India GOWhere to eat in Udupi
In Udupi the most famous meal costs nothing: the Krishna Matha feeds everyone who sits down in its dining hall. Around it, a handful of old vegetarian tiffin rooms serve the dosa and idli that Udupi restaurants carried across India. Here is how to choose by the kind of meal you want, what to order and what to know before you go.
How to choose: five kinds of meal
Almost everything in the list above is pure vegetarian. Prices run from free at the temple and ₹ at the tiffin counters to ₹₹₹ at the one beach resort restaurant.
The temple meal (free)
The Bhojana Shala of the Sri Krishna Matha has served a free meal for over seven hundred years: rice, sambar, rasam, a seasonal palya (dry vegetable dish) and payasam (sweet milk pudding) on a banana leaf, with no onion or garlic. Lunch is the main sitting. Details on the Udupi prasadam page.
Tiffin by the temple (₹)
Tiffin is the light meal of idli, vada and dosa. Mitra Samaj Bhojanalaya on Car Street, run by the Holla family since 1947, is known for goli baje (fried dough balls) and bullet idli in sambar, cooked without onion or garlic. Woodlands, near the Matha, is the place for a ghee-glossed masala dosa and filter coffee, with about a dozen dosa varieties and a South Indian thali.
A sit-down thali (₹₹)
Kediyoor Hotel in Brahmagiri, near the Matha, runs the air-conditioned Gokula Krishna restaurant: Davanagere benne (butter) dosa, idli-vada, filter coffee and meals plates. Udupi Rasoi, inside Hotel Manipal Inn on the Karavali bypass (NH 66), has its own pure-veg kitchen; order the South Indian thali, a paper masala dosa or bonda payasam.
Manipal cafés and dessert (₹–₹₹)
Diana Restaurant, near Kalpana Theatre and the KSRTC bus stand, is where Gadbad ice cream (layers of ice cream, jelly, dry and fresh fruit in a tall glass) was invented in the 1960s; the veg cutlets and dahi vada are the savoury reasons to stay. In Manipal: Pai Tiffins for coconut-oil masala dosa, goli baje and Mangalore buns, Cafe 7 Bees near the MIT campus, Payohima for ice cream, and Drips, an eggless bakery-café with branches in both towns.
By the sea, with fish (₹₹₹)
Ocean View, the restaurant of Paradise Isle Beach Resort on Malpe beach, is the one place in the list that serves meat, fish and alcohol. It is known for coastal seafood; vegetarians get ghee rice, biryani, paneer dishes and continental mains. Book at weekends.
What to order
Udupi's claim is the masala dosa: the temple kitchens sent it out into the world, and the restaurants that carried it took the town's name with them. The other benchmark is Udupi meals, a fixed sequence of dishes on a banana leaf with no onion or garlic, the template South Indian vegetarian restaurants copied everywhere.
At breakfast look for goli baje, sour fried dough balls eaten with coconut chutney while still too hot to hold; kotte kadubu, idli batter steamed in a box of woven jackfruit leaves; neer dosa, a lace-thin rice crêpe; and Mangalore buns, sweet, slightly sour puris made with banana. Finish with a Gadbad ice cream at Diana. More on what to eat in Udupi and breakfast in Udupi.
Where to go for what
Car Street (Ratha Beedi), the square around the Krishna Matha, has the temple dining hall, Mitra Samaj and Woodlands within a few minutes' walk; Kediyoor is in neighbouring Brahmagiri. This is where to be in the morning.
Manipal, the university town 4–5 km up the road, has most of the cafés, bakeries and ice-cream places. Buses run every couple of minutes and cost approximately ₹20 or less (see getting around Udupi).
The Karavali bypass (NH 66) is where Udupi Rasoi sits, convenient between the two towns. Malpe, by the sea, is the place for a fish lunch.
Good to know before you go
A few habits of the town's food scene save time and surprises.
- Vegetarian is the default — Temple-style kitchens such as Mitra Samaj and the Matha's dining hall cook without onion or garlic; Mitra Samaj also caters for a Jain diet. If you want fish or meat, head for Malpe.
- Alcohol is rare — Of the places in the list, only Ocean View at Paradise Isle serves it.
- Go early for tiffin — Mitra Samaj and Pai Tiffins are breakfast places; Woodlands can mean a short wait at weekends.
FAQ
What is famous in Udupi to eat?
The masala dosa and Udupi meals, the banana-leaf vegetarian meal without onion or garlic, plus goli baje, kotte kadubu, neer dosa, Mangalore buns and Gadbad ice cream, invented at Diana Restaurant in the 1960s.
What are the best restaurants near the Krishna Temple?
Mitra Samaj Bhojanalaya on Car Street for tiffin, Woodlands for masala dosa and filter coffee, and Kediyoor Hotel's Gokula Krishna in Brahmagiri for a sit-down meal. The temple's own dining hall serves a free lunch.
What are the best restaurants in Udupi for lunch?
The free lunch at the Krishna Matha's Bhojana Shala, the South Indian thali at Udupi Rasoi on the Karavali bypass, or the meals plate at Kediyoor Hotel.
Are there fancy restaurants in Udupi?
Udupi is a town of tiffin rooms rather than fine dining. The most polished options in the list are Ocean View at Paradise Isle in Malpe (₹₹₹), Udupi Rasoi and Kediyoor's Gokula Krishna (₹₹).
Where can I eat non-veg food in Udupi?
Most of the town's well-known restaurants are pure vegetarian. For coastal seafood, go to Ocean View at Paradise Isle Beach Resort on Malpe beach, about 6 km from the centre.
Facts checked: 15 October 2026. Prices and hours are approximate; check locally.
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