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 theyservedus 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 wereservedan item that was well recommended by the staff. it was the banana dosa 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 wereserved5 or 6 variants of chutneys by a traditionally dressed host. and this was very good because of its freshness. theyservedus kuzhi paniyarams (fried rice balls) with these chutneys. very nice. then we wereservedthe 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 circular banana leaf 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 forservedin a rustic dhabara.

dakshin in crowne plaza is known for their ambience and their traditional food.

yes, this restaurant is 30 years old and the same authentic food isservedeven now. so recently they celebrated their 30years anniversary and they had 30 dishes in their thali, and everything was exceptionally great. the thali was 2200+ per head.

the ambience, very traditional, vibrant colors and silver plates are used. they have live performance of carnatic music throughout the week. the place is filled with tanjore paintings and the green color wall makes the ambience very cozy and gives the perfect traditional look to the restaurant. the ambience simply amazes.

coming to food, so the thali was separated into starters, mains, and desserts. we wereservedall the dishes hot and fresh. kuzhi paniyaram, fried prawns, guntur chicken, podi idly and paruppu vadai. theyservedwith 5 variant chutneys which wasservedalong with the paniyaram. the podi idly was phenomenal and kuzhi paniyaram and prawns was expectational.

for the mains we had a huge plate with mutton gravy, chicken gravy, idiyappams, parottas, veg gravies and the andhra kozhi briyani. to the fact the briyani wasn’t spicy at all, and it was very different in taste to the usual briyani comparisons. and then curd rice with vadumanga pickle, omg the pickle’s influence to the curd rice’s taste.

for the desserts, we had in house made ice cream, which was great, jackfruit-banana-mango ice cream. the elaneer payasam was good too.

finally, how can we end a south indian meal without filter coffee? yes, we had filter coffee too which wasservedin dabara set.

that sums up the experience of the 30th year anniversary menu for the dakshin restaurant.

one of my favorites place when it comes to authentic south indian food. i have good news for you guys
@crowneplazachn is celebrating its 30th anniversary for dakshin, in behalf of celebration they have introduced a new menu which include 30 ingredients in one of their food item which is presented in the thalli, thalli is been price around 2500 /, with 35+ luscious item which is beenserved😍😍 which can easily make you food high 😍😍. i have given the 30 ingredients below check it out, do swipe right to see the whole thalli items 😍😍
.
1. coriander seeds
2. jeera
3. red chilli
4. carom seeds
5. star anise
6. cardamom (green)
7. cinnamon
8. cloves
9. fennel seeds
10. poppy seeds
11. mace
12. coconut
13. kalpasi
14. marathi moggu
15. bay leaf
16. garlic
17. ginger
18. tamarind
19. salt
20. curry leaves
21. pepper corn
22. onion
23. tomato
24. oil
25. black cardamom
26. turmeric powder
27. chicken
28. fenugreek
29. coriander leaves
30. white till
.

whole menu gave me a bliss feel and had a mouth watering experience 😍😍

food - 4.5/5
ambience - 4.5/5
service - 4.5/5

i was here to try out their newly launched limited time thali to celebrate dakshin's 30th anniversary. there's definitely something special about the place if it's running fit and right for 30 years and only after this dine-in, i came to know that it's all about the combination of their friendly service, some amazing south indian food and a matching ambience.

'banana dosa' just gave us the perfect start, really too good. the starters wereservedhot and quick, and details of each and every dish were elaborated by the staff. prawns ended up being my personal favourite here. the huge thali had a lot to offer for both vegetarians and non vegetarians. parottas, appams, and idiyappams were freshly cooked andservedfrom the live kitchen right in front of us.

the dessert options were minimal and well made. elaneer payasam is something to watch out for and some hot coffee to end the delicious meal!

recommded! 👌

delightful place with delicious foods 😋😋 i loved the way theyservedand atmosphere.. one my fav south indian cuisine ... sea food thali are really good especially dakshin prawns.. heaven on every weekends .. i loved it

all over the internet we checked the prices for onam sadhya at dakshin crown plaza rs 1900 + tax for 2 person but we were charged 3800 + tax explanation ala carta sadhya is only 1900 plus tax for 2 has any one heard of ala carta sadhya please correct me if i am wrong .... and if they are charging 1900 then food should be worth it .. 10 type of chutneys 2 type of pyasam are included in 28 items of sadhya ...sweet only pyasam thing like rasam wereservedlast i mean at the end of meals and curd was not provided further only thing to talk about was samabhar rice for which i paid 1900+ tax per person please don't insult the name of sadhya just by including it in your promotion activity and not keeping true to its name check photo to understand my point about pricing. a big resturant can't give a excuse about pricing mistake in there promotions. please check for implied meaning of an advertisements and call them befor booking a table don't be up for a surprise and also i think big resturant like dakshin are not worth the money for authentic food may be they are good only for continental food or may be not for that tooooo

took 1 hour to get order ready and the quantities were very less compared to the price we paid for each combo. almost 1400/- for each combo and the variety and portions were quite small. the dishes that are normallyservedas part of the meal were not there. my meal did not even have plain rice and just had 1 small paratha. atleast you should give extra rice and paratha. very disappointing as we usually have had a great dine in experience at dakshin.

if you're an avid lover of street food theme then dakshin from crowne plaza is the right place to visit.

currently street food festival is happening till november 29th between 7pm - 10pm. swipe right to know more details from non vegetarian thali, vanjaram varuval to theme.

the current street food festival is based south indian style that covers traditional food courses from andhra, kerala, tamilnadu and karnataka.

the festival consists of different types of fried starters, dosas on different daysservedalong with veg and non veg thali with sides like mutton chukka, vanjaram varuval. in picture is the non veg thali and vanjaram varuval.

this is my first time that i have tried mukkani ice cream (maa, pala, vazhai) which isservedcurrently as part of this food festival which is like a must try.

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 of banana dosa (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 the banana dosa. 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 andservedhot. 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 whoservedus - 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.

mani and jagan took care of my dining. they were pleasant and knew what would beservedon the table. they came up with good suggestions which made for a good dinner. the place had live music played which was lovely. should definitely try the 3 flavours ice cream- loved it!

palani and ayyappamservedto the best of their ability. the food was delicious and equally authentic. had the most amazing kori talna-a delicacy of karnataka along side favorite appam. the food was offered with refreshing coconut water immersed with honey and hint of lemon to add that zest. unbelievable and unbeatable! :)

hi, we landed in dakshin with a lot of expectations. with the reviews and opinions about the place, we had planned it for a special occassion.

sure, the decor and ambience is appealing and beautiful. it is both vintage and comfortable. the melodious music and good seating just set the tone for a perfect dinner.

but the service was pretty ordinary with the butler's just scurrying around tables and giving no time and attention to us. the order came haphazard with few people getting their food very late after others, no one to fill up the water cups, serving not very hot... service was pathetic.

yera varuval was good indeed but rest of all the items we ordered were a tad too spicy. not good with children atleast. the dishservedas chicken biryani turned out to be a pulao atlast.. kari chops hardly had any meat in it.

all in all, it turned out to be a disaster. did not live upto the standards it has made. i am sorry if i was blunt but this is just how i felt.

if you charge the rates of a 5 star, you must provide the food and service equivalent to that of a 5 star.

i don't know if this was an off day but everything was poor. right from the beginning, when there was no one to receive us at the door and when we entered the restaurant, a harried looking server asked us what we wanted (literally!) and then told us to go and wait outside, even though we had a reservation.

we were eventually seated and promptly forgotten. we opted for the non-veg thali and the seafood thali. this cost us a whopping inr 4600, excluding the gst of inr 828!

the food was average at best, andservedhalf-heartedly. disappointing, because the wall outside the restaurant is supposed to be a testament to the wonderful food and service, as attested by several greats (including tendulkar and vishwanathan anand).

the soups tasted like watered down fish and chicken curry respectively. the starters and the papad basket were decent. dessert was passable; i've had better elaneer payasam.

i wouldn't have bothered to write a review, had the thali been priced between 700-800. we would have treated it as an average meal and forgotten about it. but when you pay top dollar, the food must be exceptional.

very special mention to the off-key violinist. somehow he had no idea he was playing an instrument that badly needed tuning. maybe if he didn't choose to play beloved melodies, it would have been difficult to guess.

all in all: no value for money.
service: interminably slow.

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 and banana dosai was a hit. beautiful place to go with family, friends or colleagues. a filter coffee at the endservedas the cherry on top of the cake. had a wonderful experience and would go back again. thank you dakshin.

loved the experience and the service.. don’t even get me started with the food... it was aamazing. loved the way it wasservedto us and special thanks to thangaraju/guna/suresh for being so hospitable and took care of everything... felt bad that i couldn’t thank their service by tipping them as i had to use my card, but i would like to use this opportunity to thank their service.. thank you for your kind service!!!