When Chennai is all about Sit-eat-take away-go, Batlivala and Khanabhoy stands alone in giving a unique experience to their customers. Uday who runs the place said, It’s a destination Cuisine’ and I totally agree. From the ambiance to the music and the FOOD, it’s a mini vacation to PARSI land, I must say. Did I say PARSI? Hell yeah, I did.

Located in the posh locality of Alwarpet, it shares space with a Maharashtrian restaurant. A chic wooden door (doubles as a photo prop) leads us to this place which is located on the first floor. Colorful doors, clutter free space, vintage themed wall hangings, antique furnitures , old Parsi songs completed the look of this place and we knew we were going to have a brilliant time. I went twice – once for a preview dinner before the launch and the other time as a regular customer. I was treated like royalty both the times which means that their service is unbiased and so is my review.

12325708_10208934400735914_1760697581_o — The colourful doors which lead you to the restaurant

12528494_10208934400615911_1330853638_o — The cute little Parsi bakery counter

12874654_10208934400535909_2063484497_o — This is what I meant when I said VINTAGE

We were given a classy Aqua colored menu card and asked to order. Honestly, the dishes in the menu were Greek and Latin to me. That’s when reality struck me. I was clueless about Parsi food! But thanks to the chef who understood our face expressions and got us dishes based on his predictions and they totally worked.

I am going to be veggie friendly in this post but if you want to know what non vegetarian items to order, do read Divya’s review and Mrinalini’s review.

1. Nimbu Sherbet ( Rs. 79/-)

12899597_10208934400495908_78957315_o — Nimbu Pani with a twist. They have a ‘secret’ ingredient which makes it taste much better than all the other lime sodas.

2. . Lagan Sara Istoo Pattice ( Rs. 149/-)

12896369_10208934400895918_144067093_o — Crispy stuffed veggies patty coated with semolina was VERA LEVEL.

3. VEG DHANSAK COMBO (Rs.349/-)

12517146_10208934401255927_1619739739_o — When I ate separately I didn’t like it at all but the slow cooked dal and kachubar mixed with brown rice makes a whole lot of difference. A good one though.

4. Dhandar, Rice and Pumpkin Patio (Rs.349/-)

12894521_10208934401775940_632808900_o — Quite spicy but tastes good with steamed rice or Rotlis

12873471_10208934401935944_1797534592_o — Steamed rice

12596627_10208934400175900_540382170_o (1) — Dhandar – plain toor dal but something in that which made me think of my mother’s ‘pappu mammu’ and that’s a good thing

5. Santra Ni Kheer ( Rs. 149/-)

12596732_10208934402015946_1335753149_o — There is always an extra space for dessert and when you have kheer and Orange wedges mixed together, you just can’t NOT eat.

Price :

The first time was ‘On the house’ but the second time when we went as a regular customer, We paid Rs.1215/- for the above mentioned which is decent considering the overall experience.

A long weekend is coming up. Go with your family & friends to have some Tastyvala Parsi Khana!

Find Batlivala & Khanabhoy here: https://www.zomato.com/chennai/batlivala-khanabhoy-alwarpet
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Photography by my talented friend! Make sure to check his page out – Face Photography