The best Idli with Sambar and Chutney in Chennai
Also spelt idly, idli sambar, இட்லி and kancheepuram idli. A curated shortlist, shaped by your votes.
Editorial picks
Selected from published food guides and local reporting. How the list works
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Number 1.Murugan Idli Shop (GN Chetty Road
- Open
- 7am to 11.30pm, seven days
- Where
- 77-1/A, G.N. Chetty Road, T Nagar, Chennai 600017
Order the ghee podi idli, then a plain one to work through all four chutneys with your fingers, since no cutlery arrives. The GN Chetty Road room is the one to use, and weekend evenings mean a wait.
What to orderGhee podi idli
0 votes
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Number 2.Ratna Cafe (Triplicane)
- Open
- 7am to 10pm daily, idlis can run out at peak
- Where
- 255, Triplicane High Road, Triplicane, Chennai 600005
Ask for the sambar idli and let them keep ladling; the sambar is what you pay for, the idlis come cheap. Get there before nine, since Triplicane parking defeats most people.
What to orderSambar idli
0 votes
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Number 3.Rayar's Mess
- Open
- 7 to 10.30am, then 3 to 6.30pm
- Where
- 31 Arundale Street, off Kutchery Road, Mylapore, Chennai 600004
Idli with the thick ghetti chutney, and pongal if you still have room. Two short sittings only, so arriving at noon gets you a shut door down a very narrow lane.
What to orderIdli with ghetti chutney
0 votes
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Seena Bhai Tiffin Centre (NSC Bose Road)
- Open
- Evenings only, about 6pm to 11pm
- Where
- 51/105, NSC Bose Road, opposite Khazanchi Jewellery, Sowcarpet, Chennai 600079
Ten mini idlis buried in ghee and idli podi, eaten off a banana leaf. Shutters go up only in the evening, the queue on NSC Bose Road is long, and you eat standing.
What to orderTen mini ghee podi idlis
0 votes
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Eating Circles (Alwarpet)
- Open
- 7am to 11pm daily
- Where
- 6, CP Ramaswamy Road, Alwarpet, Chennai 600018
Thatte idli, the plate sized one, dusted with podi. The sambar leans sweet in the Bengaluru way, which surprises people expecting Chennai sourness, and there is nowhere to park on CP Ramaswamy Road.
What to orderThatte idli with podi
0 votes
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Menaka, Hotel Palmgrove
- Open
- 7am to 9.45pm daily
- Where
- Hotel Palmgrove, 13 Kodambakkam High Road, Nungambakkam, Chennai 600034
The grainy Udupi style idli here comes with a sambar that older regulars argue about. Sunday breakfast fills every table, so come on a weekday morning or expect to wait outside.
What to orderGrainy Udupi style idli with sambar
0 votes
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Native Tiffins (Thiruvanmiyur)
- Open
- 7am to 10.30pm daily
- Where
- 91/28 North Mada Street, Thiruvanmiyur, Chennai 600041
Have the plain idli first and go easy on the chutney, because the sourness of the batter is the whole point here. Mornings fill up fast and the room is small.
What to orderPlain idli
0 votes
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Nei Idly Sambar
- Open
- 7.30am to 1pm, then 5pm to 9pm
- Where
- GCC complex, Venkatesa Agraharam Road, opposite Hotel Shelter, Mylapore, Chennai 600004
One thing to order, the plate of idlis sitting in sambar with ghee poured over at the table. It opened only in 2026 and shuts from one until five, so time it.
What to orderNei idli sambar, ghee poured at the table
0 votes
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