The GyGi guide to eating out in Pondicherry and Auroville
We are picky eaters. And that works well for you guys because you can be sure our recommendations are the bomb 😉 Here’s our guide to eating out in Pondicherry and Auroville.
Pondicherry takes it’s cuisine seriously. And we recommend you do too. We‘ve never had a meal here that we didn’t enjoy and that’s saying something. Pondicherry’s mouthwatering culinary legacy has a lot to do with its rich maritime as well as recent colonial history. The authentic fusion cuisine of the area comprises Tamil, French and even Vietnamese influences although it’s no longer as easy to find in the newer, trendier places.
Here’s our guide to the best eateries we tried out in Pondicherry and Auroville. This is by no means exhaustive and every conversation around food in Pondy comes down to intense debates on what’s the best place to eat!
So here is our list of places we loved.
Pondicherry-
Cafe des Arts- we loved the artsy vibe and vintage with a touch of eclectic interiors of this colonial building in the old French quarter. While we did enjoy our late breakfast of French cafe food, it’s essentially the prettiness of the place that was the USP for us.
Le Dupleix- we spent a lovely spring afternoon enjoying our late lunch and drinks (they have happy hour!). Excellent for seafood the courtyard seating offers much needed respite on a warm day and this is definitely one of the prettiest places we visited.
Coromandel Cafe- Frequently featured in the best restaurants lists across the country Coromandel cafe, a restored rose hued ‘maison’ is basically the French quarter It Girl. We get the hype! Great food and a painstakingly recreated colonial ambience, complete with liveried servers.
Rendezvous Cafe & Restaurant- Centrally located in the street just behind the Promenade beach front this lovely rooftop restaurant was recommended by my cousin for the seafood and potent cocktails. As we discovered for ourselves their LIITs (long island iced tea) are dangerously LIT 🔥.
Shri Kamatchi Restaurant- we were craving authentic South Indian cuisine and boy did this place in White Town deliver. This wasn’t as easy to locate and is pretty basic in terms of ambience but the prawn Kamatchi their signature prawn dish fried with egg is to die for. Quite literally- it’s so yum, yet so spicy I did feel like I was dying. Other must try dishes are the prawn biryani and rasam.
GyGi advisory- only visit if you can handle extremely spicy dishes. Oh and avoid the restaurant’s loo if you can.
Our top picks in Auroville.
Some of our best meals were at Auroville. So much so that at some of these places we were those breakfast regulars who’d wave at other breakfast regulars.
Marc’s cafe- store- GyGi can’t recommend this enough! Great coffee- check- delicious food- check and friendly staff- again check. But the biggest pro it’s got a distinctive personality which is so in keeping with Auroville and doesn’t feel like every other upmarket cafe. The only con the place shuts down at 8 p.m.
Bread & Chocolate- We got lucky with our Airbnb which was barely a km away from this popular Auroville eatery. Big, generous portions, great coffee (they partner with Mumbai based Subko for their coffee) and lots of dessert options make this a must visit.
Tanto Pizzeria- while Tanto also has a branch in Pondicherry we were told that it’s not as good as the Auroville one. Authentic, hearty Italian dishes and all round comfort food. Need we say anymore? We particularly liked the well made risottos and soups.
Honorable mentions- every Gelato shop! They’re everywhere and they’re all really good. Il Cono in Auroville is one of the most recommended Gelato places but we never met a gelato that we didn’t like.
What are your favorite places In Pondicherry? Do let us know.
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love,
GyGi
Nicely curated and though I did eat and spend time in a few , missed some and will go on my next visit to Pondi. N will need a few more days . My Fav was Coromandel, n great one GyGi
Thank you soo much! I feel like we also missed out on a few places there but there’s always a next time 😀