The city has a sizeable population of people who have migrated from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana for work and it offers a great many options, when it comes to authentic Andhra food. From typical mess to high-end dining, there is something for everybody. Do try out these places, if you crave for spicy Andhra meals.

Amaravathi, Gopalapuram and Karapakkam

Amaravathi restaurant was established in December1980 by Shyam Hospitality and has been serving authentic Andhra food for more than three decades. It is one of your best bet to have hot and spicy Andhra meal in a decent ambience in the city and has numerous branches across Chennai. The chefs at Amaravathi, who come from Andhra, are master chefs specialising in the cuisine and they source spices and ingredients for their preparations from their respective regions. The restaurant is known for its signature dishes like Amaravathi chilli chicken, Nellore hapala pulusu (Nellore fish curry), kodi vepudu (roast chicken), mutton gongura , mamidikaya royyala pulusu (mango prawn curry) besides its famous thali, which has some of the best combinations of various dishes along with variety dal powder to choose from.

New Andhra Meals Hotel, T Nagar

On any given day, you will find this eatery in T Nagar buzzing with patrons as well as first-timers, waiting to enjoy a delicious Andhra meal. You might have to wait for a long time to get a table but it will be worth it! The place doesn’t boast of a great ambience but is still a popular haunt for Andhra food lovers. The curries and pappu (dal) are legendary and will definitely leave asking for more. Be ready for several refills of various dishes and overeating. The prices are nominal. Guntur chicken, green chilli chicken, mutton sukka and their biriyani are absolute crowd-pullers. In addition, their meals are also extremely popular.

Velidis, Ramapuram

If your office is located at the DLF IT Park in Ramapuram, you surely would have visited or heard from fellow foodies about the popular Andhra restaurant Velidis. It is a small eatery but serves tantalising and spicy Andhra fare. It is a huge hit in the area. Try their signature prawn fry, Guntur chicken curry, special chicken biryani and their meals. You will not be disappointed!

Mana Andhra, Khader Nawaz Khan Road, Nungambakkam

This restaurant is the newest entrant on the list and its plush setting makes it an ideal weekend family dining option. Here improvised dimsum trolleys are used to carry refills for curries. The eatery is the brain-child of popular restaurateur Mahadevan and has a Hyderabadi Muslim biriyani specialist Shabbir and Chef Durga Prasad who is known for his authentic representation of Telugu cuisine at its forefront. The cutlery, décor and ambience of the place make it a great option for all those looking for a high-end place to savour authentic Andhra food. The prawn starters, curries and biriyani has already got a huge fan following. What are you waiting for!

National Lodge, Sowcarpet

This one is one of the oldest places serving traditional Andhra food. It is a lodge in Sowcarpet that serves Andhra food where you can opt for air-conditioned or non air-conditioned seating. It is as authentic as it can get. One needs to get a token at the counter for their meals and then wait for the magic of Andhra food to take over. The staff is known to be extremely efficient and run around deftly taking orders. The place only serves meals and is a popular option in that part of the town.

This article is a part of a series where we ask our readers to state their favourite options for a particular cuisine and pick the popular ones from the list. Thanks  Madhuri Bindana, Sugan Sureshbabu, Praveen, Srinivas Ramanjulu, Nikita Kadam, Sonik Roonwal, Asalt Ashwin, Vibha Sarna Jaggi, Philip Navadeep, Santhosh Thangavel,  Kumar Shivaramakrishnan and Sy’d Sabik for your suggestions.