Super overrated amd hyped like hell. Maybe it had a time of its own, but now the ship has sailed.
1. One piece Idli sambhar is 81 bucks - the idly and sambar served separately. What's the whole point.
2. Very poor restroom.
3. Service - lesser said, the better.
4. Sambar - good, but not unfound and rare. Local places serve just as good or better sambar.
5. Portion size - like below average
Overall, can go only if you want to experience it. If for food, better avoid all the hassle.
Rathna Cafe in Triplicane, Chennai, is a historic vegetarian restaurant established in 1948, renowned for its South Indian cuisine. The outlet on Triplicane High Road offers classics like idli sambar, dosas, pongal, filter coffee, and full meals at reasonable prices. It remains popular for breakfast and tiffin among locals.
Idli sambar and mini idlis stand out for their flavorful sambar, often called "the magic of sambar.
"Popular items include ghee roast dosa, rava masala dosa, vada, pongal, and filter coffee.
Affordable thalis and tiffin items cater to quick bites or full meals, all purely vegetarian.
Visited Ratna Cafe in the afternoon and the experience was average. I tried tomato soup, paneer fried rice, and ghee podi idly. Among these, the ghee podi idly was the only item I genuinely liked. Unfortunately, there was no sambar idly available at the time, which is what the place is famous for.
The ambience felt dull and dated, and even though I sat in the AC hall, the washroom wasn’t clean. Overall, the vibe didn’t feel very warm or appealing. Service was good, but the food didn’t fully live up to the hype.
I might recommend visiting only if you're specifically interested in trying the iconic sambar idly — otherwise, it may not feel special.
Beware of the service managers. If you are a solo person, going to have food, forget all your dignity and have food there. They won't budge for any reason to accommodate us. Earlier there was care and kindness in the service. Unfortunately everything is no more in this shop. I am an resident of Triplicane for the past 14 years and has been having food there occasionally, but the recent visit is worst of all. Food though is not upto the mark as earlier, but satisfies your hunger. More particularly their ghee dosa is a must try at any cost. So crispy, so aromatic and picture perfect. But the sambar and the chutney doesn't go well with it. There is something it's missing, which hampers the actual taste of the food. The service manager in the photo attached below was highly rude, I was waiting for around 10 mins for taking order and when enquired with him he outright says that we have to wait for another 10 mins to place our orders. If this is how he is going to treat all the customers, then the resturant has to brace for another downhill. There are many restaurants which sprungs up near providing good food at customer friendly side. If they aren't ready to resolve this issue, then it's another point for degrading of the restaurant. Last but not the last, not worth the hype.
Very good restaurant. We visited this place in the night around 8:30pm. Was quite crowded. We ordered idly with sambar and sambar vada, basundhi, filter coffee. The sambar was as always top notch and with more quantity. We also had a set of poori. Poori was very soft and the potato side was always tasty. Sambar vada had 2 pieces in it , the size of vada was big in size. It was very filling for one person.Basundhi was so good, chill and nice to finish as a dessert. The staffs and service was good and quick, didn't need to wait for long time. We sat in the AC area in the ground floor. Non- AC is also available. Handwashing area is a bit dirt but otherwise fine with everything else. Must try place!