This Adyar spot just made us rethink cauliflower and chicken tikka

We believe a restaurant’s courage often reveals itself not in grand gestures but in quiet oddities. Like the first dish we tried at Savoury Bottega, the Bertha roast cauliflower, a plate that appears as though six chefs disagreed on how to cook a cauliflower, and all six won. Inspired by a dish Chef Navin Prasad created during his Michelin-starred days, called Textures of Cauliflower, this version is their love letter to the vegetable nobody’s ever truly excited about.

From Bertha roast cauliflower to kaala mutton curry, here’s what stood out at Savoury Bottega in Chennai

The tahini-chilli cream that holds it all together, green chillies, coriander stalks, cauliflower purée, brings a smoky kick to the dish. We’re sure cauliflower lovers and vegans will really enjoy this one.

The next dish, the Kaacha onion chicken tikka, tells a very different story. The meat is almost unnervingly tender, like it barely made contact with heat. But the real twist is in the marinade, grated red onion and spice, giving it a surprising, almost haunting, sourness. No lime, no yoghurt, just raw onion doing all the talking. The chicken’s tang, even without chutney, makes you pause. Add the pickled onions and green chutney if you need to dial it up or down. The balance is yours to negotiate.

Then came the Mushroom ravioli. It has a lovely, quiet duxelle of mushrooms and ricotta inside, finished with truffle oil. It would’ve been a standout if it hadn’t gone for an unplanned swim in oil. We couldn’t even finish one. The potential is there, just trapped under grease.

The 65 unlimited is a boisterous trio. The classic (done Buhari-style), a hariyali with green chilli–cilantro marinade, and a yellow masala drumstick. We especially loved the nostalgic red one.

The Kaala mutton curry, though, is a must-try. Brown onion, coconut, and a spice paste from Maharashtra give it a lush, mellow texture you only get when the meat cooks in its own stock. Served with a warm rosemary kulcha, this is your rainy-day best friend.

The Malvani chicken curry brings coastal heat to the table with poppy seeds, red chillies, coriander, cumin, fennel, and tomato. It’s bold and slightly sharp, but nothing that’ll scare off a Chennaiite.

And finally, the Karupatti caramel cheesecake, a quiet win. They tried to make it “healthier” with palm jaggery, but leaned into it with a toffee-style karupatti sauce. Good call, we must say. It’s soft, just sweet enough, and comes topped with a honeycomb lattice that crackles like a very polite mic drop.

Meal for two: ₹1,200. From 11 am to 11 pm. At Savoury Bottega, Indira Nagar, Adyar.

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