Kochin Kitchen

My wife & I enjoyed the luncheon buffet last week. The offerings, including lamb & chicken, along with several vegetarian options, were well executed & delicious. We will definitely go back. We are now curious about the evening a la carte menu which we hear is very flavour forward.

We dined in as a family. Being vegetarians we still had great options. Jean was very helpful and smiling. They have a daily lunch buffet. It's worth a shot.

Worst place to call as a South indian restaurant. If you are expecting kerala food, you are in the wrong place. The ambiance was good, and the service for taking the order is good, but always ask them if they are preparing or not after 15 minutes. They missed 2 orders that we ordered, and they were not even aware of that and were asking if they could take the receipt for the food or not. Once you order something, dont expect their service after we get something or part of the order. They will be too busy taking new orders.
We ordered 2 coffees and a tea but they missed the tea and about 10 mins after we got the coffee, finally we got the tea.
The food is not comparable if you have tasted kerala food from GTA. The biriyanis were like common rice and masala less pieces stuffed between rice. The quantity for different biriyanis was different as we tried both shrimp and beef (veal). I am not mentioning the meat temperature, as you can imagine from my previous words.
The porotta was comparatively ok, but when we ordered a chicken dish and told to make it less salt, as it was for a pregnant lady, they made the chicken with lots of salt and the rest with less salt. Since we didn't have much time to reorder, as the dish came after about 30 minutes of waiting, we somehow finished half of it, as we were so hungry.
Some says food tastes more when we are hungry, but even if in that case, i felt the beef fry which we ordered found to be pleasing at look but felt the meat was bland and from someday frozen.
Though you feel a cutlet is cheap for 4 dollars + tax, I didn't feel the same as a plate of cutlet with 2 small pieces of 8$+ tax.
I cant finish my review without saying about the much awaited fish thali meals with king fish. The platter was pleasing for the eyes but not for the tongue. The rice was ponni rice like basmati, the white rice. Dont expect the kerala matta rice here and in the thali you will get curd, sambar, pappadam, king fish curry (some curry with king fish in it, as I cant say it as a fish curry as I had many from different restaurants in Canada), some gravy with dal, some roast made from eggplant, and 1 more that I cant explain bcz it tasted so bad in a meal.

Still they they missed the fish platter that we ordered, and since we didn't have much more to wait there, we continued our way paying the bill.

The best food I had since a long time. Incredible fine Indian cuisine with subtile flavours for a culinary discovery you won’t forget! And the service is top.

Ambiance was okayish.but the food was soo good.we ordered idli, masala dosa, uttapam.and everything was soo yummy.hygienic.we ordered indian tea too.it was soo good.glad to get that taste in ottawa.perfect place for south indian food.there was only one guy handling everything.he was soo good with his customer service.tried to manage everything nicely.

Really nice place, the food is delicious! The real butter chicken is to die for! The overall ambience is really nice too, this is the best place to visit for authentic Indian food

We had masala dosa and mixed veg Pulav. The service was terribly slow and the food was terrible as well. I would not recommend it to anyone.

Must try restaurant in downtown Ottawa. Great ambiance and excellent service. Thali is great!

(Edited) One dish was fine, if a little bland, however the Goan Chicken was served with undercooked chicken. Returned to the kitchen. A properly cooked replacement dish was delivered and the undercooked chicken dish was removed from the bill, which was appreciated. However because of the initial issue I cannot give this establishment a better than a 2.5/5 rating (rounded up to 3). Afraid I will not be returning here for lunch.

Simple and delicious food, chicken, beef etc

Staff were very keen

I'll go back!

A small and neat restaurant. Well maintained and staffs are friendly.
Chicken 65 was awesome but quantity was small. Chicken Briyani was excellent. We loved it. The veg thali was also good. Quantity was right.
Had to wait for sometime for the food to be served. Perhaps it’s made to order.
I would highly recommend this place for nice authentic South Indian food.

Excellent hosts for our large lunch party. Waiters could have been a bit more knowledgeable about the dishes they were serving us, but were very helpful with adapting to some changes on the fly. The food here was very tasty, but I wouldn’t really claim it to be truly south-Indian cuisine as much of it tasted like standard Indian subcontinent food

Food was amazing perfect spices, kids also loved it just needs more employees for faster service 100% guarantee

Visited for a birthday dinner and the food was good, and had good portion sizes but it was lacking in the flavor department. Definitely catered to Caucasian taste buds so the authentic flavors and spice didn't really pop which is what makes Indian food so special

Kochin Kitchen is a wonderful Southern Indian restaurant. The service is efficient and the food is consistently excellent.

This is the best south indian food i ever had after leaving kerala.especially fish thali.exactly like the way we get there.we were on our way back to home from Montreal.glad we had food from here.hats off to the team

This is a chicken dum biriyani which I ordered. I would rate the taste and the quality as okay. But the quantity is too low as you can see in the picture. And the food is overpriced for the quality and quantity. Overall not preferred

You need to feel satisfied when u r coming out of the restaurant. That's what happened when we came out of Kochin kitchen. The dishes were delicious.was craving for a biriyani for a very long time which was fulfilled here. Though we went during the closing hours, they were courteous enough to take our orders and served on time.

Good place to have authentic Indian food. Had Mango Lassi, chicken pakoda, Chicken Biryani, parota and kodanadu chicken. Loved Mango Lassi it's a must have. Thought kodanadu chicken would be spicy but was not (may be I like more spicy stuffs). Overall I would definitely get back to try more stuffs and let you guys know more!

Amazing Kerala food. Egg mappas was the order highlight. I never had such a tasty mappas earlier.

A bit delay in service, and overall inside cleanliness to be improved. But the taste of food and nice attitude from staff overcome those limitations. Will visit again.

Average food, worst service!

The food here is average. Even though I enjoyed the chicken curry (with coconut milk) and porotta. The other curries which we ordered tasted almost similar which was a big disappointment.
But the one star is for the service.we booked beforehand and came here from Montreal, and the except for the first order of main course we ordered, we couldn't get any other food from the menu including coffee, deserts or extra curries. The excuse was that it would take a lot of time because they had to serve other people at the restaurant. One of the waiter said, they had other parties waiting so they couldn't serve us. I was surprised that they couldn't serve us ice cream.

If you happen to be in the Byward market area and are looking for some delicious Southeastern Indian food, then you have found your spot in Kochin kitchen! The food is absolutely delicious the restaurant itself has a great atmosphere, and the staff are all super kind and very friendly! I know that if I make my way back to ottawa, I will definitely come back here, this is truth

We''ve been waiting Almost an hour for chicken curry thali most of the meal on the plate was cold. Even the rice.

Don't know how this place got such a high rating, this was the worst, and at the same time, most overpriced Indian food that I've ever had. Everything was either overly spicy or bland, no middle ground. Rice and naan were not included in the meal and were billed separately, so a basic butter chicken portion turned out to be over $20. The place was dirty and in disrepair, guess this should have been the first clue to leave. Just avoid.

Good quality and delicious tasting food. Great service.
There was a mix up of order, and they fixed it the next day when I swung by.
Will go there again. I'm glad I found my go-to in Ottawa.

Stopped for lunch. The food was adequate. Service was good and server very friendly and knowledgeable. The vegetarian Biriyani was frozen vegetables and rice. Was hoping for a more enjoyable meal. Will keep looking for a better restaurant and better atmosphere.

Good service and the food is delicious too but isn't the most authentic Kerala food that I have eaten. It has more of North Indian flavors I guess. We had the Chicken biryani and paper dosa. Their coriander shrimp appetizer is great.

Good food. Server was very pushy, wanted us to order more. Overall we didn't feel comfortable dining.

This is the place you will find the best Kerala food in Ottawa. They have two locations - one in downtown Ottawa and they started a new one in Kanata… We ordered dum porotta and it was amazing! Thank you Nelson chetta for the nostalgia.

Ordered here for the first time they Messed up with my order so I had to go twice all the way in heavy snow. Over this I did not like the taste as well it was way too sweet for me even though I told them to make the mushroom curry spicy it was too sweet for me would not order again from this place

From Kanata, Centrum Mall: best real butter chicken I have ever had! Same as Lamb Korma. This is now my favorite place. Will put this on our list

Extremely flavorful food. From the southern part of India Kerala. The waiter was a little bit slow and would likely knew, but the food was absolutely delicious. Good amount of space in the restaurant and quite reasonable for high quality Indian food. Not very busy during lunch time and they open at noon. There are lots of options that are mild or not too spicy. This is a must try if you like Indian food. Make sure you attend with a large enough group in order to share many of the dishes
Thank you for the delicious meal

Poor service at the restaurant - we needed to call staff to give order when they never bothered to check for 15-20 minutes after we were seated - starter was too oily, soup and starter were server at about 20 minutes gap which is not quite ideal (other restaurants serve at the same time). Main course was not warm enough and we needed to call the staff out to reheat. Staff apparently needs more training to provide better customer service - we were super excited but left with disappointment and audacity. My friend felt sick after eating butter chicken at the restaurant and I suspect that the curry was prepared few months back and served after reheating in microwave. Little expensive than other Indian restaurants in the city but we probably won't revisit in the future - definitely not recommended.

The food was amazing I had lamb with cocunut sauce and two porattas because they were so soft and delicious! A bit pricey but worth it. Portion sizes may seem small but you will fill full by the end of your meal! Atmosphere is chill and laid back. Waiter was awesome. They also have a private group area but you might have to book it in advance. Highly recommend

Horrible service.

Server didn’t show up for over 15 minutes, had to go to the server to ask for water and order the food.

Above all more than 30-40 minute wait for just one dosa and idli.

Dosa is good, idli isn’t. But the service kills everything anyways.

Rude and arrogant staff.

Great buffet and food.

Update: Returned in September, 2021. Currently no buffet due to the pandemic. Everything is a la cart. Food is fantastic. I recommend the Beef curry, chicken dish, Dosa Masala, porrota, and rice pulao. The Dosa was our most memorable dish from our last visit and it still is from this visit. A close 2nd was the beef curry and porrotta. Service wise can be refined a bit to ensure proper service handling and hygiene. The servers were nice though.

Very good food! I wish the portions were a bit bigger though. Recommended! If 4 stars, it was because of the service.

I had 2 gravies. One was kodannadu chicken and the other was Goan chicken (green curry). Both were good but we specifically loved the goan chicken preparation. The serving size is small though. But the overall taste and quality is great.

Some great food at Byward market.was particularly difficult to find anything apart from Burgers and Tacos in the area, this restaurant was a welcome change.lipsmacking food and great service.must try the Lamb pepper fry, parotta and mango lassi.

The food has a real authentic kerala touch i would recommend everyone to visit the restaurant
It was a great experience

Food was okay…it was good…but their staff needs their attitude checked… service is excellent from other staff members…. Just had a bad experience with one of them…rude in behaviour and very arrogant…. Food wise, great place to visit…I would definitely suggest this place….

Flavours are all there, service is great too. But very expensive for what they are offering especially when the price of rice is so steep, and most dishes didn't include rice. Vegetarian biryani wasn't too great, it came with what appeared to be frozen or canned mixed vegetables and a few chickpeas. There are restaurants that offer all the flavours and service, and include the use of quality ingredients.

We had chicken 65 and vegetarian thali. Vegetarian thali was very tasty and chicken also but for the quantity they served it’s really expensive. I wanted to give more rating but I couldn’t. Because we found small bug in the rice. We really disappointed. Service is ok.

Good food overall. The curries and porotta are delicious. Especially their onam feast. However little overpriced compared to the other restaurants in the region. The biryani and dosa weren’t good when ordered online.

I have lived in India and have eaten Indian food in more than 20 countries, but Kochin Kitchen Real Butter Chicken is THE BEST.their signature dish Kodanadu Chicken and Lamb also are one of the best, most flavorful dish ever. Enjoy.

First time I ordered Dossa Masala and I told them I will pick up on this time when I got there it was done way before wasn't fresh I feel it's not Dossa I am eating soggy pan cake and it's too expensive that was my first and last time it was taste less ripping off people

Most expensive biriyani in the world with "half egg". Poor quality food for the price.

The quantity size and the prizes are ridiculous. We ordered so much food but it's such a small quantity it was very disappointing.

Excellent lunch buffet pre-pandemic, with delicious options you wouldn't find in most other Indian restaurants (because this is specialized in South Indian cuisine). Dosas are their specialty but the curries and vegetarian options were unbelievably tasty.

The food was really wonderful inspite of the fact that the variety of dish is minimal on the menu, proves that keeping it simple pays off. The best south indian paratha I've ever had in Ottawa. Lamb Chettinad is something that can compliment and take the paratha to next level. Briyani was also delicious with enough meat and spices in it. This is my first visit and I kept my expectations low so that my taste buds won't be disappointed as we have a very handful of good Indian food in Ottawa. Good food is something that doesn't only satisfy your hunger but also brings a smile on your face and fills your heart when you lay your spoons down. I would definitely revisit to try some other dish on the menu. A shout out to kochin kitchen and keep it up guys!

The service was little slow we waited and asked the server that where is the food then they bring everything we ordered in a minute all together but it might have been sitting in kitchen before instead of being served when ready but the food was really nice. Mendu vadas were really crispy.

Bad food. As a cook, I can surely tell, they have cooking it every Saturday or Sunday and using it for the week. This is not the Kerala food one would really want to taste. Since it is on the main road, people come in here. Try coconut lagoon, I have been there. It’s really good. Same price. But never waste your money in this hotel.

Good location and atmosphere, variety of foods but not the original aunthentic taste. Could be a lot better.

Authentic taste of south indian food. Liked their vada and tomato rice. Dum biryani seems awesome but couldnt try it as it was only available on friday and saturday. I would recommend it to any one going there on thise days.

I liked the ambiance and south indian food is good. The only thing I didn't like is slow service and vegetable cutlet was also not as it used to be.
Not satisfied with customer service because no one asked for cutlery and napkins.

Great good and good service. Love the place. Much better than all the Indian restaurant I have tried in Toronto.

An amazing South Indian buffet. One of our favourite places to eat in Ottawa. The dosa was really great today.

Excellent flavours (peppered lamb, chickpea masala, butter chicken, etc.) Everything I ate there was delicious. Staff is very nice as well.

This been my go to spot when I don't know what to eat. Food is delicious, staff are great and the place is clean. The only thing is missing is a good Indian music.

Kochin Kitchen serves the best South Indian food in Ottawa. Lunch Buffet is best bang for the buck. Mushroom curry with Parotta is one of the best combinations for Vegetarians. I highly recommend this Restaurant in Ottawa.

After eating Indian food in Ottawa all my life, I have never had better Indian food than at Kochin Kitchen. It officially lives up to the reputation of having the best quality in the city. We had the Kochin special "Dum Biryani" which resulted in some incredibly tender chicken. The same could be said about the Real Butter Chicken. The Vindaloo is spicy, but only after about 10 seconds. So you can have your Mango Lassi or yogurt ready to numb that heat if you need to, which allowed my wife to enjoy this dish. We also had the eggplant recommended to us and it definitely a great dish. If you want Indian food that rivals the best in the world, look no further than Kochin Kitchen!

It's a great place to enjoy South Indian kitchen.

The spices they use are giving so much flavor to the plates and the portions are generous.

The staff is friendly and it's clearly a popular place.

It reminded me so much of Kotchi, the little Port city in south of Indian where their name is coming from.

A great place.

Loved the buffet ️. Parathas are lovely, butter chicken and pakoras are my favorite. Staff is friendly.

This restaurant looks so shady from the outside but is actually quite nice in the inside. The service was excellent, everyone was nice and quick to responding to our needs. The food was so flavorful and delicious, i highly recommend their Biryani. It’s a little bit on the spicy side but the yogourt helps calm it down and adds so much to the flavor.

I have been to this place twice and both times I really enjoyed the food offered at this place. The first time we went for dinner and order Kodanadu chicken and Neelagiri Mushroom. The aromas for both curries were out of this world and they were equally delicious.

The second time we went for lunch buffet. There was good variety of food items and the quality of the food was great. I really liked tandoori chicken, salmon curry, butter chicken and onion bhaji.

I would definitely go to this place again for the aromatic and rich curries when visiting Ottawa.

Little pricey. Not authentic Kerala cuisine as taste is modified to fit western taste buds (less salt and very low spice).

Shared a great meal with family, great authentic food, very tasty will for sure be returning for more!