Setting the table…
தாமரை · Contemporary South Indian dining
Rooted in Tradition.Served for Today.
Discover the warmth of South Indian cuisine, thoughtfully prepared and shared around the table.
- Breakfast from 7:30 am — idli, pongal, dosa
- Unlimited meals from noon — served on steel
- Three kitchens in Chennai — Mylapore, Adyar, Anna Nagar
சிறப்பு உணவுகள்
The dishes people cross the city for
Six plates that have been on the menu since the first week. We change the specials; these stay.
- ₹160
Mini Idli with Sambarமினி இட்லி
Fourteen thumb-sized idlis drowned in a shallot sambar, finished with ghee and a spoon of podi.
Gluten-free - ₹220
Ghee Podi Dosaநெய் பொடி தோசை
Crisp, lacy dosa brushed with ghee and our roasted lentil-chilli podi. Three chutneys and sambar.
Gluten-free - ₹320
South Indian Mealsசாப்பாடு
Unlimited rice with sambar, rasam, kootu, two poriyals, appalam, pickle, curd and a small sweet. Changes daily.
Gluten-free - ₹360
Pepper Chicken Roastமிளகு கோழி வறுவல்
Chicken on the bone roasted almost dry with crushed black pepper, curry leaf and small onions. From the Chettinad kitchens.
Gluten-free - ₹90
Filter Coffeeபில்டர் காபி
A peaberry-chicory blend brewed in a brass filter, pulled with hot milk into a steel tumbler and davara.
Gluten-free - ₹140
Elaneer Payasamஇளநீர் பாயசம்
Chilled tender-coconut payasam with coconut milk, cardamom and a little jaggery. Served cold.
Gluten-free
தாமரை · lotus
Named for a flower that grows from the mud of a temple tank
Thamarai opened in Mylapore in 2017 with eight tables and one tawa. The batter still ferments for eighteen hours in clay; the masalas are still ground before the first dosa. What we have made contemporary is the room, the pace and the welcome.
Read our storyபிராந்திய சிறப்பு
Dishes with a postcode
South India is six cuisines at least. Each month we cook one dish from each, the way it is cooked at home there.
- ChettinadPepper Chicken Roast₹360
- MaduraiKari Dosai₹320
- Kongu NaduArisi Paruppu Sadam₹240
- Malabar CoastPrawn Curry₹440
- UdupiSet Dosa & Sambar₹200
- AndhraGongura Mutton₹430
உணவகம்
A room that takes its time
Daylight, brass, plants and the smell of coffee being pulled. Breakfast is bright and quick; by evening the lamps are lower and the meals come on steel.
- Breakfast7:30 – 11:30 am
- Idli, pongal and dosa served the moment they leave the tawa.
- Meals12 – 3:30 pm
- Unlimited rice meals on a steel thali, served by hand at the table.
- Evening tiffin5 – 10:30 pm
- Kothu parotta, regional roasts and a long list of dosas.
விருந்து
Feed a hundred people the way you would feed four
Banana-leaf meals for a naming ceremony, boxed tiffin for an office, a long table at Adyar for a milestone birthday. Our catering kitchen cooks everything the restaurant does, at scale, with the same hands.
- Family celebrationsfrom ₹650 / guest
- Corporate mealsfrom ₹450 / guest
- Private dining at Adyarfrom ₹1,200 / guest
What guests say on the way out
Fictional guests, written for this concept site.
The mini idlis took my mother straight back to her grandmother's kitchen in Kumbakonam. She did not say a word for ten minutes, which is the highest compliment she gives.
We booked the family room for my father's seventieth. The meals were unlimited, the service was unhurried and nobody rushed the payasam.
I came for the pepper chicken and stayed for the filter coffee. Proper davara-tumbler, proper froth, no nonsense.
இடங்கள்
Three kitchens, one Chennai
Breakfast runs from 7:30 am at every branch. Meals are served from noon.
Mylapore, Chennai
14 Kutchery Road
Mylapore, Chennai 600004- Monday – Friday
- 7:30 am – 10:30 pm
- Saturday
- 7:00 am – 11:00 pm
- Sunday
- 7:00 am – 10:30 pm
Adyar, Chennai
3 Lattice Bridge Road
Adyar, Chennai 600020- Monday – Sunday
- 7:30 am – 10:30 pm
Anna Nagar, Chennai
Tower Block, 2nd Avenue
Anna Nagar, Chennai 600040- Monday – Sunday
- 8:00 am – 10:30 pm
Come hungry. Bring everyone.
Tables for two to twelve at all three kitchens. For larger groups, our catering team will plan it with you.