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Madurai Kumar Mess

Anyone who loves Madurai for it’s food and culture will know about how famous the messes there house. Though I haven’t been lucky enough to try them yet at Madurai, I did get a chance to try Madurai Kumar Mess’s new restaurant in Vadapalani. Obviously a lot of hype was created around it in social media platforms and food forums just for the fact that it’s known for it’s wholesome Tamilnadu on a platter type cuisine. On a warm summer noon, a couple of friends and I decided to give this place a short and given below is my take on this place.

Madurai Kumar Mess is located right at the Vadapalani traffic signal junction. Considering the area, we were worried about the car parking facility. We actually carpooled and landed here in one car which would’ve been three if it wasn’t the case. Fortunately, they had valet parking service and it was indeed a huge relief to us. Though it’s an independent property on it’s own, the place actually has lesser seating capacity than I expected. Thanks to peak lunch time, the place was jam packed. Fortunately we got our table within just a couple of mins. There isn’t much to write when it comes to ambience. The place is neat and clean, probably owing to the fact that it’s new. We were 7 in a 6 seater but considering that the food is served on banana leaves, the table would be free for only 4.

We ordered an array of starters and mains. Some of them are Viraal fish fry (and for some reason it’s called Viral 😛 ), Vanjiram fish fry, Vaval fish fry, Nandu omlette, Nandu Boneless fry, Mutton Suvarotti roast (Spleen), Mutton Kola Urundai, Mutton Chukka, Mutton Brain Roast, Mutton Biriyani, Dove Pepper Roast, Ayira meen kozhambu and rice portions. The starters were slightly disappointing. Mutton Kola Urundai was a tad too salty. Mutton Chukka was decent. Brain roast was really good with egg in it. Spleen was good too. The quantity was very less, which obviously had us ordering the dishes again. Out of the three fishes, Vanjiram was the best. Viraal fry wasn’t up to the mark as they haven’t marinated it properly. Nandu omlette was pretty good. Dove had an overdose of pepper but still the meat was good enough. Mutton in all the dishes were excellent. Biriyani, which had seeraga samba rice, wasn’t that great. Ayira meen kozhambu, which is touted as their speciality doesn’t have much to boast about. Probably the strand of hair we found in it is something worth writing I guess. When informed, they replaced it for us and indeed apologise.

Service was prompt and quick. The person who served us knew what he’s doing and even helped us in making our minds up. Items didn’t take long to reach our tables. Our bill amount was Rs.4,820. At almost Rs.700 a head, it’s no way getting a value for money tag from me. Not one item stood out, the quantity was very less and it’s expensive, definitely not the best strategy for a restaurant. Overall, Madurai Kumar Mess has a lot to work on as the sailing high on the brand image wave ain’t gonna take them too far.

RATINGS BREAK UP:-
Location:- 3.5/5
Parking:- 4.5/5
Reception:- 3/5
Food:- 2.5/5
Customer Service:- 4/5
Ambience:- 3/5
Price:- 2/5

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