12 editor picks across India.
12 south indian restaurants worth the trip across India, editor-ranked. All cuisines in India.
Cafe Madras at Kings Circle has poured Chennai-style filter coffee since 1940. The idli is steamed in cotton batter; the masala dosa is the benchmark.
OrderTwo filter coffees, one set of idli, one Mysore masala dosa.
TipMondays are closed; Sunday breakfast queue starts at 07:00. Cash and card both accepted.
A Rama Nayak's Udipi Shri Krishna Boarding has run the unlimited South Indian thali in Matunga since 1942. Banana leaves, ghee roast, sambar refills.
OrderThe unlimited thali; come hungry.
TipLunch only here; book the upstairs hall ahead for groups of six or more guests.
A Rama Nayak's Udipi Shri Krishna Boarding has run an unlimited South Indian thali in Matunga since 1942. Banana leaves, ghee roast, sambar refills.
OrderThe unlimited thali; come hungry.
TipLunch only on weekdays here; book the upstairs hall ahead for groups of six or more guests.
Pinki Dixit's Soam in Chowpatty has poured Gujarati and Maharashtrian home cooking since 2005. The khichdi runs seven different grains and the undhiyo.
OrderSaat dana khichdi and a glass of chaas.
TipCash and digital both accepted; weekends crowd hard, arrive at 12:00 sharp.
Pinki Dixit's Soam in Chowpatty has run Gujarati and Maharashtrian home cooking since 2005. Saat dana khichdi runs seven grains; undhiyo holds nine.
OrderSaat dana khichdi and a glass of chaas.
TipWeekend lunches crowd hard; arrive at 12:00 sharp for a counter seat.
Naivedyam in Connaught Place, Delhi, is a South Indian vegetarian room for dosas, uttapam, dahi vada and vegetable korma with Malabar parotta from 09:00.
OrderA masala dosa, or vegetable korma with flaky Malabar parotta.
TipIt opens at 09:00, so it works for a South Indian breakfast before a day in Connaught Place and Janpath.
Saravana Bhavan on Atul Grove Road off Janpath in Delhi serves South Indian vegetarian food from 07:00: ghee roast dosas, idli, vada and filter coffee.
OrderThe ghee paper roast masala dosa with a pot of filter coffee.
TipIt opens at 07:00 for dosa breakfasts; at lunch the thalis are the way to try several dishes in one order.
Sagar Ratna, the South Indian vegetarian chain Jayaram Banan founded in Delhi in 1986, runs this Outer Circle branch in Connaught Place from 08:00 daily.
OrderThe ghee roast masala dosa, with idli chaat to share.
TipGroups can order the four-foot dosa from the menu; it opens at 08:00, early enough for a South Indian breakfast in Connaught Place.
Indian Coffee House on the second floor of Mohan Singh Place in Delhi is a cooperative-run canteen with fading hand-painted signs, filter coffee and pakoras.
OrderFilter coffee with a plate of pakoras or an omelette.
TipDo not expect speed: the waiters take their time, which is the point; it closes at 20:30, so come for coffee rather than dinner.
Swagath has served South Indian and coastal seafood dishes in Delhi's Defence Colony Market since 2001, built around Chettinad chicken and fish curry.
OrderThe Chettinad chicken with a Malabar parotta.
TipWeekday lunch is quieter than the dinner rush that starts around 20:00.
SambharSa on Queens Road in Vaishali Nagar, Jaipur, is a pure vegetarian South Indian restaurant begun in 2019, with dosas, dahi vada and outdoor seating.
OrderThe pepper garlic dosa and the dahi vada, the two dishes local creators recommend.
TipSambharSa has outlets in Vaishali Nagar, Bajaj Nagar and Mansarovar; this entry is the Queens Road one, open from 09:00 to 22:30.
Andhra Canteen in M Block of Connaught Place, Delhi, serves Andhra-style biryani, dosas and masala uttapam, the biryani plated thali-style with salan.
OrderThe masala uttapam, a thick lentil-and-rice pancake topped with onion and chilli.
TipOrder the biryani, which comes on a thali with salan, raita and salad; a short wait at peak lunch is normal.
