12 Best Restaurants in Kerala, India

Like the rest of the resort, the Ambadi's multi-cuisine restaurant has a rustic feel and is decorated with lots of wood. Head here for well-executed North Indian staples like butter chicken, as well as Indo-Chinese options, Kerala specials, and Western dishes, including fish-and-chips and some pastas.

Raheem Residency, on Alleppey's main beach, is in an elegant old British-built bungalow dating from the 19th century, and its partially alfresco restaurant serves a variety of cuisines—Kerala, North Indian, and some Western dishes. Try the Alleppey fish curry, the Kerala prawns roast, or a chicken biryani (served only at lunch) and enjoy the beach view from the upper floor. Alcohol is served.

This popular resort is known for its relaxed vibe and some of the freshest seafood around, including its butter-garlic crab. It serves wine, too, along with delightful views of the sea. It is open throughout the year. Italian, Indian, and continental meals are also available.

Located inside the luxe Fragrant Nature hotel, which formerly housed the East India Company’s Kochi office, this quaint, colorful café, complete with its own red London telephone booth, is a cheerful place for a meal. The menu focuses mainly on classic British pub fare---they even have a small kids menu.

This restaurant serves a range of local, Chinese, North Indian, and continental dishes; popular choices include squid tawa peralan (a dry curry prepared with numerous spices), prawn biryani, and chicken malabar biriyani. The place gets busy for dinner, especially on weekends, and as a result the waiting time can vary and service can be slow. The restaurant does not serve alcohol, which is common in this largely Muslim part of Kerala.

The airy, glass-roofed Hill Spice, at the Tall Trees resort, is a more elegant alternative to the restaurants in Munnar's main bazaar. The Kerala dishes are your best bet, though the restaurant offers thalis and buffet meals along with Indian, Indo-Chinese, and continental food.

Housed in a 400-year-old whitewashed building, this café has walls clad in paintings by local artists and offers a mix of continental and South Indian cuisines---expect burgers, sandwiches, curries, and rice bowls. They have a great selection of coffees as well.

As Kochi's first vegan café, Loving Earth offers a 100% plant-based menu amidst a quiet, lush setting. You can find cold-pressed juices, salads, sandwiches, pastas, and all-day breakfast items, as well as a selection of condiments for purchase.

This former Dutch home now serves as an art gallery, David Hall, displaying the work of contemporary Indian artists, and a spacious garden café extending out to a large back lawn. It serves all-day breakfast, delicious Italian pizza, panini, rice bowls, cakes and pastries; try the kombucha as well. The coffee menu is quite extensive. 

It's not much to look at, and it can get noisy when crowded, but this Calicut stalwart has been serving tasty food since 1939. The chicken and the prawn biryanis are both excellent (come early for these), as is the prawn thattukada, an unusual fried shrimp dish that goes well with parathas (a flaky flatbread); other favorites include the prawn pepper fry and tamarind fish curry. The biryanis may run out on the early side, but the restaurant is open quite late.

A few wooden tables, colorful artwork, and hanging lamps in this large café provide a vibrant setting for savoring some of the best coffee in the city, whipped up with coffee beans sourced from the state of Karnataka. They serve all-day breakfast and freshly baked cakes, as well as heartier items like pastas and burgers.