Restaurant Guide: Kochi (Cochin) #1

pquekel

correction: Saraswati is the goddess depicted on the jute bags they use(d), their name is IDIOM bookshop

pquekel

Fort Cochin was lovely again in July. We stayed in Chiramel Homestay next to the Parade Ground, in Lily Str. Chiramel's neighbour is a fine restaurant: Dal & Roti with a enthoustastic and charming owner/host and a somewhat "different" kitchen that is more Northern than Southern Indian. We liked it as did many others, both locals and tourists.

vandy

Good Day pquekel,

Any pics of Chiramel Homestay, Did you put review in Hotels section ? What was Price for Homestay.?

Thanks

vandy

hurrykaine

While on the topic of best restaurants in Cochin, can anyone recommend the best place (mid-range restaurant or above) for an Onam Sadya. I'm originally from Kerala but returning after years.

I'll be in Cochin during Onam with about 20 folks and since I'm footing the bill, it'd be great if anyone knew about how much it typically costs per head for an Onasadya at these hotels/restaurants.

Thanks, and a happy Onam to all!

Rockyp44

In Munnar, bought terrific ground coffee at Abbas', in the passageway in the market.

Where can I buy good roasted beans in Cochin--good and a darker roast, if possible? I want to buy 3 or 4 Kg.

CliveG

I have never seen any available but would be surprised if they did not exist. I would suggest you go to the market area off Broadway and ask. If available I would think it you could buy it around that area.

kaithakkachalil

shappucurry@layam road behind the Grand Hotel om MG road is a place to taste the different fish proepared in Kerala style along with Tapioca and Appam .

To get fresh try to be there by 11am and 3 pm .

telephone 9048109110

black roasted coffee beans (organiclally grown) is available for the guests at The Pimenta outskirts of Cochin

lostmywallet

Dal Roti is by far the best resturant in the Fort Cochi area. VERY tasty, clean and upbeat educated owner.

pontdefer

Had a lovely lunch yesterday at Woodlands Hotel (MG Road) in Ernakulam. The Keralan lunch special on a banana leaf was delicious. The service was great too!

Bigzero

Had a great lunch buffet at the Avenue Regent in MG Road last week. Good spread, cutting across multiple types of cuisine. Delicious fare.

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bruce3404

Some comments on our restaurant adventures two weeks ago in Cochi:
1. Best restaurant in town, bar none, is the aforementioned Fort House. The hotel is no longer under construction and it's rather easy to find. Just head towards the main ferry jetty. We wound up eating there twice and it was our favorite restaurant in India. The braised seer fish curry, wrapped in a banana leaf is to die for. They'll take reservations, so if you want one of the coveted end tables, they'll hold it for you. Fabulous food, great service and quite inexpensive for what you get. A bonus is that there's a newish bakery across the street and back towards the fishing nets (about 100 meters on the left hand side) with great desserts.
2. Hotel Malabar. While this restaurant gets generally favorable reviews, we found the food to be highly over-priced and quite average. The service was terrible and the waiter told us that they had sold out of half bottles of wine just minutes after the manager told us they had a particular vintage we wanted to try; once we got the manager involved, the half bottle magically appeared. We had to repeatedly ask the wait staff to bring a fork, bring more water, clear the table, bring a bill, etc. We received better service in no name places with 25 rupee thalis. And the wine.....well, we weren't totally surprised since Indian wines don't exactly have a great international reputation. If you really want to try Indian wine, you can buy bottles at the local wine shops for as little as 240 rupees and even the best wines run about 700 per bottle. We paid about 800 for a half bottle of a cabernet from the wine growing region S of Aurangabad. The wine was served ice cold and when I questioned serving a red at around 40 degrees (4 degrees C) vs a more typical 60 degrees (15C), the waiter became insulted and told me that's the way we do it here. Uh, OK, sure, whatever you say. We could and should have eaten at the Fort three extra times for the $$$ we spent at the Malabar.
3. Cochin Fort Hotel. Not to be confused with #1 above, this place is near the main bus stand and Brunton Boat Yard. Pretty good food, nice ambience, good prices. I had the Keralan style pork and really enjoyed it.
4. Kashi's. Nice, healthy daily set menu at around 90 rupees. Good place for a cheap lunch and we got into the habit of filling our water bottles there for only 5 rupees per liter.
5. Oy! Nice setting and we ate there twice (guess I hadn't made note of the food poisoning comment above!). Our first meal was quite good and our second was quite bad. Different chefs?
6. Teapot. Not the best food, but far from the worst. We found ourselves going there when one of us wanted Western and one Indian. They do both reasonably well and it makes for an OK lunch stop.

Though this isn't food-related, I can't help but throw in a plug for the excellent Vintage Inn hotel. We stayed there five nights and it was reasonable (1200 double with a/c), the rooms were very clean and the management was 5 star.

bertine

Threads like this were so useful to us while planning our trip - I just thought I would throw in my twopence worth from our recent trip to Cochin.

I would pretty much agree with much that has been said already.

Our highlights:

The Fort House was tasty and reasonably priced for such a stunning, romantic location - right on the water with the boats chugging past. We booked a table earlier in the day and were lucky enough to get one on the jetty. I had a whole fish baked in banana leaf which was very tasty. The only downside is that compared to the rest of the menu - the vegetarian options are a bit limited.

The History restaurant at the Brunton Boatyard - although hugely expensive by Indian standards was lovely. It is set in a beautiful dining room, with live music and great service. We ordered a vegetable dish containing kidney beans which was one of the best things we ate during our whole trip.

Fry's Village Reaturant
We made the trip across to Ernakulam especially to visit as we had heard good things and it was entirely worth it. Refreshingly untouristic after Fort Kochi, we had vegetable Thalis which were great.

On the opposite side, it has already been said but Salt & Pepper was possibly the worst place we visited in our entire time in Kerala. Having just arrived and being very tired and hungry we collapsed into a couple of chairs at this cafe against out better judgement. Although it doesn't look great we just wanted to recharge quickly before beginning to explore. As soon as we sat down we realised that it was a mistake- it felt dirty, the staff were inattentive and worst of all, there were flies everywhere which we had to continually swot away. We initially thought that this must be a problem throughout Fort Cochin but as we didn't encounter this anywhere else, I don't even want to think about what they are doing to attract them in such a number... I wasn't eating but when my partner's food arrived he took one bite (not good) and as we were so revolted by the whole experience we decided just to cut our losses and leave with food uneaten. Thoughout our time we noticed that this place was always busy - no idea why!

PS
I can also backup the last post and the recommendation for Vintage Inn - which was fantastic.

Rainbow Rider

Just returned from a 6 week trip to India and want to mention a favorite restaurant in Fort Cochin. It's Casa Linda, the restaurant for the budget hotel of the same name on the main street. We didn't stay in the hotel, so can't comment on it. The restaurant was a great stop for us for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. The menu is extensive with standard Indian fare, and everything is freshly prepared, so one has to be patient. The staff are pleasant, there's good local beer, prices are reasonable, and if you tell the proprietor in advance, he'll go the few blocks to the waterfront, purchase your choice of fresh seafood, and do a fantastic job of cooking it to your preference! The food is better than at more expensive restaurants we tried in Fort Cochin, though Casa Linda's decor is very basic.

kenneyjacob

Ever been to mullapanthal toddy shop ? In Cochin Square.


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kunjakko

salt and pepper openend
and salmonella story seems to be true
do not agree with the quality of the food . Chariot mediocre

Kashi is good .