ALCHEMY

A newly opened place which we just discovered and a place which seems to have the potential for becoming a good dating spot among the students of Kozhikode due to its location and ambience. It is located along the Kozhikode beach, opposite again a newly opened restaurant Neerayi and next to Lions Club Park. It was a Christmas night and we had already relished on a heavy dinner and were thinking of treating our sweet tooth. There were no customers as it is very new and is yet to be fully constructed. It has more space outdoors over the space available indoors with lighting most suitable for dates but I am not sure how will it look like during monsoons.  It has the view of Kozhikode beach on one side which I don’t find very exciting. The menu is just that of any regular café in Calicut with burgers, sandwiches, mocktails and faloodas. They have something called ‘Choose what you like!’ falooda which our server could barely explain what that exactly means, but I guess it’s just to choose the flavour of ice-cream you would like to have as a topping. We chose their Special Alchemy Falooda which was nothing but I would still visit this place again to try more stuff once it is fully prepared to accept customers.

HOTSPOT

The name of this restaurant must be changed from ‘Hotspot’ to ‘Everything Loud’. The lights are too flashy; the interiors, the outdoor lounge, the indoor fountains, the uniforms of servers and everything else is too loud. I think they forgot to make only one thing too rakish and that is the menu, it is too limited and is a single laminated page. It is definitely a family restaurant with tables for four or six and the entire restaurant is divided into small rooms consisting of two six seater tables. They also forgot to manage the height of chairs and tables so it’s very difficult to have a comfortable dinner. The washrooms were overused as it was a Christmas night and weren’t clean enough, I suppose even that matters a lot. Regarding the menu, it was a regular one including biryani and mandi with very limited curry options. This is the only restaurant in Kozhikode I have come across where they serve duck. They also serve Ambur Biryani which I wanted to try really badly but unfortunately biryani is served only for lunch in this restaurant. Finally we boiled down to Mandi, though very Indianised and different, it was really great, the fried onion slices made all the difference. The portion size is good and prices are quite reasonable. I would want to visit this place again to try more of their dishes. 

COFFEE TRIBE

The location is an advantage as it is placed at a closer distance for us compared to all other cafes. I could see at least three tables occupied by our students and for a moment I felt like I was attending a combined lecture with both the batches. It serves food that is most suited blend for Indian taste buds and every friend of mine just loves it. The ambience is simple and the staff is very friendly. Not much to say about it, as it is just a regular café with a standard menu. They also had a Christmas menu which included a chicken burger, chicken nuggets, fries and coffee and it was priced very reasonably. They offered us a complimentary sizzler, while we had tough time gulping the first one as it was neither appealing nor as tasty as we expected. We also ordered pasta, one Arabiatta and one Alfredo. Both were again not appealing or tasty, the Arabiatta was as good as Maggi pasta and Alfredo was like “No Idea what it was”. I would just end up saying that this is a small café where you would go and hog without thinking or expecting too much, and definitely not a place for someone who has already tried authentic cuisine.

ADAM's CHAYAKKADA (ADAM's TEA SHOP)

A new restaurant which opened few months before Ramadan (that's what I found out) and is located near corporation office  at the Kozhikode beach. I heard they presented amazing local delicacies during Ramadan and as usual I missed a great chance. After hearing a lot about this place from local friends, I finally visited this place on a Saturday evening ( actually night; around 10.15 pm) ans it was heavily crowded. We chose to sit on a table which was in our line on sight as we entered and didn't bother to check if there is a separate spot for family or AC. Later when server informed us, we were too cozy in our place and since there was a queue for the family spot, we chose to remain on the same table. But I strongly suggest do not make this mistake if you attract mosquitoes easily (like me!), it can get very IRRITATING.  

Considering factors like ambiance, service, location, pricing and ofcourse food; I would rate highest for ambiance in case of this restaurant, as a lot of work is gone into the designing and bringing the feel of local old houses. Old styled fans, glasses, seats which are hand carts, banana leaf styled plates and colors which will make you feel you just visited your Grandpa's house. A good place to try Calicut food for beginners like my friends who lived here for more than a year and yet don't know what's a puttu or pathiri. The menu is limited and you might need a translator, and pricing ranges from Rs 180 to Rs 350. We chose Chicken Ghee Roast, Chicken Curry, Puttu and Jeerakka Pathiri. Chicken ghee roast was oily, less spicy but something different, whereas chicken curry was very similar to the chicken curry we make in Goa with dry-roasted coconut. Jeerakka pathir was different then all pathiris I have tried and was good. I would want to visit this place again to try more of their beef and fish delicacies. I would rate this new place a good restaurant to give a try.

CREAM STONE

Cream stone, copy of Cold Stone, this place was a crowd puller when it was introduced.  So ths place basically serves you an icecream with toppings which are so badly smashed that you won't realise they exist when you eat the icecream. I have mostly had their chocolate one, but I just don't find it good enough to substitute cream stone with my favorites like Naturals and Baskin Robbins. The chocolate flavor is not so good, and I feel no matter what you add to it (brownie or chips), these toppings will not compensate for the average taste of the basic flavor. The smaller size is priced at Rs 100 and a bit larger at Rs 150. They have very limited options with flavors and I think they should innovate with flavors and improve on the taste. 

 

KINGSBAY

I visited their new outlet on the bypass road around 1 km ahead of HiLite mall, and the other one is located at the Customs road near Kozhikode beach. The newer one has a really good ambience but I guess it cannot occupy many people. We were in a group of three girls and it was my birthday, which unfortuntely comes up on Sundays. This place was heavily crowded and we had to wait in the non-AC compartment for around 10 minutes till we finally got a table. The walls have cartoons painted depicting fishermen and their catch, ans I feel that's what their best at, seafood. I have tried their pastas, fish kebab and some chicken dishes, one that I remember I guess was Palak chicken. Pasta was just fine, though with a good amount of cheese, Palak chicken was good but nothing could beat the fish kebabs. I have heard a lot about their prawns as well, and will surely visit again to try them. Their service was very slow and they have very few options for desserts, so we decided we will visit some other place for a sweet treat and as they might more time to serve them. Overall this restaurant has been good.

CHIC KING

They have several chains at different locations in Kozhikode and the one I visited was next to RP Mall or Lamiya Silks. We all know that is an Indianised version of KFC, but I guess many like me would prefer KFC over Chic King as there is no difference in the pricing. I have tried both Veg and Chicken combos and I am not sure if it will fair to compare the taste with those of KFC. One thing I would want to alert people about is the garlic paste they serve, that it not only tastes bad but I have strong doubt that it's mostly stale. Everything else was less flavored but spicy and I feel their Veg stuff is as good as or better than that of KFC. I have a friend who travels really long just to visit Chic King as he finds everything they serve very unique and tasty. I feel the appearance and presentation of the food here is less appealing and I also found this outlet to be not that clean. The interiors are dull or could have been better to attract the children since they form a good part of customer group of such chains.

BBQ FACTORY

After shopping in HiLite Mall till late, we had limited options to have a good dinner. Just like what happens when you are in huge group of friends, we took nearly an hour to converge to BBQ factory. At some point the group got divided into two, where one part chose the newly opened Just Cafe and the other BBQ factory. One of our friend who had already tried BBQ factory had warned us that having dinner here would be like throwing Rs 700 into a pond, and that's nearly what happened. Even after our friend's rants, we decided that no matter what comes out let's try it ourselves. 

All were non-vegetarians except for one, the starters in non-veg included chicken wings, chicken kebab, fish kebab, prawns and mutton seekh kebab. In veg, starters were mushrooms, pineapple and paneer ( don't remember exactly). I did'nt try the veg starters, so nothing to say about the veg food, but on non-veg I have alot to say. The seekh kebab was dry, not cooked properly and nearly stale. The prawns were not at all cooked, tasteless and indigestable. Fish was cooked fine but wasn't marinated well to taste good enough. Rest of the starters, chicken wings and kebab, were just fine. Initially they served us a small paratha, some tiny cutlet (don't remember what exactly it was) and some sweet crispy potatoes. All these were good but the crispy potatoes were just awesome and we asked for them several times during the meal.

Regarding the main course, the salads were awful with worst one being coleslaw. The main course had chicken biryani, mutton curry and crab curry. Biryani was fine, mutton curry was again not up to the mark and crab was stinky enough to drive you away. In desserts, you had gajar ka halwa and some spice (I hope I heard it right) icecream, gajar ka halwa was dry but the icecream was good. One of our friend also complained about the food here to the manager but he didn't seem to be accepting the facts. Overall I feel this place needs alot of improvement.

WHITE HOUSE

While returning from a trip to Thusharagiri Waterfall, we came across this place somewhere 15 kilometers from our campus and that is when we realised there are few good restaurants on the other side as well, that too at almost the same distance. At that moment, during Ramadaan, this was the only place open in the evenings on that street. One of our friend was vegetarian, so we placed an order the only Veg curry available and some parothas for him. For others we ordered again the only thing that our server recommended, Mandi. Their staff was very friendly and they approached us several times for coffee or tea. We finally ordered coffee and since we were drenched after hopping in the waters of Thusharagiri, the coffee was soothing. Though the Mandi was highly customised with carrots, cabbage, chillies and cucumber, even then I felt it was good. The chicken wasn't bad at all, but many found that it wasn't well cooked. The portion size was large and even though we were five of them we had tough time to finish up. According to our vegetarian friend, he also enjoyed whatever he had. I didn't take any picture of the interiors or the restaurant, but it is a just small and simple restaurant. The pricing is also quite reasonable.

BROAST

Again a restaurant close to our campus, known for their Chicken Mughlai, Gobi Manchurian and Chicken 99, located opposite the main entrance. It has space for families on the mezannine floor and ambience is dark with normal chairs and tables. Sometimes even this place is crowded, especially during weekends. The food quality isn't great and most dishes are over flavored and highly colored. The serving size is large and again the price is reasonable. I am a person who discourages wasting food and I think at such places it is important to question the server about how many people can each plate serve to avoid wasting food. Broast has been favorite for many for an after exam meal when you are too tired to travel to city and when you feel like hogging without thinking too much after several sleepless nights and incomplete meals. The staff is friendly, they always serve with a smile and of course are quick. One issue with this restaurant is that is closes during afternoon (around 2.00 pm) and opens, I am not sure at what time.

SANGAMAM

Sangamam, how can you be a student of IIM Kozhikode and not speak about this restaurant, the most popular among the students. The only 24/7 I have come across till now in Kozhikode even if there exit any other. This place is very useful for students of our campus, since as owls you tend to get hungry anytime at night. Even though we have our own night canteen open till 3.00 am, yet this preferred over NC by many students.  I was very hesitant to enter this place for the first time, but my friends are always available to make me comfortable anywhere. They serve freshly made aloo puri, appam, parothas, chicken dacunto (weird one! but not sure if it spells like that), chicken garlic, and not to forget the most famous prawn masala. Sangamam is preferred by smokers, as they say that lemon tea which is extremely sweet gets along well with a smoke. The guy here at the cash counter often gets offended if we speak in Hindi, but provides free candies to us. I have also visited this place during exams when you are awake late night, and this is the only place available for tea after 3.00am, but I don't enjoy their lemon or regualr tea as no matter how much you request they yet add very large amount of sugar to it. I haven't had much of their food, but if you are someone who prefer healthy and quality food with less oil, then this is not the place for you. Sangamam also serves the taste buds of foreign exchange students from our campus who mostly belong to France and enjoy eating spicy food. The price is extremely reasonable and service is too quick.

TAAZA

A place, though just next to my institute, I have visited it mostly alone. It has also served several times as my fuel (biryani) station, if I feel lazy to travel to city, even though I don't enjoy their biryani much but it seems to be the best in Kunnamangalam. Some of their beef delicacies such as beef chilly is really good, but none of the other things on the menu are anything different. Service is good but extremely slow during Sunday evenings, due to large crowd which mostly constitutes families. This place has a very simple and dark ambience, but this place has been comfortable for me among all the restaurants in Kunnamangalam. They hardly have any options for vegetarians and those that exist aren't good at all, and this forms the reason for my friends not to visit this place much. I came across many of their chains on my way to Wayanad but haven't found another one in around Kozhikode city. It is located next to IIM Kozhikode main entrance with Ojin bakes on the other side. On exterior it looks huge and gives you more expectations but I feel the interiors can be improved, and also the menu card.

HAJI ALI

Haji Ali, known from Mumbai to Dubai, I have heard a lot about this place but I am not sure if the one in Kozhikode belongs to the same franchisee.  Located again at the beach road, next to Punjab di Rasoi, this place is known for its falooda's, even though they serve juices and icecreams. I visisted this lace with my mom and dad and we tried three faloodas : Rose, Dry Fruits and Mango. When we asked one of the servers about the ingredients or difference in each flavor before ordering, he just pointed at another table where a family was sitting and had ordered all flavors and said " Mango aisa dikhta hai, rose woh pink wala hai aur dry fruits woh dusra wala", both my family and the other one started laughing. The contents were just as that of a regular falooda with some nuts, vermicelli, tiny pieces of fruits, basil seeds and lots of sugar.

Even though I agree that each restaurant, state, city and even country has its own version of falooda, this one is good but not great. Since it is the first Haji Ali Juice Centre I have visited, I expected something different but they were just regular faloodas with a taste which can be found in many other restaurants. 

ZAIN'S

Located at the beach road, Zain's restaurant appears as some house from outside that is painted in red. Mostly a lady or an aged couple sit as the cashier, who I guess are also the owners. I have visited Zain's several times and always alone. I have tried all their Chicken and Prawn biryani, though both have similar taste yet both are really good. The portion is large, but I never doubt my capacity when it comes to biryani. Biryani is like fuel to me, and Zain's many times forms one of my preferred fuel stations. Biryanis are served with the traditional coconut chutney, pickle and raita, which you may not prefer if you are used having hyderabadi biryani.They are also known for their traditional snacks but I have tried them, I have als heard that they serve some great delicacies during Ramadan, unfortunately I missed this opportunity for the second time.

Families mostly occupy  the compartment inside and they also have a prayer room. The ambience is very simple, you feel like you are served at someone's house. The price is very reasoable, staff is very friendly and service is quick.

LIGHTHOUSE

The signature Arabic cuisine restaurant in Kozhikode, located behind Downtown cafe at the bypass road. This restaurant beats every other restaurant when it comes to ambience, but i must say we saw cobwebs around and mosquitos didn't stop biting us till we left this place. We ordered Falafel, Dips (Hummus, Mutabal, Babaghanoush, Garlic sauce), Chicken Kabsa, Mixed Grill, in refreshments we ordered Polo, Shamam and some 4-layered cocktail, along with turkish coffee.

We had no complains with the refreshments, falafel, mixed grill (though it could have been better, especially the Arayes) and the dips but I found Chicken Kabsa not up to the mark. The khubz were also not like the way I expected, neither soft nor fresh. The portions are large and I think you should question them how many it serves before ordering anything or else you will end up wasting too much food. The prices are I feel are on a reasonable range.

MEZBAN

As the name implies "HOST" in Urdu, this place is just good at it, hosting and serving. Located at the heart of the city, Asma Tower - Mavoor Road , it is highly crowded on weekends and holds an image more of a family restaurant. I consider it a restaurant for authentic cuisine of Calicut, let it be seafood or other dishes.

Staff is extremely friendly and help you with the dishes, since you may not be a Keralite and have a tough time pronouncing or understanding the names. The interiors are calm with everything in white such as seats, lights and paint. The tables are mostly for 4 or more people and even though it is located at a crowded spot of the city, it holds a large space for parking and saves you a lot of time. We visited in a group of few friends and tried some seer fish curry and fry, as seer fish is the only type which my north Indian friends are aware of, chicken biryani and mutton biryani. I prefer my biryani and especially my Indian seafood to be spicy but I still enjoyed their fish curry though it wasn't spicy at all and also enjoyed mutton biryani except for the reason that it had capsicum and large cubes of onion which I guess is common in Calicut cuisine. Recently, I tried their North style biryani which was again good but I feel they are best at their Malabar biryani or it might be that after trying biryani in almost every restaurant of Kozhikode, I am almost addicted to Malabar biryani. Later I have visited this place for their Fish meal and Kingfish fry, the meal was great but the fish fry was too spicy for me.

I would suggest you to visit this place to try the authentic seafood and it is the best place to spend time with your family  or I must say extended family on a weekend. I was shocked to know that this restaurant never had the need to place a name-board and yet it stands to be one of the famous restaurants in Kozhikode. This place is a package, good ambiance, good food and great service and looks best during evenings (once the lights are switched ON)

AMMA HOTEL

A small place like a shack which resides in a corner of the city, a small alley (next to the canal) ahead of Chunky Chicken takes you towards this restaurant. I found this place online where it was mentioned that it is known for their fish fry. It is very crowded during lunch hours, is open only for few hours and closed on Sundays. I was hesitant to enter this place as it looked very shabby but I saw groups of college students and ladies sitting, so I pushed myself to give it a try.

They serve only one thing that is the typical Kerala meal on a banana leaf with french beans, fish curry, sweet mango pickle, matta rice, Aiykoora fish fry (KingFish) and hot rice water (water which remains after boiling rice). First thing I tasted was the fish fry, which was extremely oily, salty and spicy. If you are health conscious and not used to visiting small and dull restaurants, then this is not the place for you. The food was good but I wouldn't say great, but if you want to get a feel of the typical Keralite meal then I surely suggest this place for you.

This is how the food here looks like.

TOP FORM

After reading the reviews on several websites and failing to find the Vishu Sadya (Vegetarian Traditional Meal served on banana leaf) anywhere, and since most restaurants were closed on Vishu, I finally entered this restaurant. It is located right opposite Hotel Sagar or KSRTC bus stand on Mavoor Road.

On a glance from outside, this restaurant looks a small one but when you enter it you realise that it is gooa amount of space to occupy many and also has a separate space for families. It was heavily crowded on Vishu and most people preferred biryani and after looking around I also chose to try their biryani (as usual). They were very quick to serve the food and the ambiance was simple and dark. Again looks to be more like a family restaurant with most tables for four or six. The biryani was just fine, in fact nothing amazing.

SALKARA

This restaurant has many chains, two at Nadakkavu, one at railway station and one at Hilite Mall. The first time I visited this restaurant, was the one at the railway station and it was for breakfast. It was early morning around 5:00 am and they were open, the staff  was extremely friendly and explained me what an Idiyappam is and served it with the usual Kadala curry (black chickpea) and a cup of tea, it was the first time I tried Idiyappam and found it good. After this I have tried their biryani and paratha with egg curry, for each of my visits, both were again good.

The next time I visited one of their Nadakkavu outlets and while going through the menu I found that all their biryani items are striked out as they don't  serve them in this outlet. I still insisted being a biryani freak, so they told me that they can serve a kadai chicken biryani, I have no idea what all available curries were blended to make one but it tasted great and was more towards the North Indian style. All these restaurants in the city have simple ambiance and prices are similar to other restaurants.

SIXTH AVENUE

They are located almost opposite to Downtown Cafe at P.T. Usha Road, in the building which comprises Natural's Salon and Talwalkar's Gym. This restaurant doesn't need to keep a selfie contest or to keep their customers busy with books, as most people come here for selfies or 'USIE' ( a group selfie), LOL! just learnt a new term. It has a good ambiance, walls painted with shades of one of my favorite colors (turquoise) and I just loved the shade of turquoise which their staff wears.

I visited this place on a sunday evening at around 6:00pm, but I guess it was a wrong time as they hardly had anything that I finalised on. I asked for hot dogs, chocolate lava cake and some sandwiches and none were available. Finally I selected some veg sandwich but I really enjoyed it. Entire time I just noticed people posing andhopping from one table to another to get a better shot. I can't review much about the food but I might edit this post once I visit them again. But I would say that this restaurant is known for their ambiance and will the most preferred spot for selfies. I badly wanted to try their nutella waffles which almost all of my friends love and will surely visit this place again to try them.

PARAGON

Again among the most famous restaurants of Kozhikode, located at Kannur Road, just under the bridge. I have visited this restaurant several times with different people, project groups, with family and friends. They are known for their Fish Mango curry, Chicken Biryani and Dancing tea. We ordered fish mango curry, mango curry, dancing tea, puttu, chicken biryani , chicken onion fry and some vegetarian dishes, I guess it included Mix veg curry and while ordering we mentioned that we want the vegetarian dishes to be spicy. This was the place where we discovered wheat paratha just to realise that it is served everywhere else.

The biryani was again the typical Calicut biryani which tasted nothing different, my friends loved the fish mango curry , mango curry wasn't great as per the vegetarians, the vegetarian dishes we ordered were not at all spicy, I have no idea if that was a communication problem or that was the highest spice level they could serve, puttu was again as usual, dancing tea is like! (below image) and what I actually liked was the chicken onion fry even though it had big cubes of coconut. The ambiance is good, service is mostly good but sometimes slow and pricing is similar to most restaurants.

MOMO MIA!

Since my foodie friend is from Lucknow and she always craves for momos, I googled for 'momos in Kozhikode' and some how found this place which has been newly opened at Convent Road, next to Five Star Chicken.

They have a limited menu divided into three parts- Veg, Chicken and Beef. They serve both steamed and Fried Schezwan momos. I selected the classic chicken steamed momos and my friend selected the classic veg steamed momos. I have noticed that in Kerala every restaurant takes time to serve vegetarian dishes, I guess my friend is the only one who asks for them. In MomoMia as well, veg momos took time but were served hot and fresh whereas my chicken momos were cold and dry, each with red spicy chutney. I didn't enjoy them much, but my friend loved them and I guess she will visit this place again each time she craves for momos. They are reasonably priced for around Rs 50 or Rs 70, but according to my friend they are obviously pricier than those in the North India. Finally, it is a good place for momo lovers, as there are only few places in Kozhikode which serve MoMos!

Classic Chicken Momos

BUNCLUB

A cafe which I have not just visited several times but explored completely. Though I have tried literally everything from here, I can assure you that the desserts served here are good. Currently, they have two cafes one located at VeePee Space, near civil station, Eranhiphalam, this one has a better ambience and is spacious, and the other one is located at Asma Tower on Mavoor Road and is smaller with a limited menu but a place to have a quick meal.

The staff here has never disappointed me except for once when they took really long to prepare a smoothie, but you can expect that much delay due to the huge crowd sometimes at this cafe. The service at the smaller cafe is really quick and this one is mostly crowded. The larger one is open till late on weekends and you will still find it fully occupied at this time. The lava bun, donuts , French Elysee, BC Special Pasta and Mojitos are a must-try. Though they have a variety of buns, I always prefer the regular lava bun with kadak chai (a good combo). This is a place for people with a sweet tooth and for people like my friends who get hungry late night. I have visited this place on many weekends and after exams to relax and have a nice dinner, and I feel I still can't get enough of it.

DOWNTOWN CAFE

I guess this was the first restaurant I visited in Kozhikode as it was suggested by many of my seniors at college, and the first thing I ordered was I think BBQ Chicken Burger, which was just fine. For my next visit I ordered Lasagne and an Americano, both were too bad to gulp and I must say that they have their own recipe for Lasagne which I don't prefer at all. My friends chose to have a steak and a hot dog, and till now we haven't found any place in Kozhikode which serves good steaks but they enjoyed the hot dog. I have visited Downtown several times after that, and have tried literally everything in their menu (I don't like the new menu design). Out of all we have tried we visit this place often just for one thing, that is their  Sizzling Brownie. I also would suggest them to improve on the way they serve food, such as avoiding serving in paper packages.

They have two cafes one at PT Usha Road and the other at Bypass Road. The ambiance is simple and the staff is very friendly. They don't have WiFi facility and keep books for customers to read, which I highly appreciate. At their P.T Usha outlet I have always seen every model of Royal Enfield parked and I have no idea whom they belong but if you are a biker or a bike freak then you can always visit this place to have a look at a collection.

KOZHIKODE!

Kozhikode has been known to be the city of spices, but for me it has always been a city of foodies. People here not just love food but embrace it, they love trying new things and prefer meals with their families.

Though I landed in Kozhikode due to my studies, I realised I have spent more time outside campus either exploring new places or trying food at different restaurants. After noticing non-existence of any restaurant discovery sites or blogs in a foodie city like Kozhikode and after trying biryani in almost every small and big restaurant of Kozhikode, I decided to create a blog which will help foodies like me to explore this city of spices.