Coffee in chennai

Roast-to-order micro roastery started in late 2018 by Carnatic musician Akshay Vaidyanathan. The name is Tamil for coffee beans; every lot is direct trade from South Indian estates, sold online or collected in Chennai.

Garden and cattle-farm restaurant at 1/277 Semmancheri on Old Mahabalipuram Road, opposite the Times of India office. Pet friendly, all-day menu, and the French press is the coffee to order.

Beachville Coffee Roasters on St Mary's Road, Alwarpet — opened October 2020 by Divya and Ravi as Chennai's first speciality cafe with an in-house roastery, pulling shots on a Slayer and pouring single origins like Attikan and Hippla.

Minimal, Japanese-influenced cafe at 138 East Coast Road, Akkarai, near Injambakkam. Direct-traded single origins, matcha from Uji, and pastries, syrups and pastas all made in house. 10am to 8pm, closed Tuesdays.

The ECR outlet on MGR Salai, Palavakkam, branded BASK on ECR. Nirav Shah and his brothers Bhavesh and Pratik opened the original Coffee off Greenways Road in 1999, closed it in 2008 and relaunched as Bask in 2021; Sanremo espresso plus Chemex, V60, Aeropress and Kalita.

Family roastery at 4/350, 5th South Cross Street, Neelankarai, started during the lockdown by Kathryn and Anek Ahuja — Kathryn, from Larchmont, New York, is head roaster. Small drinking space with books and a see-through roasting area.

Japanese-style kissaten and slow bar pouring coffee alongside matcha and hojicha, written up by The Hindu in July 2025. 10am to 8pm, closed Wednesdays. No street address is published, so the area is unverified.

Cafe on 4th Main Road, Besant Nagar, a few minutes from Elliot's Beach. The cortado and the cheesecake are what reviewers come back to; the room gets more praise than the service.

Work cafe on Sir C.V. Raman Road, Alwarpet, built around a tree they refused to fell, with a glass dining room, custom work tables and bookable meeting rooms. From Sathappan Annamalai and Kalpana Rao; 8am to 10.30pm.

The larger of Coffee Trotter's two Chennai rooms, on Kottur Gardens Link Road, and the one with a food menu; the Alwarpet original is a tiny Japanese-inspired shop. High-grade Chikmagalur Arabica, espresso only — no manual brews. 8am to 8pm.

Two-storey bakery-cafe at 25, 2nd Cross Street off Cenotaph Road, Alwarpet, in the space that traded as SOWL. Counter and bakery downstairs, seating up; opens 8am, one of the earliest in the Alwarpet cluster.

KUP Coffee Roasters' converted house on 3rd Street, Abiramapuram, from founder Jivesh Goenka — cuppings and workshops, a kids' library and a game room. Small-batch Indian highland roasts named The Dreamer, The Thinker, Sober Jack and the rum-barrel-aged Mad Monk.

Suburban cafe above the Thalappakatti at Camp Road Junction, Selaiyur, out on Velachery Main Road. Cold coffee, shakes and croissants; 11am to 10.30pm.

Listening bar on TTK Road in Alwarpet from Ragu Muthiah, who came to it from advertising. Pick a record from the house collection while you drink; multi-roaster beans from Chikmagalur, Araku Valley and Meghalaya, and ticketed gigs some nights.

Twenty-nine-seater in Besant Nagar with bare white walls and a short dessert list — the three-layer malted chocolate cake is the one to order. Coffee and matcha; 10am to 6pm, closed Mondays.

Pure-vegetarian speciality coffee and artisanal chocolate in a restored bungalow with a courtyard and a small library. Two rooms: the Anna Nagar East original and a newer one at 18 Seethammal Road, Alwarpet.

Late-night pastel cafe at 38, 21st Street, Anna Nagar East, open 11am to 2am. Multicuisine rather than a coffee bar — pizzas, gelato and pastries off an Italian espresso machine.

Small-batch roastery and counter on 1st Cross Street, TTK Road, Alwarpet, founded in 2020 by Viggnesh V, Shivani Murali and Venkatesh Kannan. Chicory-free South Indian filter coffee bought direct from small farms, and a Madras-heritage merch line, Abracadavrah, since 2024.