Chennai's food is one of the strongest reasons to visit. Tamil cuisine is rice-based, generally vegetarian at its core, and built on a distinctive set of tempering spices, tamarind, curry leaves and coconut.
The banana-leaf meal (sappadu) is the essential Chennai experience — rice served with sambar, rasam, several vegetable preparations, curd, pickle, appalam and payasam, eaten off a banana leaf, usually all-you-can-eat. Available across the city at very low cost.
Tiffin items — the South Indian snack repertoire, eaten at breakfast and evening:
Filter coffee is Chennai's ritual drink — strong decoction mixed with hot milk, served in a steel tumbler and dabara and poured back and forth to cool and froth it. Ordering it "by the yard" is a local flourish.
Chettinad cuisine, from the Chettinad region south of Chennai, is the best-known Tamil non-vegetarian tradition — noticeably spicier and more aromatic, built on freshly ground masalas, black pepper and star anise. Chettinad chicken and pepper chicken are the entry points.
Seafood. Given the coastline, fish is excellent. Meen kuzhambu (tamarind fish curry), fried fish and prawn preparations are widely available.
Biryani. The Chennai style — often called Ambur or Dindigul biryani depending on the tradition — is distinct from Hyderabadi, using seeraga samba rice and a lighter, more aromatic masala.
Street food. Marina Beach and Elliot's Beach are the classic evening spots — sundal (spiced legumes), bajji (fritters), and molaga bajji (stuffed chilli fritters).
Where to eat. Chennai's best food is often at unpretentious "mess" restaurants and long-running vegetarian chains rather than high-end venues. Saravana Bhavan and Murugan Idli Shop are reliable and widespread. Mylapore and T. Nagar have the densest concentration of good traditional eateries.
Note on spice. Tamil food runs hot. Ask for less spice if you're not used to it — most places will accommodate.