.

Live Counters:

You have live counters for Chaat and Momos, and I recommend you tasting atleast three dishes from each (they are that good).

Chaat: The chef at the chaat counter takes you through a gastronomic journey.

Pani puri-The pani puri is made in a cocktail glass which is placed on a huge piece of ice. Instead of the traditional filling, you have mint and lime caviar and a huge piece of jelly with tamarind chutney filled in it. As you take a bite, the tamarind chutney oozes out from the jelly and the tiny pieces of caviar fill your mouth teasing the taste buds.

Crackers topped with mango jelly-Crackers are ground and shaped into cylinders and mango jelly filled with mango puree is place on top. Again a very different dish where the sweet and crunchy crackers combine with the jelly with fresh mango puree keeps you thinking about the familiar taste in a different form.

Momos: They had over 9 varieties of momos and I was confused as to what to try!

Starters: Kozhi Omlette-A very different dish where you have tandoori chicken in your omlette. Surprise with every bite! This also comes with cheese topped on it which I am not a fan of in a south Indian dish!

Baked Chicken legs-Tender chicken legs baked with white wine sauce and herbs. You also have lemon caviar and asparagus that adds to the surprise.

Oriental style fish-This is a fusion of an oriental style as well as continental. Loved the fish with subtle flavors.

Main Course: Pot Biriyani (Chicken)-The pot biriyani was the highlight of the brunch. You have huge mud pots in which biriyani is cooked and covered with a layer of kneaded flour. Beautiful flavors with nicely cooked chicken. This comes with different sides including different types of raitha and curries.

Mutton with dal curry-Mutton is good with Bengal gram and coconut milk. Soft and tender mutton cooked in this thick gravy is the yummiest curry ever!

Desserts: The desserts section here is to die for! You have over 14 types of desserts (both Indian and western). I tried to taste as much as I could, and do justice to the lavish spread.

Watch out for the Fried Ice-cream from the live counter!

Cocktails and Mocktails: This section is to watch out for! They have different flavors of cocktails and mocktails in adorable little jars and bottles. These guys bring their art to play when they created rum based jellies (heights of...

Genuinely has got to be one of the worst restaurant experiences and that’s coming from a foodie.

Atmosphere - There area was relatively average sized and crowded. There isn’t anything special other than the average marriot tables and chairs you see at hotels offering free breakfast. It’s on the ground floor so there’s no view coming from the one window and it’s adjacent to the lobby. 2/10

Food - Food was average at best and questionable at worst. The things that were good was the pizza station and the pasta station which I found a bit unique. They had non veg and veg options but there were no separate sections, fortunately you could use the green vs brown markings on the names to differentiate. There was rasam, gobi manchurian, make your own chaat station, rice, biriyani, and other average items. There was a dosa station but ill be honest anyone’s grandma could make so much better. None of the food was even warm?! I was especially disappointed by this. They were room temperature at best! Not only that but all the food seemed like they were left out for ages annd extremely dry. The staff doesn’t seem to care when you point out any issues. There’s zero a la carte aside from asking for naan or roti, not even any drink options outside of bottle water vs tap water. The deserts are usually okay but they were dry and again lacked any variety! 3/10

Cleanliness - I know you can’t expect much from a buffet when it comes to cleanliness but I at least expect the set up to be optimal to maintain that. So tell me why in the chaat station everyone digs into the same pani puri bowl WITH THEIR HANDS and the masalas are in bowls that everyone sticks their hands into to sprinkle onto their food? That’s not even the least of it. The dipping water for the ice cream station seemed pretty dirty and well used, with chunks of ice cream floating around meaning it’s probably not even warm still. When I brought this up to a staff member he just justifies it instead of doing anything about it! 4/10

Service - Non-existent. I got better service at Mcdonalds tbh. 0/10

Uniqueness - There is no reason why you should come to this spot. There’s nothing to try that’s new or any splendor. If you want a good buffet try Mathsya which is around 500 per person and is also near poondi bazaar. If you aren’t as picky with price, Spectra at the Leela Palace is 10x better. 1/10

If I could give this place a negative rating I would. Don’t come here. This is the tip of...

I am writing to express my disappointment with the buffet dinner experience at Courtyard Marriott Chennai on [Date]. As a loyal Gold Bonvoy member, I had high expectations for the service and quality, especially for such a special occasion—celebrating my wife's birthday with our family. Unfortunately, the experience was far from satisfactory and left us utterly disappointed.

Firstly, the food quality was subpar. The dishes lacked flavour and freshness, and the variety in the spread was extremely limited. Considering the reputation of the Courtyard Marriott and the benefits associated with being a Gold Bonvoy member, we expected a much higher standard of cuisine. The buffet spread was one of the worst, with a minimal selection that did not justify the price or the occasion.

Secondly, the service was appalling. The staff seemed uninterested and inattentive, adding to the unpleasant experience. Basic courtesies and attentiveness were noticeably absent, and our requests were ignored or delayed. As a Gold Bonvoy member, I was particularly disappointed with the lack of recognition and attention to detail, which are usually part of the Marriott experience.

Most importantly, the overall poor experience ruined my wife's birthday celebration. What should have been a memorable and joyous occasion was overshadowed by disappointing food and lack of service. Seeing the special day marred by such a negative and heartbreaking experience was a great experience.

The ambience is like a street shop; many customers are eating the meal while taking, and it seems no chair is available or not guided by staff, who are eating by hand and same hand they are taking food and spilling food all over the place in the buffet. It is a very horrible...