We may live in Chennai. But it’s becoming increasingly easy to slip into Madras, even if it is just for a couple of hours. Over the years, more than a dozen spaces — cafes, restaurants, pubs — have opened, all celebrating the city’s old name, and with it, its style, flair and character. All to create a sense of nostalgia that evidently lures customers, considering most of these spaces opened over the last couple of years.
“There have been lots of changes to the city, but we don’t want to forget how things were. Though Chennai is more laidback than other metros, Madras was even more so,” says Mathangi Kumar, chef and partner of That Madras Place. The city, she says, is full of warm people, and it was this warmth she wanted to incorporate in her restaurant.
Restaurants and cafes derive inspiration from the city in many ways. South Indian restaurant Madras at The Raintree, Anna Salai has created quirky cartoon characters typical of Chennai — the Mylapore maami and the friendly neighbourhood fisherman — on its coasters, plates and menu. Meanwhile at The Madaras Kafe in Ispahani Centre, it’s the food that is Madras-inspired: fusion idlis, vadawiches and Indianised versions of the pizza with a barotta base. Yes, barotta, and not parotta, because, “We’ve spelt it the way it is enunciated here,” chuckles S. Krishnakumar, the owner.
ADVERTISEMENT
The parade continues from Madras Square in Neelankarai to The Old Madras Cafe on OMR. From Madras Masala in Egmore to Madras Darbar on Greams Road. Then there’s the fuss-free Madras Tiffin House in Ashok Nagar. Not to be left out, the five star hotels also have contenders, like Madras Pavilion in ITC Grand Chola.
Kaushik, popularly known as the ‘Mad Chef’ in Chennai, is best known for creating a genre of fusion cuisine that blends continental food with the traditional flavours of this city. He created the menus for The Madras Kafe and Illusions The Madras Pub. He says, “I moved here from Bangalore 15 years ago and what struck me the most is this city’s diversity and love for food. He continues, “Chennai likes no frills, no fuss. You can’t impress people here with gimmicks and showmanship, because if the food doesn’t taste good, it won’t work.”
Even though the city he grew up calling Madras is now known as Chennai, he brushes it off as semantics. “To me, it’s all the same — same place, same people.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Wall of memory
At That Madras Place, the walls are lined with quirky caricatures and the vintage wooden chairs are punctuated with kitschy cushions. “We wanted to remind people of P. James’ magic shows, Kannagi statue, the Madras-made Enfield and more. Lots of out-of-towners and foreigners get talking about the city because of our wall,” says Rakesh Prakash, founding partner of the café. Even though the restaurant serves European food, they’ve taken the liberty of adding paneer soda to the menu just because of the name.
Stir in the past
The launch of Park Hyatt’s new restaurant, Beyond Madras at The Dinging Room, is testament to the fact that many will continue to base their menus and décor on memories of the city. “We used to have a restaurant called The Dining Room here, but we wanted to infuse some character into it. So the chef decided: why not recreate our grandmother’s recipes, focussing on millet-based ones, and complete it with colourful sherbet and filter coffee counters,” says Gargi Guha, marketing communications manager.
The Kafe connect A few years ago, S. Krishnakumar set about collecting old pictures of the city. He visited antique shops, scrounged the Internet, sifted through old history books and thus collected 30-odd pictures, all of which now deck the walls of his restaurant, The Madaras Kafe, at Ispahani centre. This includes a 1920 photograph of the Madras Cricket Club; one of a 20-seater bus, and a deserted Central Station. “I wanted to promote our food through this space,” says Krishnakumar.
Break artisanal bread in old Madras The Old Madras Baking Company is surprisingly contemporary, despite its name. Built like an old-fashioned European bakery, it recaptures the city’s colonial past perhaps, with freshly-baked, hand-made, artisanal bread. They offer healthy sourdough, a flavourful orange and raisin loaf, some delicious danishes, and a flaky Parisian croissant.
A strong brew Since the setting up of the first Madras Coffee House kiosk in June 2010, there has been a mushrooming of the brand that serves the city’s favourite brew. Today, there are 33 kiosks spread across the city. Unlike an espresso, in which hot water under high pressure is forced through finely ground coffee to obtain the decoction, the city’s signature style of coffee takes its time to drip through the filter, slowly extracting the entire essence of the beans. “Espresso has flavour, but it doesn’t offer the complete essence of coffee. So people who are used to filter coffee, don’t easily settle for other types of coffee,” says M. Kumaaravelan, partner, Madras Coffee House.
Party like Chennai “Pubs are an English concept, but we wanted to re-create a little bit of Chennai with this one, and do it in Madras style,” says Zahir Naina, business head of Illusions The Madras Pub. The interiors feature iconic aspects of the city, from davara sets to auto rickshaws. Their cocktails too are Madras-inspired — blue Marina, goli soda (vodka-based with panneer essence), Thousand Lights and Queen Mary.
Something to chaat about Madras Bhel Puri in Pondy Bazaar was named so 38 years ago. Today, the little shop still retains its name and specialises in different varieties of bhel puri, such as tomato masala, carrot masala and vegetable salad, among other chaat varieties.
An interesting wok Madras Wok on ECR is a Pan-Asian restaurant offering signature Singaporean and Malaysian dishes. Since they carry the flavour of the city in their name, they also offer local cuisine, including kal dosas with Madras meen kuzhambu, and biryani which can be supplemented with mutton chukka.