Ratna Cafe, Kilpauk - South Indian restaurant in Chennai - Chennai, India

Breakfast with friends was a treat at this spot. The podi idly, dosa, and mini ghee idly were all delicious. Quick service ensured a pleasant morning. A great place for a tasty, hassle-free meal with friends.

My recent visit to Ratna Cafe in Chennai left me with a rather disheartening experience. The establishment displayed a significant lack of maintenance and poor hygiene standards. To add to the discomfort, the air conditioning was not functioning, making the dining experience quite unpleasant. Moreover, the valet service they claim to offer was unavailable, and parking space was scarce, forcing patrons to park across the road. What's more, I was taken aback when I found out that an additional charge was levied for sambar, a detail that was not communicated to us when we placed our order. The overall ambiance was subpar, and the pricing seemed inflated for the quality of service and environment offered. To make matters worse, there was a notable absence of any management presence; the manager, Gnanaval, was nowhere to be found, leaving only a supervisor named Thai, who responded callously, stating, "I can't do anything, you can leave if you want." In summary, Ratna Cafe failed to meet expectations in terms of cleanliness, ambiance, and customer service, highlighting the absence of effective management during my visit.

Residing close to such a legendary restaurant, have frequented the place in different occasions. It has seating for about 50 people in an air-conditioned space with elevator access so is old-age friendly. There are about 3-4 tables with street-view and I like these :) The service is most of the times decently fast and courteous. Payment can be made via upi, card or cash. Reducing a star here because after our last visit for a quick lunch at about 2.30, my wife told me that she overheard the manager guy (or whoever was with a white shirt shouting at the staff) commenting like "eating for 200rs and staying inside for the AC". She heard it but didn't see him pointing to us- and to this element of doubt, the four stars still remain. It was hot outside, agreed, we came in about 2:30, billed out at 2:52, had sambar rice, tamarind rice and a masala pappad, and irrespective of anything, such a comment, if it were for us, and would have been told to my face, it would have created a deep ignorance and hatred for the guy/restaurant. But having employees with that thought process is anyway disastrous from my perspective. Will update the review of each of the dishes in the review, or post a photo update, but for this review will cover the below items. - Sambar rice- my go to lunch from here. Tasty and economical for a quick lunch outing. - Tamarind rice- the hit of tamarind was good. Fresh and tasty. - Roasted masala pappad- avoid. Had a bit of un roasted portions and isn't a greatly built dish. Note: the roasted masala pappad in the menu is 50rs, but their billing system had a fault as of 16th May 2023 that it was billing it at Rs.65. - Dahi poori- good. Not the creamiest curd, but still tasty. - Phulka and paneer butter masala combo- expensive for the portion size. But was tasty. - Podi idli- not good- avoidable. This is clearly not what they are good at. - Ras-malai- yummy :) - Chappathi set- good set of side dishes, good for a light dinner. - Paneer tikka- nice succulent paneer, decent masala and well done. - Bhatoora- was good. The channa was a bit too spicy (not hotness, but amount of masala) - Mini tiffin- a killer deal between 7-9 in the weekdays morning. Impossible value for one's hard earned money. To conclude- a well maintained restaurant with comfortable interior and decent amount of covered parking which has expensive as well as economic options for one to go and explore, most of which are tasty and worth a try.

Nowhere near to the good old Ratna cafe.. Sambar was not served hot.. Different prices for idly sambar where sambar was served in a cup and sambar idly where sambar is poured on top... Regular idly with sambar in a small cup was Rs. 45 and sambar idly Rs. 75.. Probably trying to deter people who drink sambar and eat idlies.. Taste needs a definite boost up so does the service.. Pull up your socks Rathna Cafe.. We are waiting to come back to you..

Good food, prime location and large glass pane windows with good view. Delightful South Indian cuisine.

First timer at this legacy outlet, Ratna Cafe Kilpauk. A simple no nonsense sitting- seating for 4 and 6 mostly. Very busy stewards. We ordered idly sambar, ghee masala dosa, Andhra Kara Dosa and Paratha Korma. Sambar by itself is awesome. Each and every dish cooked with love. One must visit to this outlet when in Chennai

Waaoo what a coffee.. Loved their coffee. Samabar idly is a must try. Idly is flooded with sambar. Ordered podi ghee dosa, dosa was a bit over cooked. Must say about their service, Mr Sunil Kumar.. he was like Eveready, you order and food will be on the table

I don't have the mindset to even write a review. One of the worst restaurants I've ever been in my life. The worst, in simple terms. Please dont even try to go there. Atleast try to save your time and petrol you spend for travelling. Only after selecting a star, it is allowing me to click on post option, so I'm selecting one star! But it's in negative. Don't waste time there