ratna cafe

the coconut chutney had no salt in it was so blandfoodcould have been bit more hotter,the delivery was on time stillfoodcould have been bit more hot!

zomato executive had given me the package totally damaged , all idlys fallen from box , sambhar out of the box fully into the cover , the wholefoodwent waste

worst sambar... luking water nd rasam type.. give properfoodto customer rate too high expenses

totally the taste differs. i was a regular customer in 1976-1978 when i stayed in murugesan naicker mansion. ratna cafe was in those days a paradise for bachelors. in the middle of 80s, i used to visit the restaurant by 6.30 a.m. to 7.30 a.m. after my swimming exercise in marina simming pool. some two years before also i visited the restaurant after its renovation. enjoyed thefoodwith family. but, yesterday when i ordered my dinner (sambar iddli and podi dosa) i could feel the taste difference. something strange taste. so much disappointed!!!

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 was coffee which was excellent.

more than thefoodthe 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.

never expected thisntasteless worthlessfoodfrom the veg kings of chennai ratna cafe. don't know what happenedbtontje taste and quality. worst.

thefoodquality and sambar that ratna cafe is known for did not meet my expectations. the interiors are bland and outdated, thefoodquality is average. the service is quick tho, i just had a very bleh experience with this restaurant.

the idly was uncooked from inside and we had to steam it for 10 mins before eating, thefoodwas uncooked and highly unprofessional!

value for money...foodis good... fast service.. kids enjoyed a lot after beach bath...

few issues noticed...
space got reduced...
degrading in taste from their standard...
no car parking

the portion of accompaniments (chutney, sambar) was very less. the quality of sambar was good but not to previous standards.foodwas good but wow factor was missing.

it's hands down, the best place for south indian food. their sambar idly and vada are absolutely, absolutely delicious. the staff are very courteous and do every thing possible to make your dining experience fantastic. thefoodis fresh and totally worth every penny.

i'd rather begin my review with a word of caution:-) or disclosure of sorts - i'm a kannadiga , new to the city and critical about most things in general. a casual search for legendary eateries of chennai is how i found this place. quite iconic, 'since 1948'! the place was teeming up with people during covid times and at 8.30 am, this alone should give anyone a hint of its popularity. we zeroed in on sambar idly, rava dosa, masala dosa and kaapi. sambar was darker than what we get in karnataka and more like a gravy. idlies, must say, were disappointing. nothing much to add about dosas either. masala dosa was in fact undercooked. the only saving grace was the coffee. the three stars are for the coffee. on the brighter side, the service was super fast. i definitely have had far betterfoodat far less price. i ended up paying 360 rupees, which many would agree is tad too expensive.

we decided to go to this place because of it's good reviews. the ambiance inside is not very good but there service andfoodare really very tasty. worth the money.

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 thefoodand coffee was served to us.

i always prefer a strong filter coffee so i made sure the waiter knows i want my coffee strong. when it arrived it didn't look as good as the hot chips filter coffee but when i tasted it, it surely didn't disappoint. the coffee was 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

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.

customary coffee was also good

this place is very good and highly recommended for thier greatfoodand 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.