SWEET RASCAL — Restaurant in Tamil Nadu

We were a family of five, looking for a place to have some food and this place caught our attention due the good reviews, so decided to give it a go. We walked in and sat at the table. A gentleman approached us and humbly informed us that it was not a walk-in restaurant, one had to prebook a day in advance. He also apologised for not being able to serve food to walk-in customers and encouraged us to stop by that evening to order food for the next day. Anyone in our place would have taken offence and walked away, but we decided to return that evening to book our lunch for the next day - just for three, as parents are pure vegeterian. The gentleman introduced himself as Dr. Vishu and said that he runs the place, serves only non-vegetarian food, does not entertain foreigners and people who drive a merc/bmw/etc. 😁 He doesn’t store food in the fridge to just heat and serve, he prefers to buy fresh everyday and serve fresh for his guests. There was a lot of sarcasm in the our conversation, in a way that was funny, and we enjoyed every bit of it. So we returned that evening and placed our order. He shared his visiting card and offered us to contact him in case we needed any help in Yercaud, only this time he was serious and not sarcastic! So, the next day, we turned up at lunch time, as decided, and got seated. There was rush and it seemed like the customers were enjoying their freshly made meals. We had ordered for Pan fried fish, Chicken curry, Jaffna mutton curry, Sri Lankan fried rice, and Parotta. The fish fry was lovely - he said it was salmon or something in local language that sounded like Chonok. I’ve had Chonok multiple times in coastal regions and loved it, and this was no different. The curries were delicious, with the flavours of meat nicely complementing the flavours from the spices. The rice and parotta were also good. All served piping hot, which added to the good experience. After this, we wanted to taste a bit more, so requested him if he could spare a half plate of mutton sukkha, to which he said he could only serve a full plate, not half. Since we were already full, we politely declined to have the a full plate, with some disappointment evident on our faces. He returned after some and said that he couldn’t let us leave without feeding us with the mutton sukkha, so offered a half plate and boy - it was so good, cooked so well that the meat almost fell off of the bone, so delicious and flavourful! Vishu is an absolute gem, a sweet rascal in every right sense, who puts in efforts to offer a truly elevated experience to his guests. Apparently, he also provides accommodation. Now that we know this, we hope to return for the stay + food! Good on you, Vishu, and all the...

We saw this place being scored as the best in many websites of best restaurants in Yercaud and decided to give it a shot. There are many things that catch your eye when you enter this restaurant, the quirky quotes which give you a good laugh and relax you as you enter, the loud exotic birds that entertain, the numerous bonsais and unique plants that intrigue you, the appointment-only service, the pleasant outdoor ambience, pure non-vegetarian fare and most importantly the host himself, Mr Vishu Kaliappa. He welcomed us and said, appointments are full for lunch, so we requested for dinner. They have a rotating menu based on the day's availability of meat. The way he took down our order itself was different, he requested each of our full names and contact numbers, which he noted down in an elegant calligraphic font, and then gave us the available options for the day and ensured we ordered only what we could eat (thereby avoiding wastage, which is a commendable sentiment). So we went back with high hopes, hoping the meal would live up to all the hype. And when we went back, we were pleasantly surprised by the fresh delicious hot food, every dish exceeding expectations in the taste, though we far exceeded his expectation of our capacity so we ended up ordering more portions. We had egg dosa, batter fried calamari rings, fish fillet masala and prawn masala, and some chapatis, all of which were sumptuous and made with care. He is a jolly host who moves around the tables and likes to spend time chatting with his guests, getting to know them more and regaled us with a lot of interesting tales and his plans for developing the property in the coming future. And when he got to know we had a common alma mater, SHY, he immediately shared the coffee table book he'd made for Montfort's jubilee celebrations with a lot of photographs and historical snippets, which was an absolute delight to thumb through. His passions are unique and varied, from fashion design, cooking, exotic birds, antiques, hospitality and bonsai in which he has a doctorate. He even graciously shared his curated recipes with us, which I've never seen anyone do. We will definitely look forward to staying at his rooms the next time we visit Yercaud and eating more of his delicious food. Until next...

Happy vibes only. This is an amazing place which has a vibe of its own. The owner is a jolly fellow and interacting with him just makes your day. Now, talking about this place, we went here on a weekday in the second week of December and we had plenty of seating. They also offer a stay at their property, but you have to contact the owner for the reservations. You have to place the order an hour in advance and then come and eat. They themselves would recommend your food when you go to place the order. The staff are very good and take care of you very well. Being a non-vegetarian, I enjoyed my food thoroughly here (no vegetarian food here). Make sure you take a walk around their property (of course with their consent), from the quirky quotes to the big house, you won’t know how time would pass by. The rates are pretty moderate and the food does not take a lot of time to reach your table as it is freshly prepared.

So, we had Mutton sukka and salmon tawa fry for starters and Chicken curry along with parotta, chapati and white rice as main course.The mutton sukka was cooked perfectly, it has a nice flavour. I would totally recommend this as a starter, it’s a semi-semi gravy preparation. The Salmon tawa fry was a soft & mildly spicy dish which was perfectly cooked. The chicken curry was delightful, it was medium spicy and had a good quantity of chicken. This is a perfect accompaniment for rice, parotta and chapati.

We had an amazing experience here and I’m definitely coming here to try out the other dishes that they have to offer. The owner and staff made sure that we left the place with a lot of happy memories.

I would like to give the :

Food - 3.5/5

Service - 4/5

Ambience - 4/5

P.S. : Talk to the owner and ask him for places he would recommend for you to explore in Yercaud. He would write you an itinerary and you would be amazed at what you see. I’m just going to...