Puducherry is a name, but Pondicherry is an emotion.
I have spent all of my summer/winter/both in Pondi since 1998 thanks to my grandmother. So natural to say I fell in love with Pondi automatically. But it's only in the last couple of years that I was old enough to explore and fall in love with its culinary culture as well.
Must Eats :
Wood fire oven pizzas - You cannot miss this simply for the love of, well, pizzas.
1. Cafe Xtasi, Mission Street - This place is like the pizza heaven! Centrally located, you can watch your pizza being baked in a huge wood fire oven right at the entrance, plus there's a rooftop to enjoy a breezy Pondi evening. Try the Mafia pizza, my personal favorite.
2. Tanto's - This one has 2 branches, both at Auroville. But it's worth going all the way! The chef is from Italy and helps you choose your pizza and drinks. The cafe is cutely lit at night.
3. Farm Fresh Pizza - They have 2 branches as well. One is called New farm fresh. You can give this one a try as well for freshly baked delicious pizzas.
4. Don Giovanni - This place just doesn't have pizza but great pasta as well. The owner is from Italy and is always up for an insightful conversation and delectable food. It's located on the top floor of a hotel on Mission Street.
Ice-cream/Gelato -
1. Gelateria Montecatini Terme (GMT Ice Cream) - This beach front gelato parlour offers the most incredible gelatos with a delightful variety of flavors. But my personal favorite is the dark chocolate (goes by a different name each time I went there...Belgian, dark choco etc).
You can simply buy your gelato and head to the Rock beach right in front of it and enjoy a beautiful sunset by the beach with the yummiest gelato in the world! YOU CANNOT MISS THIS.
2. Ibaco's - If you do not want to return to GMT ice cream and are looking for something different ( Beyond my understanding why anyone would want that?! ) then you can give this place a try. The ice creams are darn good. Like worth a try (if you don't want to go back to GMT ice cream)
Desserts & Beverages -
1. Eat my cake - This is a very cutely done place. In shades of pink and white, with graters as lamp shades, this place is uber chic. And added to that they make flourless cakes! Also, you can try the refreshing hibiscus mojito here. Perfect for an evening date.
2. Cafe des arts - This is a very old cafe located in the White town. It has a very unique vibe about it. There are nice nooks and niches for you to find your idle place, grab a book, order a latte and just relax! They have an outdoor sitting area as well. Basically, there is a lot of sitting area, choose whichever you want!
That's all for now. Au revoir!