ratna cafe

one of the legendary restaurants in chennai and the original branch amongst all other ratna cafe branches, it has its old charm. they have not done any renovations to this place, so don’t expect any glamorous or elaborate interiors. it still stands as a simple tiny pocket-friendly tiffin stall, popularly known for their sambhar. even today, their idlies drowning in hot sambhar (along with chutney is how i prefer) tastes delicious. filtercoffeeas well lives up to its name. so definitely a must visit outlet in chennai.

overcrowded, overhyped and overpriced! it was just not worth it. the pongal was pathetic in particular. there was no sign of ghee. the sambar was mediocre and i really don't understand the hype around it. the filtercoffeewas the only saving grace.

the whole plan of going to parthasarathy temple was just to visit the original ratna café because we had a horrible experience in the adyar branch. the first big mistake i did was to take car to the restaurant. best thing would have been to park the car in temple premises and walk but as the closing time was nearing, we were not sure whether it’d be safe to keep the car there so took it out to see if there was any parking space nearby. there was absolutely none. so, we had to return all the way back to the temple premises to park the car. so, take the bro tip, never take car to ratna café or park it in the temple lane.

we were so tired after all the drama and was worried whether place would be crowded but thankfully it was not. piping hot sambar being poured over in all the plates across the tables was a sight to behold. so naturally we bought sambar idly for everyone and continued with paneer masala dosa, plain dosa and vada. dripped everything and had a blast. icing on the cake wascoffeewhich was excellent.

more than the food the place appealed for the nostalgia. we haven’t been there before but middle-class families with two kids reminded of our past when we were staying in a similar area. and that worked like a charm.

worst idly in chennai ...i have ordered to eat it hot ..but they send it like a coldcoffee... worst experience

the idli wasnt soft as rayar cafe but decent.
the sambhar is coconut grated and also small onions added. thecoffeeis amazing as well the milk is thick and decoction is of good quality. the sambhar goes to all other locations from here. its very close to parthasarathi temple hardly a km. i havent tried other dishes like dosa etc.

❤️ the sambar that we get here is heavenly 😍 seems like the cost is only for the sambar and not for the main items 🤔😂 idlis were soft. and the bondas were crispy 😋 filtercoffeewas not too strong. ambience is quite good. jamuns are prepared using a handful of ghee 😋 loved it ✌️

nothing special or exceptional. the hotel was hyped a lot and so i went with a lots of expectation but the taste was nothing special and felt normal. the idly was bit bland with only sambar and had to request chutney to bring in the mix. the dosas were good and thecoffeehad little milk.

we went here for breakfast on a sunday. the place does stand up to its name. i thought i would not like the sambar which is not sweetish but their sambar does taste really good.
i tried the mini idli, vada-sambar and the onion uttapam all of which tasted amazing. to finish of i took thecoffeewhich tasted so good. overall i totally recommend this place for a great breakfast!

triplicane ratna café is widely known for its idly-sambhar. to enjoy the authenticity of ratna café's idly-sambhar and to tick one off from my bucket list, i visited the ever crowded outlet in triplicane for breakfast on a hot sunday. luckily we had a table available in the ac hall and we got our selves seated. my friends and i ordered 2 idly-sambhars with medhu vada and one plain dosa along with 3 strong coffees(because breakfast is not complete without ending it with a strong filter coffee).

the idlies was served within minutes and dosa within 5 mins. idlys were brought in with coconut chutney and a pan full of sambhar. the sambhar was served over the idlys until the idlys were submerged in it. i was excited because i had been waiting to savour the ever famous ratna café's sambhar the first time.

the sambhar was truly authentic. i could literally drink the entire sambhar if served seperately. it was that good. idlies were good. they were quite larger than the usual idlies that you get in other veg restaurant giants in chennai. the plain dosa was good too. it was half roasted not completely white just as i would like. medhu vada was the only one that was not upto the standards of the highly reputed restaurant. it was not hot, was not soft enough. it was difficult to cut it to small pieces with the spoon since it was hard on the outside. it was probably because the vadas was made earlier on the day and it was served later to us. by the time i finished my first idly and completed half of second idly the server served us with onion chutney a.k.a kaara chutney. we weren't sure why it was served for idly-sambhar as well but it tasted good. it would have been better if they served it earlier along with the idly and dosa. we were done with the food andcoffeewas served to us.

i always prefer a strong filtercoffeeso i made sure the waiter knows i want mycoffeestrong. when it arrived it didn't look as good as the hot chips filtercoffeebut when i tasted it, it surely didn't disappoint. thecoffeewas good and strong, sugar perfect. i was completely satisfied with the filter coffee.

i'd rate the breakfast as below:
idly-sambhar: 5/5
medhu vada: 3/5
dosa: 4/5
filter coffee: 4/5
ambience: 3/5

to pick the best idly in the land of idlis, chennai is a tough task. but head straight to ratna cafe, triplicane, and you can taste the best idly in the world. situated in the very busy and congested triplicane high road, this iconic joint has been serving idlis for the past 70 years. the waiter was telling me that they serve around 15000 idlies daily from morning till night 11 pm. i am not a idly person really, but i just freaked out on their spongy idlis with the perfect sambar poured all over the idlis. just out of the world. the ambience, just like any other small joints, crowded, busy. service is good. but the best idly. other stuff like menu wada and ghee roast strictly ok. filtercoffeegood like in most chennai joints. but the idlis are to die for. never ever miss this place if you are a idly lover.

the search of authentic south indian good ended at this place with the last meal of the chennai trip. the idli podi, medu wada, bonga, and ghee masala dosa. i recollect the dishes and i salivate sitting in mumbai. and the filtercoffeestong enough to awaken the soul. highly recommended.

hot idyls and ghee roast are the best . yummycoffeeand soft vadas . spl mention to keera vada . i’m not big fan of keera vada but keera vada at ratna cafe is to die for .

great place fro breakfast..

we have been there on sunday early morning just after they have opened.

we were surprised to see almost full house..

this place has been famous for thier sambar which even they acknowledge with posters across the restaurant.

we ordered pongal, sambar idly, medu vada for breakfast.

pongal was yummy👌
vada was crispy from outside and soft from inside 👌
sambar idly was clear winner with best sambar i ever tasted for breakfast 👌👌👌

indeed sambar here is very very good.

the one thing that i noticed is their poster about using double refined oil and ghee. they boast of good ingredients (70% organic).

then we ordered jilabi which was fried in hot ghee it was just awesome.

customarycoffeewas also good

this place is very good and highly recommended for thier great food and service. only hiccup being little bit high on money which can be ignored as they serve good and well made food.

food 5/5
service 5/5 ( special mention on service, we asked for jilabi was told it available after some time but before we were served coffee, the waiter anna came back and asked us if we are still interested to have jilabi, this doesn't happen often that they remember your request and comeback).

overall: 5/5.

the best sambhar idly of my life! idly was good but the taste of sambhar was ultimate! it was so unique and amazingly tasty that i ordered another plate for myself. that was just heaven. after that i had filtercoffeewhich was equally amazing and energetic. the froth over thecoffeewas so tasty. this place is the oldest serving idly sambhar in the city (1943). when you go to chennai, don't forget to visit here.