Chennai
Chennai
Nalam Alwarpet · Tamil & Chettinad, cooked over tamarind wood
Where Nalam began. A converted 1950s bungalow with a twelve-seat counter around the original hearth.
Our first kitchen opened in 2014 in a bungalow off St. Mary’s Road, with one wood-fired hearth and a menu that changed with whatever the Kasimedu boats brought in. The hearth is still there, now wrapped by a twelve-seat chef’s counter. The rest of the house is given to a long dining room, a verandah that catches the evening breeze, and a private room upstairs for sixteen.
Facilities
Chef’s counter
Private dining
Valet parking
Wheelchair accessible
Full bar
Verandah seating
Visit
14 St. Mary’s Road, Alwarpet, Chennai 600018
96 seats
Valet parking from 7 PM; limited street parking on St. Mary’s Road
Opening hours
Monday
7:00 PM – 11:30 PM
Tuesday
12:30 PM – 3:30 PM, 7:00 PM – 11:30 PM
Wednesday
12:30 PM – 3:30 PM, 7:00 PM – 11:30 PM
Thursday
12:30 PM – 3:30 PM, 7:00 PM – 11:30 PM
Friday
12:30 PM – 3:30 PM, 7:00 PM – 11:30 PM
Saturday
12:30 PM – 3:30 PM, 7:00 PM – 11:30 PM
Sunday
12:30 PM – 3:30 PM, 7:00 PM – 11:30 PM
Upcoming changes
Fri 30 Oct — Staff day
On the menu at Alwarpet
Dishes to order here
Hearth tasting menu
Only at a few branches
₹4,500
Meen moilee
Only at a few branches
₹1,250
Fish fry meals on banana leaf
Only at a few branches
₹895
Puttu & kadala curry
Only at a few branches
₹375
Wood-fired mutton sukka
₹1,195
Ghee-roast prawns
₹845
Running now at Alwarpet
Weekday thali lunch
A full Nalam thali — two curries, a dry vegetable, rasam, rice, bread, pickle and payasam — for ₹795, Monday to Friday.
Until 21 December
Your birthday dessert is on us
Tell us it’s a birthday or anniversary when you book and we’ll send out a dessert for the table.
Until 12 October 2027
Long Sunday lunch
Family-style feast of eight dishes passed around the table, with free filter coffee for everyone at the end.
Until 11 December
What guests say about Alwarpet
“We sat at the counter and watched them grind the Chettinad masala for our mutton curry. My father, who has eaten Chettinad food every week of his life, asked to meet the cook.”
Priya
Dined at Alwarpet, August 2026
“As a vegetarian I usually get two options. Here I had to choose between six, and the vegetarian meals tasted like my grandmother’s Sunday lunch.”
Vikram
Dined at Alwarpet, September 2026
Reservations
Book Alwarpet
Pick a day and a party size for this branch, then choose a time on the next page. The branch confirms your table by phone or email.
Branch
Chennai — Alwarpet
Chennai — Alwarpet
Bengaluru — Indiranagar
Mumbai — Bandra West
Hyderabad — Jubilee Hills
Kochi — Fort Kochi
Date
Today
Guests
2 guests
1 guest
2 guests
3 guests
4 guests
5 guests
6 guests
7 guests
8 guests
SOUTH INDIAN KITCHEN
A South Indian kitchen in five cities. Coastal and home-style cooking over charcoal, tamarind wood and coconut husk, since 2014.