Madras Midnight
OUR MENU

The Chennai Table

A menu that moves with the seasons and answers to no trend. Every item carries a tradition.

Thodakkam · Starters

Small plates rooted in the street food culture of Chennai -- hand-pounded chutneys, fermented batters, and spice blends assembled at the last moment.

Idli UpmaSIGNATURE
$14.00

Crumbled steamed rice cakes tempered with mustard seed, curry leaf, and dried red chilli. Finished with a drizzle of cold-pressed coconut oil.

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Kothu Parotta AranciniSIGNATURE
$16.00

A Chennai-Naples collision. Shredded parotta folded with egg and spiced onion, shaped, crumbed, and fried. Served with tomato-tamarind dip.

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Prawn Vathal Kozhambu Shooter
$18.00

Two-bite tiger prawns poached in a concentrated tamarind and sun-dried chilli broth. Poured tableside.

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Raw Mango Pachadi
$12.00

Thinly shaved green mango tossed with toasted cumin, jaggery, green chilli, and fresh coconut. Light and acidic.

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Mutton Bone Broth
$10.00

Twelve-hour slow-simmered mutton stock perfumed with black pepper, cinnamon bark, and star anise. Served in a clay cup.

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Arisi & Rotti · Rice and Breads

The architecture of every South Indian table. Fermented batters, stone-milled flours, and copper griddles maintained at precise heat.

Midnight DosaSIGNATURE
$22.00

A 26-inch paper dosa fermented for 48 hours. Filled with spiced potato masala, served with four house chutneys and tomato-lentil sambar.

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Appam with Ishtu
$18.00

Lacy hopper made from fermented coconut-rice batter. Accompanied by a vegetable stew fragrant with whole spices and coconut milk.

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Parotta with Salna
$20.00

Layered wheat bread cooked on a flat iron. Served with a lip-searing roadside-style goat salna.

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Pesarattu
$16.00

Green moong dal crepe with ginger and green chilli. Served alongside coconut-peanut chutney and a shot of upma filling.

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Mukhya Unavu · Mains

Slow-cooked centrepieces drawn from coastal Tamil kitchens, Chettinad interiors, and the Madras Muslim table. Every dish carries a postal address.

Chettinad Chicken KuzhambuSIGNATURE
$38.00

Bone-in chicken braised in a blend of 28 freshly ground spices including kalpasi, marathi mokku, and stone flower. Served with seeraga samba rice.

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Meen VaruvalSIGNATURE
$42.00

Whole snapper marinated in red chilli, turmeric, and curry leaf paste, fried crisp in a cast-iron vessel. Accompanied by kachumber and rice.

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Vellai Kurma
$28.00

A milk-white vegetable kurma thickened with cashew and coconut, perfumed with fennel and cardamom. A dish from the Tamil Brahmin wedding feast.

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Goat BiryaniSIGNATURE
Market

Dum-cooked goat biryani in the Arcot style: aged basmati, kewra water, and caramelised onion sealed beneath a dough crown. For the table.

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Kothamalli Paneer
$26.00

House-pressed paneer in a coriander and green chilli gravy with a faint whisper of cumin-tempered ghee.

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Thodai · Sides

Each side dish is considered a complete plate on its own. Nothing here is an afterthought.

Seeraga Samba Rice
$6.00

Short-grain heritage rice steamed with salt, served with ghee on request.

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Papadam Trio
$5.00

Roasted urad, black pepper, and cumin papadams. Served with raw onion-lime relish.

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Rasam
$7.00

Pepper-tamarind broth ladled over rice or served as a restorative consommé between courses.

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Poriyal of the Day
$9.00

Seasonal dry-fried vegetable with coconut, mustard seed, and curry leaf. Ask the floor.

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Kudikka · Drinks

Our beverage list moves between fermented, spiced, and aromatic. South Indian coffee prepared on a filter drip at the table.

Filter CoffeeSIGNATURE
$6.00$9.00

Double-strength Mysore decoction steeped for four minutes, poured from height into a steel tumbler over warm buffalo milk.

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Nannari Sherbet
$8.00

Cold-pressed sarsaparilla root syrup diluted with still water and a squeeze of lime. A Chennai summer staple.

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Spiced Toddy Sour
$18.00

Coconut arrack, palm jaggery syrup, tamarind shrub, egg white. Smoked with curry leaf.

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Madras Old FashionedSIGNATURE
$20.00

Bourbon rested with fenugreek seeds, cardamom bitters, raw cane demerara, and an expressed orange coin.

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Tender Coconut Water
$7.00

Chilled directly from the shell, poured at the table. Served with a black salt rim.

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Inippu · Desserts

Desserts sourced from temple kitchens, grandmother recipes, and the Pondy Bazaar mithai counter.

Paal PayasamSIGNATURE
$12.00

Kerala-style rice kheer reduced for three hours in copper, finished with cardamom and saffron. Served chilled.

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Halwa Tart
$14.00

Wheat halwa set into a ghee-shortcrust shell. Topped with rose petal and pistachio.

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Kulfi on a Stick
$10.00

House-made malai kulfi infused with saffron and reduced milk solids. Rose water glaze.

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TONIGHT'S BOARD
TONIGHT'S SPECIAL

Midnight Biryani Experience

A full table ritual. Aged basmati sealed dum-style with whole bone-in lamb, rose water, and saffron milk. Served with raita, shorba, and papadam.

$85.00

Chettinad Tasting Plate

$42.00

Wine Pairing Flight

$55.00

Coastal Seafood Set

$62.00
Available Tonight Only

Other restaurants serve food.

Ourgrandmother'skitchentraveledoceans.

Every dish on this menu carries a street address in Chennai. A preparation method passed through hands. A spice blend ground on the day it is used. We do not rush this.

RESERVE YOUR TABLE

Join us for a genuine Madras evening.

Walk-ins are welcome. For groups of four or more, a reservation means we can give your table the full ceremony it deserves.

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