dakshin - crowne plaza chennai adyar park

so dakshin has been a very old restaurant and it seems they've just completed 30 years! they have been part of chennai's five star scene all these years offering authentic southern food. unfortunately, i had never visited this place all these years. we were invited to try out the thali that dakshin is famous for. 

since the restaurant was fully booked that night, we bloggers didnt get to be seated in dakshin but we got to check out the place and click pictures. we were seated at cappuccino their 24 hour cafe where they served us the thali. it looks very cozy with an ambiance that reminds me of temple interiors. there's a huge ganesha at the entrance, the doorway built like that of a temple. then the lamps, decor and colour scheme along with the music stage at the restaurant's centre with a flautist playing is sure to enhance the experience considerably.

so dakshin is known for its comprehensive thali and that's what we were served. there are some standout dishes that i will mention about here. all the dishes were south indian in origin and the thali has about 30 items including starters, gravies, breads and desserts. 

to start off, we were served an item that was well recommended by the staff. it was thebananadosa which is a sweet soft dosa fried in ghee that was quite yummy. wasn't overly sweet and it can be had anytime during the meal. 

then we were served 5 or 6 variants of chutneys by a traditionally dressed host. and this was very good because of its freshness. they served us kuzhi paniyarams (fried rice balls) with these chutneys. very nice. then we were served the non-veg starters like dakshin yera (fried prawn), guntur chicken and kozhi ammi masala. loved the fried prawn because of the tenderness of the meat. spices in all dishes were quite toned down to suit the international tastebuds. 

podi idly and dal/paruppu vadai came next, freshly fried. 

we were then brought the complete thali in a heavy metal plate with a circularbananaleaf within. it had a mutton gravy, chicken gravy and various vegetarian curries which were to be had with idiappams, parottas and appams. also there was white rice. again the curries were spiced just right but maybe a bit mild for native tastebuds. on the other hand its very easy on the stomach.

there was also biriyani, andhra kodi biriyani a extremely mild yet tasty variant from the interior. the chef said this particular recipe goes easy on the spices on purpose. i liked it quite a bit. 

finally the desserts arrived which were jackfruit-banana-mango in-house ice cream that was excellent. no one ingredient overpowered and it definitely satisfied me. then there was also elaneer payasam which was good too.

lastly there was the filter coffee or chai which you can opt for served in a rustic dhabara.

i visit chennai every now and then and this trip was to meet my friend’s son! so while we were deciding through options, we chose dakshin because a) my friend and i were a regular here 5 years ago b) wanted to have authentic southie meals. so yeah, we booked through zomato assuming it would be a busy saturday afternoon. surprisingly it was almost vacant. the ambience of this restaurant is still well done and maintained even though the hotel looks rundown and needs some work. we chose the set menu and it was all sorts of amazing. thebananaappam/dosa was the first item we had and i had not eaten anything like that. this was followed by a full meals including idiyappam, korma, parota, puliyogare, dhal, rasam, sambhar and what not! even though the quantities weren’t huge, it was a lot to finish for one person. (unless someone has a really huge appetite!!) this amazing lunch was followed by jackfruitbananaicecream and payasam. i generally can’t deal with both jackfruit andbananaand this was quite yummy. the curd rice (not in pics) was brilliant too!
i must also mention these guys were extremely hospitable and even brought over a cute wooden cradle for my friends son so she could put him to sleep and eat peacefully. overall, very friendly service, nice ambience, great food but a bit over priced as there is nothing 5starry about this crowne plaza anymore. will i come back again? of course!!

went with my wife and cousin for a dinner after watching a youtube video of dhee and santhosh narayanan having their food from dhakshin. amazing service. food was great. waiter gunasekaran was very courteous and even convinced my wife to eat more than her usual habit by bringing her a smaller version of appam.bananadosa was excellent and so was their mookkani ice cream. will come back again for sure.

service and food is always great! they cater to all dietary needs if you inform in them advance. great for vegans🌱! theirbananadosas and variety of chutneys are to die for.

gunashekhar was an amazing server!

impressive. each and every portion of the food tastes to its remarkable. more particularly
1. tomato rasam
2.bananadosa
3. pusanikai kottu
4. pavakkai varuval
5. veg kuruma
6. tamarind rice
7. mookani icecream
8. maa vadu for curd rice
were upto it's best tase.
highly recommended.

for a lot of people, south indian food is just idly,dosa and rice. but each state in dakshin(south) brings to the table its own flavor of food with varying levels of sweet and spice. if itsbananaand coconut from kerala, it's pepper, rice & onion from tn, a lot of sweet based dishes from karnataka and of course loads of chilli based dishes from andhra.
what if you had a meal that comprised of a variety of street food items from all these 4 states..

that's exactly the concept of this dakshin street food festival hosted by crowneplaza chennai
@dakshin.chennai @crowneplazachn.

some of the items include
eerulli bonda from andhra (deep fried, flavorsome, crispy snack made of onions, seasoning, spices and gram flour)
palak pakoda (karnataka style)
pazham pori - irresistible street savory made with ripened banana.

milagai bajji (chilli mixed with maida flour fried in oil)

the dakshin street food festival along with multiple street food counters, runs till 30th of november

do give it a try if you are craving for some yummy south indian thali

came here for my friend’s birthday lunch.

lunching after lockdown is bliss.
this is place was the best place to start with indeed.

what we ordered :
1) non vegetarian thali
2) sea food thali

both the thalis began with - soup.
non vegetarian thali - kozhi rasam
seafood thali - nandu rasam
the kozhi rasam was amazing. however the nandu rasam had a little too much pepper to it making it difficult to finish.

next was the “iyer’s special” - a definite must try signature dish (too many adjectives because it was that good). it comprises ofbananadosa (sweet) and paniyaram (savoury).
along with it they give you 5 varieties of chutney (i.e) - garlic chutney, coconut chutney, tamarind chutney, kaara chutney and tomato chutney.
my personal favourite was thebananadosa. the hotel staff recommended me to have it with the tamarind chutney. the sweet and sour combination was fantastic. out of all the chutneys the kaara and garlic chutneys were my favourites.

(forgive me for not naming the dishes)
non vegetarian thali :
1) appetiser - chicken 65.
it tasted really good.
2) main food - comprised of poriyal, raita, fish gravy, chicken gravy, chicken side dish, mutton side dish and curd.

seafood thali :
1) appetiser : prawn fry
this is a “never miss” dish. enjoyed eating it to the level i had three rounds of this alone.
2) main food - comprised of prawn thoku, nandu puttu, fish gravy, poriyal and curd.

along with both thalis - aapam, parotta, idiyappam, coconut rice (a must try) and curd rice were given.
i really wish there was more variety in terms of the non vegetarian side dishes. but the taste and flavour of the food given to us was spot on.

desserts -
non vegetarian thali- paal payasam with mango ice cream
seafood thali - badam halwa with mango ice cream.
out of the two desserts, badam halwa was the best. it had the perfect amount of sweetness to it with that touch of ghee making it an amazing treat. the mango ice cream was really good too. but both the items did not gel together as a desserts. they’re best enjoyed when eaten separately.

the ambience is lovely. it has a really good south indian touch to it with tanjore paintings and traditional music.

the service was excellent.

the best part of this restaurant was that everything was freshly made and served hot. this made the dining experience really enjoyable and memorable as well.

as a result of the pandemic the restaurant took really good measures - like wearing gloves, giving cold towels before the meal and had a tray of masks in the front.

wanted to give credit to the guy who served us - guna. he explained everything beautifully and made our dining experience wonderful.

had a really good dining experience :)

a nice place to hangout with family and friends.

the perfect place to have vegetarian or non vegetarian thali. i had the vegetarian thali- very impressed with the varieties. their hospitality is the best. we had few artists playing instruments and that added to the organized ambience appeal. the desserts which included an ice cream too was very unique andbananadosai was a hit. beautiful place to go with family, friends or colleagues. a filter coffee at the end served as the cherry on top of the cake. had a wonderful experience and would go back again. thank you dakshin.

i had the thali yesterday at dakshin and turned out to be a nightmare.  had indigestion and feverishness after that.  still feeling weak.  food was spicy. bananadosa and desert were great but overall i would prefer taj southern spice.  also multiple attendants attend on you and you ask for one and get another.  everything gets put on the plate.  also food pointing and touching katoris etc in a plate while eating should be avoided.  expected more from a 5 star !

only a handful of restaurants create a lasting impression in one’s mind and my culinary experience at dakshin, the iconic south indian restaurant at crowne plaza created quite an impact. although this is a late post, i didn’t want to miss blogging about this gem which has stood the test of time for over three decades now.

in fact, i happened to visit them when they were commemorating 30 years of dakshin and had introduced a special thali comprising of 30 dishes and this review is based on that experience.

i walked through the massive doors of dakshin and couldn’t help comparing it with a temple door. as a gentle classical instrumental music wafted throught the air, i was greeted by a sculpture of ganesha flanked on either side with brass lamps and an uruli filled with fresh flowers. the walls were painted in a bold green shade and adorned with such gorgeous tanjore paintings. the wooden carvings, the pillars, the matching carpets and tables with brass serve ware makes you feel like you are transported to an old golden era.

we began conversing over a glass of refreshing panagam, which is a concoction of jaggery, lemon juice, ginger and cardamom. chef deva walked in and explained the whole concept to us and about how in their kitchen, each chef is a master in his own section like the iyer trolley, seafood, coffee etc.

one of the many usp’s of dakshin includes the iyer’s trolley, a live trolley named after chef paramasivam iyer, which serves small adais,bananaflavoured dosais and the kuzhi paniyarams – sourse itc website

thebananadosai from the iyre’s trolley made with 5 varieties of bananas left everyone craving for more. these mini pancake like preparation were soft with a slightly crispy crust and not overly sweet; just the way i like them. along with their tamarind chutney, it was simply too good.

kozhi rasam (soup) was served along with some paniyarams, mini podi idlys and delicious chutneys. the paniyarams were again a great hit. soft on the inside and crispy on the outside, they were seasoned well. this was another sought after dish that day. the podi idlys were also very tasty.

dakshin is known to have maintained some of the dishes in their menu right from their inception. the famous dakshin yera (prawns), marinated in their specially made masala and deep fried were juicy and spicy. loved it. their recipes are collected from home cooks and they improve on it with years of practise. the kozhi varuval was also a great starter.

after we had gorged on the paniyarams andbananadosas, it was time for the delectable dakshin thali. a huge silver plate comprising of parotta, iddiyappam, nadan style fish curry, dhal, sambhar, vegetable kuruma, rice and curd was served. mutton chettinadu and natu kozhi ammi masala were the two dishes that stood out from the rest. they also happened to be specially added to their menu in view of the 30 years celebration. the mutton chettinadu was spicy with a robust flavour and went well with the parotta. the nattu kozhi ammi masala true to its name was made with spices hand pounded. it was just delicious and went so well with the andhra style puloa. the nadan style fish curry was another favourite and went well with iddiyappam as recommended by the staff.

i must mention how friendly the staff were and had a fair knowledge about the food being served. they were extremely courteous and this sort of service is what makes us want to keep coming back to this place.

to end this feast we were served elaneer payasam and mukanni ice cream. the latter is an ice cream made in house using jackfruit, mango and banana. hence the name mukanni meaning three fruits. it was so delicious and its taste cannot be compared to anything that i have ever taste before. the elaneer payasam was again a great dessert and made so well. it was neither too thin nor very creamy. just the right consistency.

post the meal when we were offered filter coffee, and i being a huge fan of filter coffee could not turn it down. i personally feel that it’s the olfactory senses that gets to enjoy the aroma of the coffee before our gustatory system. and just like that the room was suddenly filled with the aroma of freshly brewed filter coffee.to our surprise one of their staff arrived at our table with a brass pitcher and container who then began pouring the coffee between the two conatiners from over a height of 3 feet roughly. we were then serveda perfect blend of frothy and strong filter coffee. my day was made.

in a nutshell

dakshin being one of chennai’s first south indian fine dining restaurant, i personally feel that this is a huge feat to have withstood the test of time and managed to dish out such delicious food all along. dakshin is definitely worth the visit and the next time we have guests visiting us from abroad and want to taste some authentic south indian food, i know where to bring them.

with raving reviews and recommendations from a few known friends, my friend from switzerland and myself decided to give dakshin a try! more, he happened to be staying in this premises and he was very keen on having local south indian food.

when we entered dakshin, we loved the ambience and the music. we were given a table of our choice. palani was very soft spoken and charming, ensuring that our needs are met. after the sit down we were handed the menu card and wet towels to refresh ourselves.

since my friend was new to south indian food, we decided to try not the usually style. we ordered butter milk, kuzhi paniyaram andbananapancakes was served as starters. the variety of chutney was overwhelming, each having its flavours and essences. as we slowly fisnihed the starters the main meal of soft, very thinly cooked spongy appam arrived and we were served with aatukal paya. both were served hot and the tasted delicious and each mouth one could enjoy the flavours. the place also has the smell of filter coffee aroma, which is not to be missed.

a bit pricy....yet worth it!

the place for known for their unique and traditional south indian dishes! been here twice so far, and both times we had fascinating experience.

food: 5/5 – we had their non-veg and seafood thali. i never expected variety here, but the quality of food was simply superb, and it was very filling too. they serve quite a few chutneys and powders/pickles to savor along with papad for appetizer. main starters included jumbo prawn and fried chicken.bananadosa was really unique and mouth watering, we repeated that 3 times. for main course, there was fish and chicken curries, crab meat mixed with some vegetables, and other vegetarian accompaniments to go with the idiyappam, parotta, appam and rice. they serve buttermilk too. elaneer payasam, kesari and jackfruit ice cream were our desserts. they also gave sweet paan at the end. even though everything was unlimited, i really could not go more than 2 servings of just a few dishes. one thing you would notice is their menu is like a thick book!

ambience: 5/5 – the décor gives an appeal of an ancient temple. the place is dim lit with huge pillars, and an area for live traditional or carnatic music. your attention would be drawn to musicians playing the flute, violin, tabla or mridangam. for the calm and serene atmosphere here, this place serves as a good place to hangout and have a chat, for a family gathering or even a team lunch/dinner.

service: 5/5 – service was splendid. food and drinks were served quick. the waiters were very courteous and very knowledgeable about each item on the menu. they go the extra mile in making our dining experience truly satisfying.

mind you, the cost is exorbitant here. however, i think that goes without saying, since the restaurant is in a 5 star hotel. so essentially we would be paying for the entire experience of dining here. parking is not an issue. you can finish your meal and hang out in their lobby, and if lucky you may spot a few celebrities or sports personalities too.

we were here for a weekday dinner hearing about a thali from social media posts! the thali is for the celebration of 30 years of the restaurant! yes. you heard it right! 30 years isn't a small feat! few staffs are working for more than 25 years now and they're happy doing it.
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the food - the thali was split into starters, mains and desserts. the starters were served right at the table hot and fresh. the prawns were cooked to perfection and was seasoned perfectly! loved thebananadosa and uthappam! the main course, consists of 8 sides that can accompany with parottas, idiyappam and aappams. of course made at live counter. the mains were too good. we loved everything.
desserts weren't much, it was ice cream, ilaneer payasam and coffee. everything was good. it was a perfect end.
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dakshin is one of those places were, south indian food is covered top to bottom. a one stop for all south indian food.

the thali costs -2200/head and it's worth it for me!

here i had one of the best experience as a guest.....the food was just amazing😍😍 everything i tried here was just the best....and don't miss thebananadosa if ur here🤤
the service was topnotch the ambience was also so peaceful....the music lighting everything makes the experience soooo gooood😍😍😍
and coming to their mains they have limited items but they give their best in everything they serve....this one is my top recommended....and dhakshin is turning 30 so this review is entirely based on the special buffet that was served....

it's a whole south indian package under one roof!

the temple door, the interiors - alternate red and green walls with beautiful tanjore painting, the cutlery, carnatic orchestra and the flavourful south indian food. definitely a wholesome south indian experience!

vasantha neer - tender coconut water with dash of lime and honey was a refreshing welcome drink.

the meal starts off as per south indian tradition - one sweet dish (banana dosa) and one salt/spicy based dish( varieties of chutney served with idiyappam or kuzhi paniyram.

banana dosai - perfectly delicious dosa made with five varieties ofbananatopped with loads of ghee and cashews. it's a dakshin speciality.

they have limited edition veg and non veg thali - with 30 flavourful dishes from karnataka,tamil nadu,andhra pradesh and kerala.

dakshin yera - juicy prawns marinated with homemade rich masala. this tasted really delicious.

guntur chicken - dry chicken roast with chilli, cashew, curry leaves and indian spices. the best guntur chicken i have had in chennai.

kozhi ammi masala - spicy chicken masala made up of exactly 30 ingredients. best combo with parotta. the fish curry and appam was also one of my favourites for the evening.

for desserts, elaneer payasam and mukkani icecream(jackfruit,mango and banana) both were really good.

ended with dakshin speciality coffee. the overall experience was worth it. delicious food, elegant ambience and good company what else could one ask for?

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