Food in Ooty

After disappointments when picking restaurants by the guide-books(esp Sharam Bhojanalaya near the bus-stop), I`d like to recommend Nahar Hotel ,100, Main Bazaar, for food. A north indian thali-style meal may be over 120 bucks, but the food is plentiful and of finest quality. All thumbs up!

I second this place! Not only for North Indian thali but they also make good Dosai around the back in the courtyard!

I 100% recommend Nahar. As Dacoit chief said their dosas are also very good.

Its been more than 6 months since I tried and I am happy that Nicc66 found the foood to be of the same taste / quality even now.

Glad to hear you share my opinon about this foodie-place :-). Hey, Dacoit Chief, how comes you know so much about India, coming all the way from spain..?

I am not really "coming from Spain", more like "went to Spain". Spain is just my temporary resting point. Coming from Nilgiris is more accurate. I lived there for 18 years in the past.

Ahh.. so I see! :-)

So..Nahar Hotel a good food point...any other inputs?

Right opposite Nahar there is a Gujarati Thali place: serves fantastic thalis lunch and dinner. 60 rupees last I was there (two years ago). It's a small first-floor place but you won't miss it - quite popular.

Hotel Saravana near charring cross. (Just before the Road which lead to Hotel Tamilnadu when you come from ooty bus stand / lake ). Too Good Vegetarian food and Fantastic Ghee Dosa. Location is average !

Tell me how far this places will be from Railway Station? Walkable distance?

It seems the Ooty Lake is a walkable distance from the Railway Station. How far will be the Botanical Garden from Railways Station?

Anyone been to Kabob lately? Recommended in the Lonely Planet guide.

Yes, ate at Kabob about a month ago, it was very good but no place for vegans!

Two that are recommended in LP but were not good were Virtue Bake (sub par coffee and tasteless baking) and Sidewalk Cafe(western menu done poorly).

Had a very good meal at Kings Cliff, a finer dining sort of place(and not cheap) near the summit of a mountain atop Ooty town. It was worth it for a special occasion in a comfortable, classy setting. Take a rickshaw, walking up would take hours.

Saravana is about 10min walk from the station. Great food but huge queues at lunch time. There is another BMR hotel close by and if you walk on the Lower Bazaar Road you will find umpteen veg and non veg moderately priced places. No shortage of restaurants and food stalls! Blue Hills is another good place for non veg Kerala style food.

Try Ooty Bakeries opp. Saravana for excellent puffs, cakes and biscuits. Its very popular with the locals who stop by for a daily round of tea, puff and cake.

The botanical gardens are about 30min walk from the railway station.

Six of us had an excellent celebration dinner at the Savoy above Ooty - I think this hotel may be part of the Taj group. They have a wonderful dining room and a well lit timber bar for pre-dinner drinks and snacks. There was also a nice lawn which appeared may be used for dining but it was rainy when we were in Ooty.
This is not a cheap (by local standards) place but for a celebration or splurge we found it top notch.

Keith H, "not cheap" means how much do they charge about for a meal?

I had Thali at Nahar Hotel this march again and can still recommend it.. yum. Service is attentive. Brought a huge box of handmade chocolates from the supermarket "convenient stores" back to the guesthouse and they were munched off within 10 minutes. Highly recommend the chocolate in Ooty, esp rum&raisin :-)