Kanyakumari

Good food, but not groundbreaking. Front of house was disorganized. We were asked to give up our table while we were finishing our drinks and to sit at the bar. The bar had no seats available so we stood. The hostess repeatedly asked us which reservation we were waiting on while we finished our drinks. Felt very unwelcoming.

Let me start with the food. Other than the appetizers, nothing really stood out as exceptional. Most dishes were just okay, and I felt similar or better food could be found at less expensive Indian restaurants. The presentation is visually impressive, but the restaurant’s name, Kanyakumari, sets expectations that are not fully met. While serving food in shells may loosely reference a beach theme, it does not distinctly represent Kanyakumari. Aside from the Thiruvalluvar statue and some artwork inside the restaurant, there was little that felt specific to Kanyakumari culture or cuisine. The music played was primarily North Indian, and even birthday or anniversary celebrations followed North Indian-style themes. I am not against that at all, but the restaurant name creates a different expectation. Most of the menu also leans heavily toward North Indian cuisine rather than reflecting Kanyakumari or South Indian coastal food. As a high-end restaurant, a few logistical aspects were disappointing. There were limited restrooms, which meant waiting at times. There was also no Wi-Fi available for customers, which felt surprising given the pricing—especially when even smaller restaurants commonly offer this. The seating felt cramped, with relatively small tables and chairs, and the overall space felt more squished than comfortable for a fine-dining experience. The main entrées and desserts did not leave a strong impression. The Sunset Modak, while beautifully presented, tasted average. Overall, the visuals and ambiance are well done, but the food and experience did not fully justify the price. In my view, it is worth visiting once for the experience, but not much beyond that.

We had an horrible experience from start to finish. Honestly, it was probably one of the worst restaurant experiences. We had reservations and were told we had to wait ten minutes, which easily turned into 15-20 min. (At 10 pm this makes a difference.) We were told to wait at the back of the restaurant, near the bathrooms. Food and drinks were subpar. Super limited menu especially for vegetarians. The order in which things were brought out was haphazard and all over the place. Some items were forgotten and then brought out when we were finished eating. Server acted like it was perfectly normal and never asked to take it off the bill or apologize for the delay. Server never once asked if everything was okay even when he saw many of the items unfinished. One of the breads to go alongside the dish was never brought out. Vegetable stew had NO flavor, other items were too spicy. (Even though I had told our server I don’t have much of a tolerance for spice— it was totally ignored.) For dessert— 2 of the 3 items were “sold out”, our server said the “pineapple dessert with the condensed milk is not good” and said they were in the midst of adding more desserts. LOL to add insult to injury this restaurant is overpriced for what it is. (I have never been here before but can see what other people have said that they have perhaps gone downhill as they have gotten more popular.) It seemed unbelievable that so much can be wrong and yet the bill can be what it was (close to $300 including tip for 3 people) Would not recommend needless to say!

This spot really got it

My biggest disappointment was the inauthenticity of the food. The curry tasted suspiciously familiar—almost identical to what their sister restaurant, LAUT, serves . I ordered the Malvani chicken curry at Kanyakumari. Was it tasty? Yes. Did it make sense to me as a Bombay bred Mangalorean. Absolutely not. I arrived expecting regional nuance and left wondering if I’d accidentally ordered from the same kitchen with a different passport stamp. Also, a friendly linguistic PSA: it’s Udupi, not Udipi, and Mangalore, not Manglore. The food can evolve, but the spellings should not.