Chennai is a great place for
“value for money” restaurants. Places where the food may not make the soul soar
on wings of song, but the palate and the stomach, as well as
the wallet, will be more than happy. One that I
came across recently is called “The Fisherman’s Fare” and is located on Casa Major Road. The fare there comes at really fair prices!
Some people may find the
name a bit misleading - they serve seafood all right but meat is also on the
menu.
While the a la carte is
interesting enough, what makes the place worth visiting are the “combos” and
the “express lunches”.
If you order an express lunch
A meal consisting of a curry, a fry,
rice, , rice, rasam, porial, salad, papadam,
pickle and a soft drink finds its way to
your table for Rs. 110, 120 or 70 depending on what you pick from a choice of
Prawn, Fish, Chicken, Mutton or
Vegetarian. Each dish was satisfying and tasty.
However, once you choose a
theme, you have to stay with it. If you order a fish lunch, you get fish fry
and fish curry; if you order a prawn combo you get prawn fry and prawn curry.
You can’t mix and match and have, say, a fish fry with a prawn curry. That kind
of freedom of choice is limited to the a-la-carte menu.
If you have a
bigger appetite than mine, you could opt for a “Combo”. The combos are a bit
more elaborate than the express lunches and you get to choose between chicken
and seafood combos under Indian. Tandoor, Western or Oriental or a vegetarian
combo priced. Your bill will be between Rs. 137 and 146.
The a la carte
menu offers quite a wide range listed under western, Mediterranean and Oriental
– prices ranging from Rs 80 for squid and Rs 280 for lobster - extremely reasonable when you consider the
fact that some restaurants in this town price lobster by the gram, rather like gold!
The décor is
simple but neat and the service is friendly and quite efficient.
To write a
proper review one needs to sample most of the dishes. And that would involve many
more visits, but that will be a pleasant task.