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Kochi India
South India Food

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"South India Food Kochi" was last updated on April 20, 2012
All information below is subject to change

There are so many restaurants in Kochi!

Fortunately I had the time to discover at least some of them :-)

Most of the restaurants are located in Princess street, Burger street and Tower road.

More restaurants can be found in the direction to Mattancherry, in Pullupalom road. That's about a 10-15 minutes walk from Princess street.

Apart from restaurants there also a few food stalls in Fort Kochi. One can be found in Rose street, near Tower House.

Sometimes I also bought chai tea and samosas from an old guy on a bicycle. He cycles around and stops by guesthouses in the area. I caught him right outside Santa Cruz guesthouse.

For chai tea and samosas I paid Rs 12 for a– very cheap lunch!

Hope this helps!

Pumpkin Vegetarian Restaurant

South India food: Dal fry

I was a regular customer at Pumpkin. I ate there almost every day for 3 weeks.

The reason is simple: it's cheaper than other places in Fort Kochi.

If you're on a tight budget you can get cheap dinners, below Rs 100.

My first dish there was a Thali meal which was OK. I got fewer curry sauces than what I was used to. It came with rice, pappadam and dry chapati.

South India food: Thali meal

My favorite dish there was Dal Fry with rice and lots of pappadam! :-) Dal Fry is a lentil dish and it wasn't hot at all. It leaves a good taste in your mouth.

I also tried the Dal Mackny with beans. It was good, but a little too much for my stomach. I couldn't eat it all up.

Dal Mackny with 'lady fingers'

Another favorite was appam (thin bread) with two curry sauces. In total I paid Rs 35-40 - the cheapest breakfast in Fort Kochi!

Appam

South India food: Me sitting at Pumpkin

Where: Bastion street

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Oy's Cafe

Inside Oy's Cafe

I spent many nights at Oy's because of the relaxed atmosphere. They have couches where you can sit down and read a book, or watch TV.

My favorite dish at Oy's was their fried vegetables (pakora). It's was a simple dish, but crispy and tasteful.

South India food: Vegetable pakora

Where: Burger street

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Kashi Cafe in Fort Kochi

South India food: At Kashi cafe

Kashi is a very hip cafe in the heart of Fort Kochi!

At first you probably don't think it's a cafe because the first thing that meets you is a small gallery with paintings. Pass the gallery, and then you're in the restaurant.

We had sandwich that came with potato chips, and chocolate cake! Kashi is known for its chocolate cake, and we just had to try it! It was good -– the dark chocolate literally melted on my tongue!

The sandwich was OK, but it was better at Mango tree.

The downside is that we waited forever for the food. The restaurant was fully booked though.

Where: Burgher street

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Tea Pot

They serve different tea, sandwiches, samosas and south Indian dishes, like Kerala fish curry, steamed fish in coconut chutney and so on.

It's a cosy cafe with lots of things to watch while you're enjoying your breakfast or lunch.

The interior takes you back to colonial time. They have 'exhibits' of different pots, collected from everywhere.

It reminded me of an British home.

Also a good place to sit down and read a book.

Prices at Tea Pot:

Samosas: Rs 40

Seafood or chicken dishes: Rs 180

Where: Peter Celli street

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Mango Tree Restaurant

A very popular restaurant in the evening!

For dinner at Mango tree I had the Pad Thai (Rs 120). It was not an authentic Pad Thai, but it was good. I can't expect that when it's Indians who are making the food.

Otherwise they have great pasta dishes, and the girls were content with their sandwich that came with french fries. Nice service, and we didn't have to wait long to get the food! That was a relief :-)

Where: Bastion street

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Dal Roti in Fort Kochi

South India food: MUTTON thali at Dal Roti

Definitely a place you want to use your money!

Great thali meals and worth every rupee! Now I know why this place is so popular.

I tried the vegetarian and thali mutton (goat). The vegetarian is probably the best thali meal I've had in India (except Ariya Niwas restaurant in Trivandrum though).

The mutton was a good, but mighty dish. All the sauces were freshly prepared with fresh chapati and rice.

Vegetarian thali at Dal Roti

An elderly, polite host was running an efficient queue system. If there's queue (and most of the time it is), they'll take you to the back of the restaurant where you can wait.

I will definitely come back again!

Where: Lily street

When: Closed on Tuesdays. Otherwise noon-3.30pm (last order 3.15pm), 6.30 pm to 10.30 pm (last order 10.15 pm).

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Casa Linda

The fish curry I tried at Casa Linda was good, but it was not that good compared to the price (Rs 175).

The fish was too small and the sauce was too thin, and more water in it. You can choose between non-spicy, medium and hot.

Nice staff, but I wouldn't come here again.

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Vasco Cafe

This restaurant is owned by Mr and Mrs Santhosh, but it's the wife who runs it.

They served alright porridge with banana. The dishes here are a little bit more expensive than other places in Fort Kochi.

Where: Bastion street

Restaurants on Tower Road

On Tower Road there are loads of restaurants. I ate at one of them, but can't remember the name. But I do remember the guys who worked there. They nick-named me 'Obama' even though I said my name was Amanda.

The restaurants here serve pretty much the same as other restaurants in Fort Kochi: both Western and South Indian food.

Elite Restaurant/Bakery

I didn't eat at Elite restaurant, but occasionally I grabbed samosas, muffins and cookies from their bakery.

The samosas are very popular, so if you want them, you have to be early.

Muffins: Rs 25

Where: Princess street

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Rangoli Restaurant in Ernakulam

South India food: Paneer manchurian at Rangoli restaurant

Rangoli restaurant is the place to go if you want exquisite Indian dishes! It's a popular restaurant and the clientele here are Indian tourists.

I ordered the paneer Manchurian with nan and plain rice. The paneer manchurian was very good, and quite hot. Even though it was hot I couldn't stop eating because it was so GOOD!

Dinner at Rangoli restaurant

It came with paneer (=cheese) and it was just outstanding delicious. I can still remember the taste up to today!

The restaurant serves north and south Indian food.

Morning dishes from Rs 40, and dinner from Rs 80.

Where: MG Road, Ernakulam

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Supermarkets in Fort Kochi

There are around 4 supermarkets in Princess street where they sell all the basic stuff: dry food, shampoo, deodorant, cigarettes, tampons - you name it!

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Further reading: Learn about Indian culture Discover the food in Asia Attractions in Fort Kochi

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