Avartana

Avartana at ITC Grand Chola is widely recognised as one of the most important restaurant concepts to emerge from India in recent years, earning a place on the World’s 50 Best Discovery list and becoming an international point of reference for progressive South Indian cuisine. The restaurant is helmed by chef Ajit Bangera, whose mastery of reinvented southern ingredients and techniques has earned Avartana consistent five-star reviews from food critics and diners across the world. Housed within the spectacular ITC Grand Chola, a palatial hotel that itself takes inspiration from the imperial Chola dynasty and its temple architecture, Avartana’s glittering chandelier-lined dining room provides an appropriately grand stage for a truly exceptional meal. The restaurant offers multiple set tasting menus, each named and structured as a literary or sensory journey. The seven-course Maya, nine-course Bela, eleven-course Jiaa, and two thirteen-course experiences, Anika and Tara, represent progressive levels of immersion into Avartana’s culinary world. Each course is an elegant distillation of a southern Indian flavour, ingredient, or technique, whether the clarity of a tomato rasam infused with unexpected botanicals, the deep marine richness of a coastal preparation, or the nuance of an asparagus and coconut stew that evokes the backwaters of Kerala. Artfully crafted spiced cocktails are designed to accompany the menus, extending the philosophy of southern flavour into the drinks programme.