Best Andhra Restaurant in OMR Chennai – Nandhana Palace Review

We were on our way to Padur in Old Mahabalipuram Road, which is an area in the Southern outskirts of Chennai. We were feeling hungry, as it was around 1 PM. After crossing the Navalur toll both and while nearing the Siruseri IT SEZ signal, I saw a new board on the left side, which I haven’t seen in recent times. Hence, it read as Andhra cuisine, was eager to pitch in and try it out. We were earlier looking out for authentic Andhra restaurants nearby and finally, we spotted one. The hoardings read as “Nandhana Palace – OMR“.

Took our vehicle into the service lane and then parked it. Parking for 4 wheelers is limited and if it’s full, we have it park in the service lane. We saw A2B on the same complex on the ground floor and a pathway board navigating us to another entrance to Nandhana Palace. They took the temperature check and provided sanitary liquid as precautionary measures for the Covid-19. The reception was done by a gentleman and he was nice and gentle. The restaurant is on the first floor and while entering the steps, we saw the banner of the Owner standing beside Mrs. Suhasini Maniratnam. Seems that she was the Chief guest on the day of the restaurant’s inauguration.

The entrance seemed to be very nicely decorated with the brand name engraved in red on a golden plate above the entrance door. The door had a red chilly-shaped handle outside and inside, symbolizing that it the spicy Andhra cuisine restaurant. And was with a red carpet welcome of course.

 

 

 

About the Restaurant

The origin of the Nandhana Palace restaurant is in Bengaluru. They have their base and branches in Bengaluru and have recently placed their feet in Chennai. This was the information provided by the server in the restaurant. They are specialized in Andhra, Hyderabadi, Multicuisine, and Biryani. They also call themselves with the tagline as “Andhra Speciality Restaurant” and promote their brand by saying, come to Nandhana Palace to experience The True Taste of Andhra and the New Andhra Meals. But the interesting part was, they don’t have their presence in Andhra or Telangana, but still calling themselves an Andhra specialty restaurant.

The Ambiance

As soon as we enter the restaurant, a calm buddha welcomes us. It is very well decorated and looks very bright with the lightning. The cash counter is placed on the right-hand side and the waiting lounge is placed on the left-hand side after you enter the restaurant.

 

Customer Service – Customer service was very good. They were very polite.

Coming to the main picture

We ordered Mutton Bone Soup, Bamboo Chicken in starters, Nellore Chicken Biryani and Paneer stuffed kulcha in the main course, and finally Andhra Pink (Guava and Strawberry mix milkshake) and Raw Mango Mojito (Raw mango juice flavoured with mint leaves) as refreshments.

Mutton Bone Soup

Mutton in the soup was very well cooked and it was very soft. The soup was well prepared like authentic south style rasam with pepper. It had a good spicy and tangy taste. People who like spice would surely love to have this Mutton Bone soup.

 

Bamboo Chicken in Starters

We had earlier tried Bamboo chicken in Araku valley, Vishakapatnam. With that being in mind, we order the Bamboo chicken and were eagerly waiting to taste it. But the wait leads to a great disappointment. Yes, when the Bamboo chicken was served out of the Bamboo, we saw chicken that seemed to be raw in texture, and the masala which consisted of green chilies, onion, garam masala spices was just layered on the chicken and cooked. We were able to taste the raw chicken flavour and the masala hasn’t got mixed well with the chicken. Because of the raw taste and more of the chilly layers on the chicken, kids felt it very spicy and they didn’t like to have it. So we would not recommend Bamboo Chicken to be tried and get disappointed like us. Have informed the waiter about it and have requested them to improve the taste and to rethink on the method of cooking it. Hope they would consider it.

Nellore Chicken Biryani

After a disappointing starter, we got some relief in the Main course. Yes, the Nellore Chicken Biryani tasted very good and the chicken pieces were very soft and juicy. The aroma was very nice and the rice wasn’t sticky in texture. Our kids liked to have the chicken pieces in the Biryani. Quantity was sufficient for 2 adults. We ordered a Regular quantity and it also has a Medium quantity, which would surely be sufficient for 2 – 3 peoples. We asked for more of the gravy and the onion raita and they gave us every time.

Paneer Stuffed Butter Kulcha

Our kids don’t eat Biryani and we had ordered Paneer Stuffed Butter Kulcha for them. Kulcha was also tasty and soft. Kids loved the taste of the paneer stuffing.

Andhra Pink (Guava and Strawberry mix milkshake) and Raw Mango Mojito (Raw mango juice flavoured with mint leaves)

Biryani gave us a good relief, taste and it filled our 2nd brain, I mean our stomach. Then what, kids wanted some refreshments after some spicy meal. We ordered Andhra Pink, which the waiter explained to us saying, it is a milkshake with a blend of Guava and Strawberry and Raw Mango Mojito, which is Raw Mango juice flavoured with slices of lemon and mint leaves. Both the drinks chilled our 2nd brain and made it feel full and happy.

 

 

 

Finally, we received a check of around Rs.1000/- for all the dishes we ordered and ate. Paid the bill and left the restaurant.

Next time, will try the other Andhra dishes, mainly to try Andhra Non-veg meals, and post my experience and review. If you would also want to experience the authentic Andhra cuisine, please check out the location details below:

Address: Nandhana Palace - Andhra Style Restaurant - OMR

No 12, Egattur Rajiv Gandhi Salai 

Navalur OMR Near Marina Mall,

Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600130.

Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/rrQ6VfLkau8ipwmL6

Until then, stay safe and be away from Corona.

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