Chellammal Manpaanai Samayal — Restaurant in Tiruchirappalli

First of all they don’t open at 9 or 11 whatever their opening time. They start serving food at 12.30pm. They wash the place at 11 hours and by the time the clients arrive, the entrance is soggy n slushy. There is an ornate entrance which they don’t use as entrance. Like someone had told earlier they keep the alacarte area so shabby that one is forced to go in and eat. Cleaning is next to nothing. The whole place is looking like a dump yard. When we go to see what is cooking. They charge 300 and serve food worth Rs. 30. All are talking about 10 varieties of sambar, ten varieties of rasam. I was served only one variety each. When I asked them to serve the rest of the varieties, they said we have served the whole menu. You can ask what you want from that for re serving. I was shocked. Actually I went on a pilot visit before taking my guests who are to arrive. When they saw me alone they didn’t even bring the banana leaf for 15 minutes. I was watching others being served. Who came after me. The food was horrible. The koottu was like half cooked greens and the water oozing out and running into other dishes. Nothing gelled like really blended. Every variety be it thayir pachadi or Poriyal was watery. Not very interesting. We call chakkayum thanniyuma. It’s a shame to give so much hype to this place. Looks like people have appreciated this place in vayitherichal. Yaam Petra thunbam, ivvayagam peruga. Cashing in on the property handed down by the ancestors. The antique exhibits are not gonna fill our stomach. Talking of ambience. If you call this place ambient, one doesn’t know the meaning of the word ambience. It felt like we were being served annadanam. At least annadanam is piping hot. Here every thing was like poona muthram. Sorry for being rude but pay Rs. 300 and come home hungry is truly insulting. Thuddayum koduthuttu dukkathaiyum pattu kondu irukkiraen. Yaaridam solli azhuvathu enru theriyavillai. Onakku oru kumbidu🙏. On kadaikku...

It's 3.75 rating overall but gave 4.

Good part Great variety - Tried Rs.360 full meals, served only in the AC room. Food felt light on stomach and didn't give usual outside food uneasiness even after heavy eating - Nice 🙂!! Unique experience - New dishes. Good for folks who are open to try cuisines. We had a good experience. Simple and homely but delicious food served hot. Dishes were mainly based on Banana - Raw, it's Stem and flower. Lots of green leafy sides - Arai, Drumstick leaves etc. Also included, Brinjal items. Welcoming and politeness from the manager and servers. Loved the banaa Kofta. Kid was served Ala carte in the AC setup - common sense prevailed - thanks Many antiques - Vintage setup.

Areas of improvement Unusable restrooms. Non-Ac setup is very basic, just on the varanda. Ala carte is served in non-AC setup only. Only 2-3 servers in the AC room, got a bit delayed to start and same towards the end when wanted to repeat a few items. A slightly more hygienic way to serve would be good. Like water spillage and soup being all over the bowl overflowing didn't appear to be a good start to a meal. Parking on the street.

Will I come again - yes ,...

I was quite disappointed with my experience here. The cleanliness was subpar, and the food is not entirely cooked in clay pots as claimed—only the rice is. They charge ₹360 for what they call a "buffet," but it's far from worth the price. The buffet is advertised as unlimited, but that’s misleading. You often have to ask for dishes multiple times before they serve you.

Other reviewers might not notice the difference between food cooked traditionally in clay pots and regular preparations, which explains the inflated ratings. While many varieties are available, the quantities served are minimal, and overall, the experience feels overpriced.

The owner's attitude added to the dissatisfaction. A lady stood nearby, seemingly monitoring us as we ate, and appeared eager for us to leave so the next customers could sit—a very unwelcoming gesture.

They also offer an option to select individual dishes, but at ₹25 per small cup, the portions are tiny—just a spoonful—which feels like poor value for money.

If you want to try a lot of varieties, you could consider visiting once, but overall, it’s not worth the hype...