21 Best Street Foods And Famous Delicacies In Pondicherry

What flashes to your mind when you think of Pondicherry? Its serene and captivating beaches, posh cafes, fashionable and vintage boutiques, colonial heritage buildings or cosmopolitan habituation? You can add further to the list since the ‘Paris of the East’ offers more, and you will never run short of options. Apart from the tourist attractions, Pondy is the best place to satisfy your taste buds. Situated on the east coast of Tamil Nadu, it provides food with a touch of rich French delicacy.

An Introduction To Food Fusion in Pondy

If you are a foodie and planning for a taste hunt, Pondicherry should be your next stop destination. Why should you try street foods, especially when you are in Pondicherry? Through street foods in Pondicherry, you can dive into the city’s culinary delight through the roadside sellers and small shops and experience the French colony’s authentic culture via food.

With the changing times and people’s adaptation to different cuisines, you must try some traditional street foods and French treats at Pondy. You can get lip-smacking snacks near Lal Bahadur Shastri Street, Mission Street, Lenin Street, etc.

Bonus Point: Take a bicycle or a walk to explore the significant food interests without hassle.

 

Must-Try Famous Delicacies And Best Street Foods in Pondicherry And Where To Have Them?

Are you ready for the top street-food quest in Pondy? Below are some drooling foods worth your every penny at Pondy.

21. Mutton Rolls

The seafood paradise is famous for non-veg rolls, and mutton rolls are a mandatory recommendation if you are a meat eater. Imagine having parathas with the filling of fried tender pieces of lamb with added spice for a top-notch flavour, rolled and given to you for your evening snacks.

How satisfying is it to have every bite of juicy mutton cut with the tint of an egg as the base layer?

Where can you have it?: Mission Street
Price: 300 INR for two approximate

20. Crab Masala Fry

If you have headed to Pondicherry and do not try the sea foods, you are missing out on the real Pondy life and its food culture since it is the massive producer and distributor of marine creatures.

Take a walk or cycle to Rangapillai Road, where you can get the best crab masala treat that pleases your food monster. Sold in a little cart, it attracts folks from all over the city with its mouth-watering relish.

Where can you have it?: Opposite to Nilgiris Store, Rangapillai Street
Price: 700 INR for two approximate

19. Khow Suey

A Burmese delight that has surpassed the list is a favourite for both vegetarians and non-vegetarians. With coconut milk being the main ingredient and plentiful vegetables (for veg) and prawns (for non-veg), Know Suey is served alongside rice or noodles topped with fried crispy onions, noodles and fresh herbs, making it the perfect feast for food lovers.

You can get content with your love for Burmese foods by heading to Mission Street. Bumper point: Even though you can try the same dish in several fancy restaurants and hi-fi cafes, the one from the food streets of Pondy gives you the exact taste at an affordable cost.

Where can you have it?: Opposite to Café Xtasi, Mission Street
Price: 150 to 250 INR approximate

18. Pondy Moussaka

Taken initially from Greece cuisine, the Greek food moussaka is a luscious sought-after eatable in Pondicherry, popular among vegetarians. The layered flavorful side dish is made with fried eggplants and potatoes and goes well with hot steamed rice and other sauteed vegetables.

Add red wine to turn it into a deadly combo, or have the moussaka alone and enjoy it as an evening snack.

Where can you have it?: White Town Main
Price: 350 to 400 INR

17. Quiche

Are you a lover of pastries? Then it would be best to keep Quiche on your list while you are in Pondicherry. In almost all the cafes, you can get one made of egg, cream, milk, flour, butter, cheese and other essential ingredients. One can have it hot and cold, topped with fruits, vegetables, meat and seafood.

Being an ambrosial delight for both veg and non-veg eaters, Quiche offers varied choices to choose from and try.

Where can you have it?: Baker’s Street
Price: 70 to 90 INR approximate

16. Spinach Crepe

Are you looking for a healthy food option on your vacation? You should try Spinach Crepe, an absolute French appetite, seasoned with feta cheese and spinach sauce and filled with mushrooms or the other preferred meat for non-veg eaters.

If you are up to booze, order a fruit beer or any other beverage to make it an exotic duo.

Where can you have it?: White Town Main
Price: 150 to 170 INR approximate

15. Salad Nicoise

Up for travelling and prefer a light and healthy snack or a lunch power packed with the protein and energy you need? Try the French Salad Niçoise made with eggs, vegetables, tuna, lettuce, pepper and black olives.

Even though it is a bit pricier, you get plenty of health benefits, and it suits elders and fitness-adored people—children like this light main course because of its colour palette.

Where can you have it?: In the French cafes (to taste the authentic salad)
Price: 150 to 180 INR approximate

14. Samosas

Who doesn’t like samosas? If you are an Indian, samosa would be your most-enjoyed evening snack. It is affordable and convenient to get from anywhere and goes well with chutney, ketchup and mayonnaise.

The crispy layered cone-shaped fried delicacy mostly has potato or onion fillings. But you can get mutton, seafood and other vegetable stuffings in Pondy! It should be on your must-try list for a forenoon or an evening snack.

Where can you have it?: Near South Boulevard, Opposite Pondicherry Railway Station
Price: Starts from INR 20 for non-veg samosas

13. Pani Puri

Can a trip get fulfilled without gulping pani puri with your friends, partner or family? Do not miss your routine while you are in Pondy too! The French colony offers its tourists different fillings to the puris and tangy chilled mint-spiced water to satisfy your food thirst.

Being famous in India, you can find pani puri shops, one for each street on the corners. Ensure you go to a neat shop!

Where can you have it?: Taste the best pani puri in Lal Bahadur Shastri Street
Price: Starts from 30 INR

12. Bondas

It is another South Indian evening snack that appeases your food cravings. You would have tasted hot bondas on a rainy day made by your mother with potato or vegetable filling. In Pondy, you can have bondas with meat, seafood and mushroom fillings.

The deep-fried and stuffed relish that comes with chutney leaves you mouth-watering.

Where can you have it?: Mission Street
Price: Starts from 20 INR

11. Sandwiches

A go-to breakfast/mid-meal option during travelling is sandwiches. You might wonder what’s so special about Pondy sandwiches. The French Town offers different varieties, which makes it the most desirable food. When exploring the city or just lazing around, take a break and go to any shop to find the ‘n’ number of different bread treats.

Taking a bite of the grilled bread topped with mayonnaise, vegetables, preferably mushroom, paneer, corn, cucumber, onions, tomatoes, lettuce or minced non-veg or chocolate, jam, and various kinds of butter and herbs boosts your energy instantly. Club it with coconut water, and we bet you will feel heaven.

Where can you have it?: Near the Gandhi statue, along the beach road
Price: Starts from 50 INR

10. Street Style Mutton Soup

How can you miss a hearty bowl of spicy broth with a piece of mutton leg in it? Street-style mutton soups are famous in Pondy. You can find it in food carts (tallu vandis) selling hot bondas and samosas.

The mouth-watering spicy soup can cure your harsh cold and comfort you on winter days! Pair a bowl of traditional spiced mutton soup with mutton samosas. You will love it!

Tip: If you are wondering if it is hygienic, it is! But if you are cleanliness pro max, you can still ask the vendor to clean the bowl twice before serving the piping hot soup.

Where can you have it?: Rangapillai Street
Price: 20 INR for a bowl

9. Pizza

While in Pondy, eat pizzas from wooden fire-bricked ovens that make it to your table. If you are a foodophile, you should try pesto chicken pizza, a delicacy made out of pesto sauce, basils, black olives, meat bites and parmesan cheese that makes it a bit extra!

The thin crust is another reason why gourmets prefer their pizzas in Pondicherry.

Where can you have it?: White Town
Pizza: Pesto Chicken Pizza costs 350 to 400 INR

8. Dosa

If comfort in food has a name, it should be dosa. Who doesn’t love dosas? The protein-rich, light-weighted, healthy cautious breakfast option is popular among the South Indians. In Pondicherry, you can taste the more nutritious alternative, soybean dosas.

Made out of soybean paste and served with coconut chutney and sambar, it gives you the vitality to explore the city till noon.

Where can you have it?: Heritage Town
Price: 110 to 130 approximate for Soybean Dosa

7. Masala Puri

Another chat option to kick start your day is masala puri. Enriched with enough protein for your day, it is made of chickpeas and lentils in hot gravy. You can combine it with crispy small puris and gulp it like pani puris or have it with hot puris as a side dish.

You can also have it as a starter in the evening, and it gives you sufficient energy.

Where can you have it?: Lenin Street
Price: Starts from 30 INR

6. Parottas

Are any parotta lovers here? We know it was a silly question since who doesn’t like parottas? Parottas made of wheat flour, or maida, are genuinely delicious when served with non-veg gravies such as chicken pepper, boti, beef curry, etc. If you are a vegetarian, you can have it with vegetable kurma too!

So, during your next visit to Pondicherry, do not forget to taste keema parotta, an ever-green dish. Secret tip: If you are a boozer, add a beer, and you are ready!

Where can you have it?: Taste the best parottas at Hotel Rolex, Opposite Ratna Cinemas
Price: Starts from 10 INR for normal parottas

5. Pineapple Sheera

You all would have tasted Kesari, a simple sweet made out of rava (roasted sooji), ghee, sugar, saffron and orange or yellow added colours. In Pondy, pineapple Kesari is made out of the fruit’s puree and topped with cashews, pistachios, raisins and cardamom powder.

Why should you try this dessert? Striking fact: Unlike other French delicacies, it is affordable and readily available.

Where can you have it?: White Town
Price: Starts from 25 INR

4. Croissant

Another French bread treat you can get in almost all the bakeries is the croissant. The puffed pastry made with butter, flour, yeast, sugar, salt and milk and stuffed with a thin layer of creams, melted chocolates, cheese, etc., will leave you scrumptious.

Where can you have it?: Baker Street, a concept store
Price: Starts from 150 INR

3. Medu Vada

We all know that without idli, there is no chutney; without chutney, there is no idli, but the new normal is without vada, there is no idli and chutney. Complete your breakfast by adding the doughnut-shaped lentil fritter to the side for an extra crunch.

Medu vada, a South Indian delicacy, is fluffy, soft, and crispy on the outside. Try this heavenly snack in authentic hotels if you care about oil usage.

Where can you have it?: A2B, White Town
Price: I5 to 25 INR approximate

2. Ratatouille

How can you miss the French-originated dishes in a French Town? If you are an epicure, you should try this French stew made of eggplants, zucchini, tomatoes, onions, herbs and spices, called ratatouille. You can club it with plain rice, pasta or bread for the main course.

Where can you have it?: In the French cafes of the White Town

1. Aloo Tikki

Another famous dish in the chat list is aloo tikki; one can prepare it using potatoes, spices and herbs. Made into a patty and deep-fried into a golden brown colour, aloo tikki is an irresistible North Indian relish.

You can have it in the mid-morning or evening as a snack. It is pocket-friendly and a popular dish in the street foods in Pondicherry.

Where can you have it?: White Town
Price: Starts from 30 INR

Choose Rainbow Eco Villa, Auroville, for your next stay in Pondicherry!

Rainbow Eco Villa Resort Auroville offers home-cooked and mouth-drooling foods on request during your stay and is easily accessible to most parts of the city. It is also comfortable, sustainable, secure and packed with 50+ amenities.

Contact Details

• Villa Address: Mariamman Koil Street, Old, Auroville Road, Chinna Kottakuppam, Auroville, Puducherry- 605001
• Contact No: +91 9092972465
• Mail: rainbowecovilla@gmail.com
• Website: https://resortinpondicherry.in/
• Top-notch Facilities: Excellent kitchen and dining facilities, Gym and Fitness centre, Housekeeping and Laundry services.
• Ratings: 4.8/5 on Google Reviews and Yatra, 4.2/5 on MakeMyTrip, and ⅘ on Goibibo

Conclusion

In conclusion, Pondicherry offers plenty of food with many restaurants, cafes, hotels and street foods. If you are up for a delicious hunt, plan a weekend with your beloved friends, colleagues, or family to enjoy the exclusive blend of Indian and French cuisines and street foods in Pondicherry. 

Other than the street foods in Pondicherry, you can also explore some other interesting options in Pondicherry that are sure to impress you, like these:

• 13 Best Resto Bars In Pondicherry To Rock Your Party Night
• 17 Best Vegetarian Restaurants In Pondicherry
• 11 Pubs In Pondicherry With Dance Floor
• 15 Unexplored Places In Pondicherry To Explore
• 15 Places To Visit In Pondicherry For Couples This Year
• 7 Best Scuba Diving Places In Pondicherry
• Which Is The Best Season To Visit Pondicherry?

FAQs

1) What is the famous delicacy of Pondicherry?
Khow Suey, also known as Kaukswe, made with coconut base vegetarian or non-vegetarian curry, is the popular exclusive street-side delicacy of Pondicherry.

2) Which dish is best in Pondicherry?
Foods that portray their French heritage, like croissants, ratatouille, bouillabaisse, etc., are best in Pondicherry.

3) What is the speciality of Pondicherry?
The French lifestyle, natural beauty and adventure zones, historic sites, scenic gardens, spiritual temples, ashrams and cathedrals, eye-catching beaches and eateries make Pondicherry a special place to visit.

4) Is one day sufficient for Pondicherry?
Pondicherry has much to offer, and one day won’t be enough to explore this beautiful French Town. Plan your trip for 2 to 3 days at least to cover the main attractions and experience the local culture and food.

5) What is the most delicious street food?
In Pondicherry, you can taste mutton rolls, mutton samosas, non-veg bondas, aloo tikki, pani puri, masala puri, vadas, etc.