We will be in Chennai (on a cruise) next March. As it is my 50th birthday, I would like to go to a really nice restaurant for lunch. Any ideas?

Where are you docking, how long will you have in port, are you trying or do you want to do other sightseeing on that day, and do you have a cuisine preference? A lot of cruises only seem to have like 8 hours in a port and sometimes are like an hour from town (not necessarily Chennai but in other ports), and therefore if you want a big birthday lunch this may be the only activity you can do that day.

We are only there from 8am -6pm which only gives us a few hours. We would like to see some of the main attractions in that time -and have lunch (?)
As there are 4 of us we might try and hire a car and driver for the day.
Don't know where we will dock.

There are actually two ports for Chennai and it would be helpful to know which one you will be at, if the cruise line’s website does not show it, you might e-mail them and ask. Chennai Port is in the city, the other port is a bit north. What is your cruise line and what are your travel dates, I can look at their website, they usually provide docking/port info. I agree you should hire a car and driver for the day and try to arrange this by e-mail before you leave. I will hunt around to see if my firm has a recco for a car service there.

How nice of you!
We are with P&O and will dock in Chennai on Sunday 18th March at 8am. Forgot to say -
Cuisine prefence would have to be Indian, but not too spicy (hot)!

OK, having looked up your cruise I assume you are doing the 60-night cruise from Auckland to Southampton?!! Wow, now that’s a vacation.... I see you are stopping in Chennai and Mumbai as well as a stop in Colombo (I wonder if that will still take place given recent events in Sri Lanka). Unfortunately, you really won’t be able to see anything of India with a total of only about 16 hours in Chennai and Mumbai, but my recco for Chennai would be that you concentrate on the following as this would give you a tiny view of south India:

The Sri Parthasarathy Temple and the Wallah Mosque which are near to each other, the Kapaleeswarar Temple and the little streets of markets in this area and if you are Christian (esp Catholic) or have an interest in churches or St Thomas, then the San Thome cathedral, and if you have time a brief stop at the Government Museum (if you are Catholic consider going to mass there as it is a Sunday). If you are interested in English colonial history you should include Fort St George and possibly George Town, but then you would have to cut out something from the above, so plan ahead. Marina Beach is a very pretty long curving sweep of a beach, but I am not sure it is worth taking time to go there; just driving through the chaotic streets may be enough of a sight in addition to the above. You might leave the beach area until last and see how much time you have and whether it is close to your port. A drive along the Marina beach road will give you a chance to see many colonial buildings which line the shore.

If you have in interest in Indian classical dance or art, then you might want to jettison all or most of the above and go to Kalakshetra, located on the beach in the south of the city. http://www.kalakshetra.net/ They sometimes have performances during the day or you may be able to tour and see students during classes. A few miles south of that is Cholamandalam, a cooperative artists' colony where they offer modern art and open-air theatre (http://www.cholamandalartvillage.com/). South of that is an arts and crafts cooperative village called Daksinachitra, developed by the government where artisans live and work which is also interesting and you can buy local handicrafts. However, to do one or more of these, I think you would not be able to tour Chennai and may have to give up a celebration lunch.

For lunch, my recco would be the Dakshin Restaurant in the ITC Park Sheraton Hotel. This has been confirmed by two Indian colleague who are here in Hong Kong this week and one American friend who lived in India for about 7 years and travels there alot. Great south Indian food, I don't think you would find it too spicy and you can also request it be made less hot or less spicey dishes. It is in a hotel, but don’t let that make you think it is boring or not good, lots of locals eat there as well. It will also be an oasis of cool and calm after a hectic morning and before you plunge out again into the city. I would make a reservation just to make sure as you are there on a Sunday and you could find many families there:

ITC Hotel Park Sheraton & Towers, Chennai
T.T.K. Road, Chennai 600 018
Tamil Nadu, India
Tel 91) (44) 24994101
Fax 91) (44) 24997101
http://www.itcwelcomgroup.in/

Another place my American friend recommended was the rooftop restaurant of the Rain Tree hotel which just opened a few months ago. I have not been, but he thought the views, food and ambience were very nice, and it does indeed look so from the pictures on the website. It is a grill and has more western-oriented food, so I don’t know if this would interest you. He said they had some vegetarian and Indian offerings as well. I could not determine from their website if they were open for lunch (he has only been there for dinner), but if you are interested you could contact them:

The Rain Tree
120, St. Mary's Road
Alwarpet
Chennai 600 018
Tel: 91 44 42 25 25 25
Fax: 91 44 42 25 26 27
E-mail: [email protected]
http://www.raintreehotels.com

I am getting the name of a car and driver and will re-post shortly with that. If you want some ideas for Mumbai, please see a recent post on this called “rhkkmk and other Fodorites on South India“ where myself and some others gave ideas to a poster who is also going to be in Mumbai for only one day on a cruise.

Thanks so much Cicerone!
Very helpful indeed.
Unfortunately we are just doing the Hong Kong to Dubai section of the world cruise. Wish we could afford the time - and money to do it all!

You *have* to go to Southern Spice at the Taj Coramandel. You will not find this selection of South Indian food anywhere else. Reservations recommended.

http://www.tajhotels.com/FoodandWine...CE/default.htm

Dakshin is highly recommended too.

Message for cicerone:

Do you have the name of a driver/company for our day in Chennai? I would really appreciate it.
Thanks!

Sorry, I forgot, info on a car service is below. Rates vary from Rupees 600 for 5 hours and up to 50 KM if you want a Tata car (local Indian make perfectly fine esp at that price), to Rs2250 if you want a Toyota. He has other rates for more than 5 hours. There are also extra charges for going outside the city. Send him an e-mail and he will send you a list of charges.

Contact Person: Mr Kishore
Mobile: 9884299934
Email: [email protected]

Both the restaurants mentioned above in Taj & ITC Park Sheraton are great places.My recommendation on food would be that you try the 'South Indian Thali'.Its a large platter which has a little bit of everything.From steamed rice served with sambhar/rasam(curries)a choice of chicken/lamb/fish.Fluffy Poories(wheat dough flattened & deep fried) served with a variety of Veggie dishes & coconut chutney.Poppodums and fresh salad are accompaniments.A dessert would normally be the 'Payasam'(either sweetened coconut milk and jaggery or vermicille in thickened milk,sweetened with sugar,garnished with raisins and cashew).
Well,ofcourse,you must have a chilled beer to start with.
40 winks,a must after the meal!!

Thanks so much Cicerone. I am on the case.

Thanks harsha! I think I will book a tanle there.

I mean a table!

Following the brill info on Chennai, I am now thinking about what to do for the day in Mumbai. Are you there Cicerone!!

See the post "Restaurants in India" I just posted some reccos there including for Mumbai.

You really ought to be paid to do this cicerone!
Thank you once again!

I stayed in the Taj Coramandel last April. While I did not eat at the India restaurant I was told it was excellent by colleagues. We ate at the Chinese restaurant beside it and it was one of the better meals I have had in ages. For some reason the Chinese meals I have eaten in India are excellent. The coramandel is a lovely place.

I stayed at the Sheraton and also missed the Indian food but the rest of the food in the hotel was not good at all. I am not a big fan of the hotel either other than the nice lobby. I vote for the Taj Coramandel.

CICERONE

I have emailed the car service you kindly recommended a couple of times, but have not had any response. Is there a back up service I could try?

Also car tour in Mumbai? Any suggestions?

Sorry to hear that you aren’t getting any e-mail response. You may have better luck by calling. Country code for India is 91. All of India is on one time zone and is currently 12.5 hours ahead of EST.

I only have phone numbers for the driver we use in Mumbai, they are below:

Contact Person: Tony
Tel: 91-22-2216-6193 or 91-22-5621-1427
Mobile: 91-98-6904-6103

cayrlspall-

How was your cruise? My parents will be stopping at Chennai, Colombo, and Mumbai on their cruise NEXT March. I would love to read about what you decided to do. Thanks! Liz