Kerala’s own toddy shops are traditional restaurants which serve you fresh toddy along with a plethora of delicious Kerala cuisines. Toddy is an indigenous alcoholic drink served across the state and it’s collected from coconut trees. If you are planning to have a first-hand experience with these toddy shops? You cannot surely miss out on Aatumukham Restaurant and Toddy Shop in Alappuzha. In the midst of the beautiful landscape of Kuttanad, this restaurant is surrounded by lush green paddy fields and coconut trees. The toddy shop is exactly located at a place called Kainakiri in Alappuzha.
On our way from Alappuzha town to Changanassery, we would need to enter the panchayat road to Kainakiri to reach the spot. Along the road, we witnessed the long stretch of golden colour paddy fields on either side. It felt as if we were moving through a sea of gold. Even though it’s a small road, we have bus services available through this route. Far way through the paddy fields, we can see a long line of coconut trees forming a boundary. It was really hot at noon time and evenings would prove to be more comfortable to travel along these paddy fields to enjoy the view.
The restaurant offers you a long list of dishes to choose from, and all these recipes will be displayed for us. The shop lets the customers witness these dishes before making an order and it is a unique feature of this food spot. When we got there, many of the dishes were already prepared and ready for serving. While some of the recipes like Clam (kakka), Fish head, Pork, Prawns etc were in the cooking phase.
Also, they have got fresh Snakehead fish (Varal), Prawns (Konchu) etc available on a Canoe nearby and you can select them as per your choice. They would cook it for you as you wish. There is also an option for fishing at the small brooks close by, they would provide fishing rods and you can hand over your catch to them. Tilapia seems to be the main variety available for fishing. They would cook it for you as you wish. The boating facility is also available through the backwaters nearby.
When we were in the kitchen, we saw some of the recipes like Duck mappas, Crab roast, fish fry, fish curry and Shrimp curry on the stove for cooking. Some of the food items on display were Sea crab roast, Puzhukku (mix of different tubers), Chemmeen roast, Duck curry, Chicken Ulathu, Pork fry, Squid, Liver fry, Beef roast and fry, Clam, Rabbit roast, Fish fry, fish curry and many more. There are several varieties of fish curries available to choose from.
Food is served in the cottages outside and there are several cottages available for dining. If you are planning to come with your family, you will have the option to dine at Canoe. Among all these long lists of food items, I choose Puzhukku, Boiled purple yam and taro, Varal curry (Snakehead fish), Duck curry, Crab roast and Prawns roast. Puzhukku is nothing but a mixture of several tubers and it’s sauteed in coconut oil with mustard seeds. It tastes really good with Varal curry which is slightly spicy.
I was at the decision not to have toddy, but when I saw fresh Grape toddy (Munthirikkallu), I choose to taste a glass of sweet Munthirikkallu along with these dishes. The taste of grapes gives this toddy a special feel. Backwater crab roast tastes delicious with masala and while I was having this dish, I remembered my visit to Mangalapuram where I enjoyed the taste of yummy Crab Ghee roast. Prawns roast masala have cashews in it and the meat is a bit chewy, but the taste was awesome.
Aatumukham restaurant and toddy shop have a vast area available for parking. Although the shop is near by the road, we need to travel some distance from the highway to reach the spot.
Food N Travel Ratings for Aatumukham Restaurant and Toddy Shop Alappuzha
β‘FNT Ratings for this restaurantβ‘
Food: πππππ(4.1/5)
Service: ππππ(4.0/5)
Ambiance: ππππ (3.9/5)
Accessibility: ππππ(3.8/5)
Parking facility: Yes
Google rating for this restaurant at the time of shoot: 4.3 (862 reviews)
Price of food that we tried in this restaurant
- Puzhukku: Rs. 70.00
- Kachil: Rs. 70.00
- Varaal fry: Rs. 300.00 (as per size)
- Crab: Rs. 550.00 (for mud crab)
- Duck mappas: Rs. 250.00
- Prawns: Rs. 520.00 (as per size)
Location of this Food Spot
Address: Pallathuruthy, Ponga, Kainakary South, Kerala 688501
Phone Number: +91 9446077555