The Shining Culinary Star of Travancore
Restaurant: Villa Maya
Reviewer: Aalok Wadhwa | 6th October 2018 | Reviewer Rating (Out of 5) 4.63

The review was anonymously done after paying for the meal.

The first time I heard about Villa Maya was when it was ranked third in India's top 10 Fine Dining restaurants by Trip Advisor, based on traveler reviews about lakhs of restaurants across the country. And when I happened to be in Trivandrum for work, I made it a point to land up here for lunch.

As I enter the restaurant complex, I realize that I am in for a food experience rather than lunch. Dining is either in an 18th-century Dutch mansion or in private curtained niches in the courtyard garden replete with its water streams. The mansion itself is a traditional wooden house where one of the consorts of the king of Travancore lived. The menu has Kerala dishes and some usual suspects from western cuisine. Prices are high by local standards.

 

I am accompanied by two local colleagues who understandably are not so taken up by this heritage décor or local cuisine, so they choose North Indian Platter (Rs 770) with its rogan josh, tandoori chicken, dal makhni and raita, while I go for the Syrian Kerala Platter (Rs 900). I will spare you the details of the north Indian platter and zero in on my Syrian Christian food experience, which as expected is fabulous.

The meal starts on a weak note, with an amuse bouche of some kind of sev puri paired with a green apple drink. Sev puri is pointless but the drink is refreshing. Next I am served a rather tart tomato soup which is on the borderline of too tart.

 

 But the meal picks up substantially with the arrival of the thali, which is full of many OMG dishes.

Syrian Christian fish curry is the first bowl I attack. The fish is seer fish and the curry is spicy and yummy. Beef coconut fry is cooked just right, and is to die for. I would go back just for this dish. 

 

The other remarkable dish is anchovy fry with fresh and crisp anchovies adding the right crunch to the meal. 

 

The vegetarian part of the thali is good too. Dal, avial, curd rice, karela sabji, Kerala red rice and papads are all uniformly good.

 

The sumptuous meal is followed by the trio of desserts – with two kinds of payasam - rice payasam, and dal payasam, and a baked rice flour and banana in banana leaf thingy. I enjoy the dal payasam the most.

 

If you are in Trivandrum, this place is a must visit. You may even want to consider making a trip to Trivandrum just for this.

Ratings (Out of 5)         

Food: 4.5 | Ambience: 5.0 | Service: 4.5 | Value: 4.5 | Overall: 4.5

Meal for two: Rs.2000 | Alcohol: No | Credit Card: Yes | Wheel chair friendly: Yes

Address: Near Muthoot Sky Chef, 120, Airport Road, Injakkal,West fort, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala 695008 Tel: + 0471 257 8901

About the Author
Aalok Wadhwa Aalok Wadhwa
Restaurant Information
Villa Maya Villa Maya
Near Muthoot Sky Chef, 120, Airport Road, Injakkal,West fort, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala 695008 Tel: + 0471 257 8901
Telephone: +914712578901 view on a map
Opening Hours:
Average Price: Rs. 2000 - 2500