Chennai diners embrace global cuisines without losing local roots

Twenty years ago, anime fans in Chennai could only drool over bowls of ramen drawn on a manga page or flickering on a TV screen. Today, those noodles land steaming on their tables here in the city, in neon-lit ramen bars. In two short decades, our city’s food story has gone from steady staples to bold experiments, unfolding with just as many twists and turns as the dramas we binge-watch.

Two decades of culinary evolution, from hotel buffets to ramen counters

Ashutosh Nerlekar, executive chef at The Park, has watched this change closely. He says what stands out today is the sheer range. “Dining and everything around dining has evolved. From frequency and choices to spending power and the variety of options available, the landscape has transformed—spanning from five-star hotels to 12-seaters, hole-in-the-wall concepts serving exceptional food.”

Te Yuan Peter Tseng, culinary director of Pricol Gourmet, recalls how limited standalone dining once was. “At that time, most of the standalone restaurants were concentrated on local cuisines across a broad spectrum of messes, tiffin rooms, biriyani centres, and regional speciality restaurants. There were just a handful of standalone restaurants serving international cuisine.”

For years, the fine dining scene was led by hotels. Peter recalls how these kitchens not only set the tone but also built an ecosystem. He says, “These five-star hotels helped in developing the skill sets of the local chefs at par with international standards, established the logistics and supply chain of gourmet ingredients in the city, and at the same time, introduced the best of international cuisine to the diners.”

He also adds, “The city has seen a huge influx of migrant workers from other states, thanks to the recent boom of the IT sector, automotive manufacturing hubs, and BPOs across the city, increasing the frequency of dining out and expectation of what they experienced in other metro cities.”

Rajesh of Gourmet Sage Hospitality Solutions agrees that for much of the 2000s, eating out was routine rather than adventurous. “Dining out mostly meant legacy vegetarian chains, hotel buffets, or the all-too-familiar multi-cuisine restaurants.” The first big wave of change came with pan-Asian food. Sushi and baos entered the city around 2010 with restaurants like Benjarong and Soy Soi, followed by the barbecue buffet craze. “Places like Barbeque Nation and Coal Barbeque were packed every weekend. In fact, you couldn’t get a table at Absolute Barbeque without booking days in advance,” he recalls.

Manish Uniyal, executive chef at Hyatt Regency, places the early 2010s as a turning point. “Spaces that combined food with elements like art, fashion, or music started to emerge, blending couture and design with dining, creating new experiences. There’s also a rise in freelance home chefs offering intimate dining or small-batch meals rooted in regional heritage.” He also points out the role of outdoor spaces and flexible timings: “Food delivery, late-night dining, and alfresco setups became mainstream, reshaping how Chennaiites dine out.” Around the same time, cafés multiplied, providing younger crowds with spaces to linger, while the restobar boom reshaped nightlife.

Chef Barun of The Residency explains, “Chennai’s diners have moved from just ‘Chilli chicken and fried rice’ to appreciating depth of authenticity and healthier cooking techniques from across Asia.” He further elaborates that the IT crowd, well-travelled families, and Gen Z foodies in particular drive this demand. He adds, “Soy sauce and oyster sauce are no longer niche; they are now widely used across hotel kitchens, cafés, and even home cooking. Chilli paste and sriracha have become everyday flavour boosters. Techniques of broth-making, wok hei (high-heat stir-fry), and sushi rolling have gained cult status with younger diners.”

As the dining scene matured, restaurants began moving away from catchall menus to sharply defined identities. Peter describes it as a move into niches. “Speciality dining in Chennai can mean anything that is not your regular fare of dining options,” citing ramen bars, Mexican taquerias, Neapolitan pizzerias, coastal kitchens, and speakeasy restobars. He adds, “Indo-Asian tapas, Franco-Tamil blends, and multi-ethnic bar bites are trending, especially in restobars where diners prefer smaller plates with variety and texture.” Rajesh adds that “it’s no longer about ‘something for everyone’ menus. Niche today is about identity. A sharp, memorable idea that people connect with.”

The city’s hyper-niche dining scene is also embracing refined Mediterranean fare. Not just the commercialised mainstream dishes, but deeply personal, homestyle ones like Carnaby’s new Italian menu curated by Chef Fiammetta Maggio Pereira, inspired by her Sicilian roots, where dishes such as Zuppa di funghi selvatici and Pollo alla cacciatora capture the warmth of family cooking.

Despite the global wave, Chennai has never abandoned its roots. Ashutosh puts it succinctly, “It is very apt to see lots of crowds from all spectrums gathering for a Marghazi month banana leaf meal, and at the same time we have speciality Korean and Japanese restaurants getting packed.” Peter believes this blend defines the city. “Chennai has always taken pride in its tradition, unfazed and undiluted by migrant influences. Even in most of the new-age eateries, one will always find regional favourites or influences making their way into the menu.” Rajesh agrees, “You might see a filter coffee tiramisu on one table and a three-tier thali on the next. That coexistence is very Chennai.”

The evolution has not been linear but marked by resets. Rajesh traces a clear timeline. Malls like Express Avenue and Phoenix Marketcity brought international chains in the early 2010s, then came the buffet grills, followed by restobars with big-ticket ambience. COVID shifted everything again. “It led to today’s sharper formats: omakase counters, chef’s tables, ramen shops,” he says. Peter echoes this view: “More creative and intimate gourmet concepts started to mushroom across the city. Resto-bars, speakeasys, and high-end chef-led concepts came to the forefront.”

Experimentation has taken on playful shapes. Ashutosh recalls anime-inspired menus at The Park, glow-in-the-dark food, and blue zone meals based on longevity diets. “We’ve also done chef’s cuts inspired by films like Burnt, The Menu, Ratatouille, and The Hundred-Foot Journey. These crossovers between pop culture and cuisine really excite younger diners,” he shares. Peter notes that Japanese and Korean dining has been energised by pop culture.

“The cuisine has taken a step forward in making it more accessible to a vast majority of diners who sought a more casual and fun, pop culture approach, giving rise to anime-inspired noodle bars, Izakaya-style dining concepts, and Korean flavours.”

Barun observes that this curiosity has grown steadily. “Chennai diners are now eager to explore lesser-known Asian cuisines like Vietnamese pho, Burmese mohinga, Thai street food, and even regional Chinese like Sichuan or Hakka without the noodles and chilli chicken,” he says.

But the experts are very clear that experimentation must not compromise authenticity. Peter is emphatic: “The integrity of core flavours has to be preserved, which has its root in tradition and culture shaped through generations of cooking.” He cites dishes like Polenta upma cakes with Chettinad shimeji as examples of keeping flavours intact while innovating.

Rajesh adds, “Rasam can be clarified into a consommé, sure… but it has to still taste like rasam. Filter coffee can become a tiramisu, but the aroma has to hit home. On the flip side, people have no patience for gimmicks. A sushi roll with podi? Fun. Chocolate in sambar? Absolutely not.” For Manish, balance is about subtlety. He says, “Using local spices in a cocktail base or as a rub for a roast, so the soul of the cuisine stays intact even as the presentation evolves.”

Diners have also evolved. Ashutosh finds them very open to experiences. “Very receptive to curated experiences, from guest chefs cooking a ₹7,000 meal to a meal curated around mangoes during the season.” Peter describes the response as “very positive and encouraging… as long as your core flavours are rooted in culture, you can be rest assured it’s here for the long run.” Rajesh calls Chennai diners value-conscious yet loyal. “They won’t try something new just for novelty. But once a concept proves itself, the loyalty is incredible.” He adds that social media has sped things up, “A single viral dish or dining format can have people driving across town the very next weekend.”

Looking ahead, the chefs are unanimous that Chennai will keep balancing the global and the local. Ashutosh predicts “more innovation, more sustainable food, and the emergence of smaller players doing fab food,” citing fermented foods, sourdough sandwiches, palm jaggery and date molasses. Peter envisions immersive yet intimate events, technology-driven dining, and South Indian fusion leading trends. Rajesh sees the scene splitting into two tracks: one, micro-focused formats (40–80 covers, tight menus, high consistency, from trattorias and chef’s counters), and the other, large-format flagships with 300-seater cafés and restobars that double as social hubs.

Cuisine-wise, he expects deeper dives into regional kitchens like Kongunadu, Nanjil, and Mudaliar, alongside the rise of global niches. Beverages, he adds, will evolve with functional coffee programmes, low- and no-alcohol cocktails, and creative tea-led menus, while infrastructure shifts move the spotlight to Anna Nagar, OMR, and ECR. Manish imagines Chennai heading toward conscious dining with local ingredients, plant-based options, and immersive, experience-driven spaces shaping the next decade.

The story of Chennai’s dining scene is not just about restaurants but about the city itself. It is about a place that still lines up for pongal and filter coffee in the morning but also debates the merits of Neapolitan crust versus New York slice at night. It is about a city, our city, that takes time to be convinced, but once convinced, stays loyal. As Rajesh sums it up, “Through it all, Chennai will remain Chennai—less flash, more substance. The places that succeed will be those that respect tradition while presenting it with creativity and integrity.”

Email: shivani@newindianexpress.com
X: @ShivaniIllakiya

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