India GOWhere to eat in Munnar
Munnar is a small town, and most of its eating happens in a few streets around the Main Bazaar and the MG Road market. The food is mostly cheap, and much of it is vegetarian: Kerala meals and parotta, thali halls and a Jain kitchen, plus a grill house for meat and a hotel restaurant for dinner with a view. Here is how to choose by the kind of meal you want.
How to choose: six kinds of meal
Prices run from ₹ in the bazaar canteens to ₹₹ at the grill house, the cafes and the hotel restaurant.
Kerala meals on a budget (₹)
Rapsy Restaurant in the Main Bazaar is the town's best-known cheap canteen, its walls covered in notes left by travellers in a dozen languages. Portions are large, a full lunch costs roughly ₹95–125, and the order to make is parotta with vegetable curry. It fills up at meal times.
Pure-veg halls (₹)
Saravana Bhavan at the MG Road market is the predictable choice: dosa, idli, sambar, rasam and meals on a banana leaf, a little dearer than street food. SN Restaurant, on the southern edge of town, is known for huge thalis mixing South and North Indian dishes, from dosa and appam to Gujarati kadhi and saag.
Jain and North Indian (₹)
Sree Mahaveer Bhojanalaya, near the KSRTC bus stand on GH Road, is the town's only dedicated Jain kitchen: Marwari, Gujarati and Punjabi thalis cooked without onion or garlic. It is a plain family mess, and the thali is the thing to order.
Grill and non-veg (₹₹)
Al Buhari in Moolakadai is where locals send people who eat meat: an Arabian-Malabar kitchen built around the grill, with al faham chicken, mandi rice, biryani and parotta. It is clean and quick. Vegetarians can eat here, but the choice comes down to parotta, hummus and side dishes.
Dinner with a valley view (₹₹)
The restaurant at Hotel C7 is the place for an evening out: a modern dining room looking over the valley at sunset. Dishes cost roughly ₹310–500, more than anywhere in the bazaar. Book ahead if you want a window table.
Tea, cake and chocolate (₹–₹₹)
Tea Tales Cafe, upstairs in the Kalnivas Complex by the Gandhi statue, serves a flight of local teas alongside lattes and brownies, with a balcony over the town. Taste The Brews is a tiny cafe known for cheap homemade carrot cake and spiced cinnamon tea. The tasting counter at the KDHP Tea Museum on Nallathanni Estate, about 2 km out, serves estate teas; the museum is closed on Mondays. At Macofa Chocolate Factory you can watch bars being made and taste before you buy, including sugar-free ones.
Where the restaurants are
The centre. Rapsy in the Main Bazaar, Saravana Bhavan at the MG Road market and Al Buhari in Moolakadai stand a few hundred metres apart, so lunch in town needs no transport. Sree Mahaveer Bhojanalaya is a short walk east, on GH Road by the KSRTC bus stand, and Tea Tales Cafe is by the Gandhi statue.
Out of the centre. SN Restaurant is about 1.5 km south, on the edge of town. The tea museum and its tasting counter are on Nallathanni Estate, around 2 km out: a short rickshaw ride, and easy to combine with the museum itself (Tata Tea Museum).
After lunch the Main Bazaar is the place for tea, spices and homemade chocolate.
Good to know before you go
- Breakfast starts early — Puttu with kadala curry is Kerala's breakfast, and in the hills it is served from six, before the estate shifts begin. More dishes to look for: what to eat in Munnar.
- The four o'clock snack — Pazham pori, banana fritters, come with black tea in the afternoon at any shop with a wok by the door.
- Vegetarians are well served — Saravana Bhavan, SN Restaurant and Sree Mahaveer are pure-veg, and Sree Mahaveer cooks without onion and garlic. More on this: vegetarian food in Munnar.
FAQ
What food is Munnar famous for?
Tea from the surrounding estates, puttu with kadala curry for breakfast, appam with stew, Kerala parotta, banana fritters with afternoon tea and the town's homemade chocolate.
Where can I eat cheaply in Munnar?
Rapsy Restaurant in the Main Bazaar, where a full lunch costs roughly ₹95–125. Saravana Bhavan, SN Restaurant and Sree Mahaveer Bhojanalaya are also in the ₹ range.
What are the best veg restaurants in Munnar?
Saravana Bhavan for South Indian meals and dosa, SN Restaurant for very large South and North Indian thalis, and Sree Mahaveer Bhojanalaya for Jain food without onion and garlic.
Where to eat non-veg in Munnar?
Al Buhari in Moolakadai: al faham grilled chicken, mandi rice and biryani in a clean, quick dining room.
Is there a restaurant with a view in Munnar?
Yes: the restaurant at Hotel C7 looks over the valley. Dishes cost roughly ₹310–500; book a window table ahead.
What are the best cafes in Munnar?
Tea Tales Cafe by the Gandhi statue for a tasting of local teas, Taste The Brews for carrot cake and spiced tea, and the tasting counter at the KDHP Tea Museum, closed on Mondays.
Facts checked: 15 October 2026. Prices and hours are approximate; check locally.
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