One sip of Madras Palace's coffee is all you need to get yourself convinced that the place is an authentic South Indian restaurant. For the seeds used to brew the coffee are grown in the hills of Nilgiri in South Indian which has subtle flavor and aroma that South American coffee seeds lack. That same attention and importance is given to every recipe that is dished out for the patrons by Chiral Purushotham and Santha owners of Madras Palace.

Located on 1249 Ellesmere road, Madras Palace is the only South Indian restaurant in Scarborough area. It has a full fledged bar attached to it and is a great place for family dinners and parties. The aesthetically decorated interior of the restaurant is some what reminiscent of the many high class restaurant back home. A small shelf at one end of the restaurant is filled with traditional goodies such as murruku, ladoo, rice patties- considered as south Indian specialties. Their very sight will make your palette to send signals to your mind-resist no longer. But wait till you sink your teeth into some of their appetizers.

The Madras Palace's dosa is almost a great hit with both the mainstream and Indo-Canadian patrons. If you want to stick to your dosa as a main dinner item, you better start with the delicious methu or masala vada and idly. They are served with famous south Indian coconut chutney and idly particularly come with sambar, a typical south Indian vegetable mix soup.

The madras vegetarian thali beats any full source meal. The thali usually consists of dal, rasam, chutney, pickle, steamed vegetable curries, papad, yogurt, rice and truly brings out the essence of south Indian cooking. The best way to enjoy the thali is by eating with your fingers, the traditional way.

The restaurant which receives a lot of Sri Lankan patrons has also added a couple of their favorite culinary delights such as kothu rotti, spring hoppers and vattilappam. For those who have not tasted them, should try it next time when they are at Madras Palace. They are not only tasty but totally irresistible.

Vegetarian dishes, "the traditional way of biriyani is often made with a lot of spices in their original form. The bones are not separated from the meat and lost of fat is used. It is definitely very tasty but for of heavy. We use boneless meat and all the spices are ground to give a smooth texture and make it less greasy. It is quite popular as a take out and regular entrée of our restaurant, said Santha who constantly takes into account customer preference while preparing her culinary delicacies.

Madras Palace, in its owners Purushotham and Santha has two trained experts in running the restaurant. Purushotham holds a degree in Hotel Management from a distinguished school in Bangalore and diploma in the same field from a school in Colon in Germany. He has worked in reputable hotels in England and Canada before taking over the restaurant a couple of years ago. Santha on the other hand first put her entrepreneurial skills in marketing her own brand of pickle. When she lost her full time job, she decided to join the restaurant on a full time basis.

Reasonably priced, Madras Palace is in deed a good place for those who desire the very best of South Indian food. But please don't blame yourself for hating your regular coffee after tasting the Madras Palace very own gourmet coffee!