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The best Chettinad Pepper Chicken in Chennai

Also spelt Chettinad chicken, milagu kozhi, pepper chicken chukka and chicken chettinad. A curated shortlist, shaped by your votes.

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Selected from published food guides and local reporting. How the list works

  1. Number 1.Amma Chettinadu Restaurant (Giri Road

    T Nagar, off GN Chetty Road T Nagar & Nungambakkam

    Open
    11.30am to 10.45pm daily
    Where
    1, Giri Road, opposite Bharathiraja Hospital, T. Nagar, Chennai 600017

    Political Chennai has eaten here for decades and the boneless pepper chicken is why. Order it with parotta rather than biryani. Weekends get crowded and regulars say the cooking slips then, so come midweek.

    What to orderChettinadu boneless pepper chicken

    0 votes

  2. Number 2.Kaaraikudi Chettinad Restaurant (Mylapore, RK Salai)

    Mylapore, Dr Radhakrishnan Salai Mylapore & Alwarpet

    Open
    Noon to 11pm daily
    Where
    No. 84/118, Kaaraikudi Complex, Dr Radhakrishnan Salai, opposite AVM, Mylapore, Chennai 600004

    The Mylapore branch is the one people mean, opposite AVM on RK Salai. Order the nattu kozhi milagu varuval, country chicken under crushed pepper. Portions suit four, and it fills up after eight.

    What to orderNattu kozhi milagu varuval

    0 votes

  3. Number 3.Chettinad Canteen (Teynampet)

    Teynampet, Seethammal Road Mylapore & Alwarpet

    Open
    12.30pm to 3pm and 7pm to 10pm, daily
    Where
    50, Seethammal Road, Sriram Colony, Lubdhi Colony, Teynampet, Chennai 600018

    A sit-down room doing Chettinad at restaurant prices rather than mess prices. Ask for the pepper chicken gravy and mop it with idiyappam. Tables are booked ahead most evenings, and the kitchen shuts between three and seven.

    What to orderMilagu kozhi kuzhambu, the pepper chicken gravy

    0 votes

  4. Muthulakshmi Mess (Perungudi, behind the World Trade Centre)

    Perungudi, Tirumalai Nagar off OMR OMR & Sholinganallur

    Open
    7am to 11pm; non-veg meals only noon to 3.30pm
    Where
    Shop No. 47, 1st Main Road, Phase 2, Tirumalai Nagar, Perungudi, behind the World Trade Centre, Chennai 600096

    Shifted from Thiruvanmiyur to behind the World Trade Centre, and the OMR crowd followed. The pepper chicken belongs with the unlimited non-veg meal. Meals run roughly noon to half three only, and they finish early.

    What to orderPepper chicken with the non-veg meals

    0 votes

  5. New Pattukkottai Kamatchi Mess (Pondy Bazaar)

    T Nagar, Singaravelu Street off Pondy Bazaar T Nagar & Nungambakkam

    Open
    Lunch about noon to 4pm; evenings vary
    Where
    4, Singaravelu Street, opposite the EB office, Pondy Bazaar, T. Nagar, Chennai 600017

    A cramped mess behind Pondy Bazaar where shoppers queue for the pepper chicken meal. Take it with nei soru rather than parotta. Seating is a scrum at lunch and evening hours are unreliable, so ring first.

    What to orderPepper chicken meal with nei soru

    0 votes

  6. Savya Rasa (Kotturpuram)

    Kotturpuram, Gandhi Mandapam Road Adyar & Besant Nagar

    Open
    Noon to 3pm and 7pm to 10.30pm daily
    Where
    2/10, Gandhi Mandapam Road, Chitra Nagar, Kotturpuram, opposite AMM Matriculation School, Chennai 600085

    Pan South Indian rather than purely Chettinad, but the milagu kozhi chettinad is the reason to book. Have it with bun parotta. Prices run well above the messes on this list, and lunch service stops at three.

    What to orderMilagu kozhi chettinad with bun parotta

    0 votes

  7. Sri Ganapathy Military Hotel (Choolai)

    Choolai, near Vepery Purasawalkam & Kilpauk

    Open
    About 7.30am to 11.30pm; mornings are the point
    Where
    New No. 1, Old No. 17, Vijaya Vigneshwarar Koil Street, Choolai, Chennai 600112

    Mornings are the point here, when north Madras eats pepper chicken with a half boil dosa, and that is the order. The room is small and fills early, so go before nine rather than at lunch.

    What to orderPepper chicken with a half-boil dosa

    0 votes

  8. Anjappar Chettinad (Nungambakkam High Road)

    Nungambakkam, JP Tower T Nagar & Nungambakkam

    Open
    11.30am to 11pm daily
    Where
    J.P. Tower, 7/2 Nungambakkam High Road, Nungambakkam, Chennai 600034

    The chain that took Chettinad cooking out of Tamil Nadu; the original is in Royapettah, this is the Nungambakkam room. Ask for nattukozhi milagu varuval rather than the standard chicken. Heat is dialled down for visitors, so say kaaram.

    What to orderNattukozhi milagu varuval

    0 votes

  9. Kuppusamy Chettinadu Mess, known as Kooraikadai (Avadi)

    Avadi, Vivekananda Nagar Anna Nagar

    Open
    Lunch from noon until the vessels empty
    Where
    No. 603, Vivekananda Nagar, TNHB MIG V Block, Avadi, Chennai 600054

    Worth the drive out to Avadi if you want mess cooking rather than restaurant cooking. Chettinad pepper chicken with two parottas is the standard order. Lunch only, and the meals stop when the vessels empty.

    What to orderChettinad pepper chicken with parotta

    0 votes

  10. The Chettinad Stories (Hotel Aadithya

    Vadapalani, Arcot Road near Kamala Cinemas Vadapalani & Porur

    Open
    Noon to 3pm and evenings; booking needed
    Where
    155/1 Arcot Road, inside Hotel Aadithya, near Kamala Cinemas, Vadapalani, Chennai 600026

    Chettinad reworked as fine dining inside Hotel Aadithya. The kozhi melagu confit is the pepper chicken here, slow cooked and sliced rather than fried. Portions are small and you will need a booking.

    What to orderKozhi melagu confit

    0 votes

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