Fortkochi equals fun, peace, good food, and beach. What if there are extra reasons to drop in at Fortkochi? For Kochiites, ‘Kashi’ art cafe needs no introduction. A favourite to Kochiites and the many foreigners who visit Kochi, Kashi always makes sure that they are in the news for all the good reasons. Kashi is located at Burgher Street, in the heart of Fortkochi. Started in the year 1997, Kashi is now one of the most sought after coffee shops in Kochi!

They excel in continental cuisine. Sandwiches, pies and cakes that are available here cannot be replaced. When you drop in here the next time, make sure you do not miss out their cold coffee. Chocolate-lovers are going to fall head over heels for this one. Their yummy chocolate cake topped with chocolate sauce is heaven. Need more? Try their French toast with honey and fresh breads.

What makes Kashi ‘number one’? Definitely the yummy food, peaceful ambience, reasonable rates, location, good crowd, and definitely good friends to top it all! This makes us say that driving all the way to Fortkochi for Kashi is worth it. The cafe is open every day from 8.30 a.m to 7. 30 p.m. Haven’t you tried Kashi yet? Wait no longer. Check out this awesome place. You would fall for it! Guaranteed!

Good food, reasonable rates, and the best of taste. That too, all under one roof? Who would want to miss that? Kochiites can definitely vote for ‘Raju Dhaba’ as one of the best places where we can savour on yummy North Indian food. Kochivibe has introduced you to Raju Dhaba earlier, and now we have better news. Raju Dhaba has been renovated! They have made the place more spacious with better food and comfort too.

For all those who have not been acquainted to Raju Dhaba, let us tell you that this is an awesome place where you can try out Tandoori chicken, chicken tikkas, dal tadka and more. Any North Indian dish, you name it and they have it. If you are tired of the tandoori chicken and naans which we get in our hotels here, then make sure you hop in here.

Wondering about the rates? Dal tadka comes at 45 rupees. You also have tandoor roti (7 rupees) or even butter roti (10 rupees) to go with it. They have porottas (masala, egg, alu thandoor, tandoor) which comes at prices varying from 25-35 rupees.

This place would be heaven for vegetarians. The aloo dishes, paneer, bhindi (brinjal), gopi (cauliflower), and dal varieties that they have there are too good.

With the renovation being done, families can also visit the place. Raju Dhaba is located at Falcon Truck Terminal, Puthiya Road Junction, Kalamassery.

Three days back was the inauguration of another ‘naadan’ restaurant called Ela in Kochi city. The restaurant is located at Menaka, opposite Bay Pride Mall and under The Attic restaurant. In fact Ela restaurant is run by the same people responsible for Attic, which is one of the few places that serves good steaks and sizzlers.

Nadan Restaurant Ela in Cochin

One thing that we definitely welcomed was the menu outside the restaurant, by the foot path. So you dont have to wait till your server gives you the menu to decide what your going to eat or if the place is too pricey! The menu at the street definitely looked appealing, though once inside we were quite surprised that the interiors and the ambiance did not match what you would expect in a naadan restaurant. The interiors were somewhat modern, swanky looking and played some western pop music in the background.

Interior of ELA Restaurant

The same menu that we studied by the footpath was produced by the Captain. But we did get pretty disappointed when the Captain informed us that each of our orders were either not available or will take time, which is another way of saying, “your order is not available”. So, finally we decided to have the naadan meals and naadan biriyani and some kozuva fish fry. At Rs.60 for the Veg Meals, Rs. 75 for biriyani and Rs. 45 for the fried fish, the rates were somewhat reasonable, taking to consideration the ambiance. The 30 minute wait for the food to arrive definitely worked on our appetite and to a certain extent on our patience too. The meals was good enough. But the naadan biriyani was certainly disappointing. The biriyani was in no way naadan and was more like the north Indian version. It was more like a spicy pulao with 2 pieces of chicken thrown in. The fried fish was good enough and proved worthy of the wait. The payasam that was served was not great and we decided we have had better.

Over all the food was not exceptionally good. But if trying out new places gives you the kick, then go ahead and check out Ela. We rate the place a generous 2.5 out of 5.