Down a dusty narrow alley off Arundale St, shoebox-sized Rayars has been pulling in ravenous crowds for over 70 years with its crispy evening bonda (mashed potato patties), vada and dosa. Breakfast at this family-run spot revolves around feathery idli and South Indian filter coffee.
Rayars Mess
Chennai (Madras)
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
29.22 MILES
The crowning masterpiece of Mamallapuram’s stonework, this giant relief carving is one of India's greatest ancient artworks. Inscribed on two huge,…
2.61 MILES
Housed across from the striking British-built Pantheon Complex, this excellent museum is Chennai’s best. The big highlight is building 3, the Bronze…
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0.24 MILES
Mylapore is one of Chennai's most characterful and traditional neighbourhoods; it predated colonial Madras by several centuries. Its Kapaleeshwarar Temple…
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7.91 MILES
There’s a tropical bohemian groove floating around Injambakkam village, site of the Cholamandal Artists’ Village, 10km south of Chennai's Adyar River…
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29.1 MILES
At the northern end of the Mamallapuram Hill compound, the Trimurti Cave Temple depicts the Hindu 'trinity' amid guardian figures: Brahma (left), Shiva …
29.86 MILES
Huddled together at the southern end of Mamallapuram, the Five Rathas were, astonishingly, all carved from single large rocks. Each of these fine 7th…
0.36 MILES
This soaring Roman Catholic cathedral, a stone's throw from the beach, was founded by the Portuguese in 1523, then rebuilt by the British in neo-Gothic…
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29.24 MILES
Standing like a magnificent fist of rock-cut elegance overlooking the sea, surrounded by gardens and ruined courts, the two-towered Shore Temple…
Nearby Chennai (Madras) attractions
0.24 MILES
Mylapore is one of Chennai's most characterful and traditional neighbourhoods; it predated colonial Madras by several centuries. Its Kapaleeshwarar Temple…
0.36 MILES
This soaring Roman Catholic cathedral, a stone's throw from the beach, was founded by the Portuguese in 1523, then rebuilt by the British in neo-Gothic…
3. Tomb of St Thomas the Apostle
0.38 MILES
Behind San Thome Cathedral is the entrance to the weirdly chintzy tomb of St Thomas the Apostle.
0.5 MILES
The tranquil, flowery grounds of the Ramakrishna Math are a world away from Mylapore's chaos. Orange-robed monks glide around and there’s a reverential…
0.52 MILES
At the southern end of Marina Beach, the fourth-incarnation Madras Lighthouse is India's only one with a lift; it's ridiculously popular, but the…
0.69 MILES
Styled with blue-and-white baroque elegance, pretty little palm-fringed Luz Church is Chennai's oldest European building, dating to 1516 – which also…
1.09 MILES
The marshmallow-pink Vivekananda House is interesting not only for its displays on the famous ‘wandering monk’, Swami Vivekananda, but also for its…
1.28 MILES
Built under the 8th-century Pallavas and unusually dedicated to Krishna (a form of Vishnu) as the charioteer Parthasarathy, this is one of Chennai's…