Skip to main content

A live Seafood Restaurant over the ECR – Thoondil Restaurant

I love seafood. There is nothing more I like than a plateful of fried fish or buttery garlic prawns on a bed of crispy salty onions. Thankfully for me, I get to indulge in my love ample of times because I reside in the area of ECR, Chennai.

 
A View inside the Thoondil Restaurant, Paniyur, ECR
PC: Vijaya Shankar O

Being in ECR, I was blessed with an abundant bounty of seafood. Thoodil at Akkarai is a unique live seafood restaurant articulating your foodies with a spicy and tasty variety of kinds of seafood. The ambiance of the restaurant is serene mainly courtesy of the lovely green surroundings nested in. In Tamil, the meaning of Thoondil is fishing rod and the USP of the restaurant seems to be its outdoor setting where the entire restaurant is laid out in a large garden. Sturdy furniture fashioned out of heavy rough wood is placed around the garden in various nooks and corners. Few large huts are erected about the garden to house the sitting area.

Dining at Thoodil will be a delight as the bamboo trees will cool our bodies up avoiding being burnt out in Chennai’s hot weather. They have also managed to bring tranquility in by adding a peaceful statue of buddha in the center. A cool birdbath is flanked by ducks frolicking in the garden, which is something attracting the children.

The Thoodil Restaurant also uses teak and bamboo furniture and the delicate taste of the ‘Pomfret’ is maintained in the Chettinadu variation where the rich spices only compliment the sweetness of the fish.

The restaurant also has a carefully planned out menu by a team of food experts and chefs and they also have customized recipes to suit all guests like Chettinadu, South Indian, Tandoor, and Chinese preparation. They have other facilities such as a Live fish tank, live kitchen, active pond, selfie corner, private huts for special occasions, and group/corporate booking huts.

When I went to the restaurant, I selected a live crab, a few squids, soft pomfret fishes, and Nethili fishes which were fried with Indian spices which were tasting out of the world. The crispness of the fried fishes remained even after leaving the restaurant.

The concept of Hook & cook where you can order the fish either caught live from the tank or from the display freezer. With that, they have a separate barbecue counter where they cook different kebabs and BBQs. All the food served is presented in an exquisite manner and every food was properly cooked.

Overall, it was a unique restaurant with a unique concept and great tasty food. I would recommend this place for all seafood lovers, though its cost is a little higher, the taste is good which will stay in your tongue forever.


Butterly big-sized squids are fried with Indian spices.
. PC: Vijaya Shankar O


A delightful plate of live crab perfectly fried with spicy gravy.
PC: Vijaya Shankar O



Crunchy and crispy Nethili fries are served with a pinch of lemon.
PC: Vijaya Shankar O


Soft pomfret fish fries are served with a blend of Indian Spices.
PC: Vijaya Shankar O

Comments