Is Visesham, Chennai’s newest entrant in the South Indian culinary landscape, good?

Late in the 1990s, luxury hotels in Chennai realised that there was a slight inflection in the tides. Although exotic and understandably enticing, au gratins and paneer butter masala bowls were no longer making the cut. Tourists who were visiting the city wanted to taste authentic South Indian fare — the parotta and salna kind.

When Dakshin began at Sheraton Park Hotel in 1989, serving elevated versions of home-style kozhambus and poriyals at premium rates, other hotels realised that it was time to shine the light on nalli or bone marrow in a mutton stew. The likes of Ente Keralam, Malgudi, Amaravathi, Manjal, Erode Amman Mess and Kappa Chaka Kandhari joined the bandwagon. They soon became restaurants to take guests to. Or oneself, when one felt indulgent.

Joining this long list of restaurants serving food from the South of the Vindhyas is Visesham, a new restaurant in Nandanam. Here, one eats a meal while watching artistes play the veena. Cutlery is in place and the expectation is to place the napkin on the lap and munch through their enormous bowl of vadams with an accompaniment of fresh pickles fashioned from fish, prawns, mutton, pumpkin and carrots. We skip the etiquette and dive right in with our fingers.

As we get to the review, I would like to get one thing out of the way. The food at Visesham (meaning ‘celebration’ in all four South Indian languages) is great. Nearly every food item elicits a “that was good.” Everything except the ada pradhaman. My Malayali friend says she has had better.

Begin your meal with an annasi pazham (pineapple) rasam which is sweet from the diced pineapples and spiced with red chillies for a kick. The peethala mamsam chaaru is another option. Cooked with whole crabs, the stock simmers with flavour. The former however, is the pick of the table.

The podi idlis are a great appetiser order for a large table. Served with three chutneys that change depending on what’s available at the market, these ghee-soaked mini idlis are an easy crowd pleaser. The deep-fried kappa cutlets made of a tapioca stuffing and the pacha masala yeral or tiger prawn, steeped in the spicy green chilli-coriander paste, should not be missed. The koon milakittathu, a deep-fried mushroom dish with pepper, however, is a miss. Instead, try the koonthal porichathu, another deep-fried dish with squid. A hit of lemon on top ensures that the dish hits the spot.

Visesham’s strength lies in its mains. Served with idiyappam, parotta or dosais of choice, an assortment of gravies are the way to go. If I were you, I would begin with the mutton istew and the monagadda royyalu koora. Both these coconut milk-based dishes with mutton and prawn respectively, have vastly different flavour profiles. However, the meat in both these dishes is succulent and soft. Pair it with an idiyappam to ensure that a neutral vessel carries the flavour through.

Kappa cutlets and an assortment of pickle at the restaurant
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Special Arrangement

The gutti vankaya koora, sacred to the Andhra palate, is a vegetarian option that steals the show. The garlic softened by hours of cooking in a fiery tomato and chilli gravy alongside stuffed whole brinjals, is best eaten with a kal dosai. If you would like an option from Karnataka, try the bhende chilli made of a byadgi chilli paste from tulu nadu.

For the rice-loving South Indian in you, the Dindigul mutton biryani and curd rice, is an ideal way to end the meal. Pro tip: add a generous serving of inji puli to the curd rice. Because there is always room for dessert, a warm carrot halwa with cashews and raisins becomes the perfect way to say “shubam.”

Arasu Dennis, managing partner of Visesham, says that while the aim is to ensure South Indian cuisine is spotlighted, they also have kebabs and the standard dal makhnis and paneer butter masalas on the menu. “We don’t want to say ‘no’ to anyone, you know,” he says. He adds that they have also introduced set meals where one can choose from vegetarian, seafood and meat options.

Arasu believes in signs. “Our first booking on the opening day is of a kitty party by a person named Arthi. They are dressing in sarees for their meeting. An auspicious start, don’t you think?” he asks. A visesham indeed.

Visesham is at 135, Chamiers Rd, Nandanam Extension, Nandanam, Chennai. A meal for two costs ₹3,000. For reservations, contact 9176757711.