Chennai · Anna Nagar
Cafés in Anna Nagar
A grid of numbered avenues around the Roundtana, tea houses on 2nd Avenue and a karupatti coffee shop.
Photo: Ludwig, Pexels License
Anna Nagar was the village of Naduvakkarai until the Tamil Nadu Housing Board developed it in the early 1970s, after the 1968 World Trade Fair was held on the site.1 It is named after C. N. Annadurai, a former chief minister of Tamil Nadu. The grid is easy to read: the 2nd, 4th and 6th Avenues run east–west, and the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th run north–south.1
Several cafés sit on the 2nd and 3rd Avenues, which meet at the Roundtana, and the rest are scattered through the lettered blocks of Anna Nagar East and West. The mix runs from tea houses and a karupatti coffee shop to gaming cafés, with Café Coffee Day and Starbucks branches on the main avenues.
Local tip: Addresses here start with a block letter (F19, F Block; 1239A, I Block), so find the block before the street number.
At a glance
18Cafés listed
0With opening hours
–Earliest opening
–Latest closing
- Most common features: smoke-free indoors (6%).
Cafe Arabica
Cafe Atlantis
Cafe Atlantis
Cafe Console 101
Cafe H
Coffee Tales
- Smoke-free indoors
Duet Cafe
Madro Cafe-Diner
Mellow Cafe
Radio Cafe
Red Sky Cafe
Davara Coffee
Ram's Tea house
Chaai Central
Double Quotes Coffee Space
Karupatti Coffee
Ram's Tea House
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Coffee chains in Anna Nagar
Chain
Café Coffee Day
Show 8 locations
Chain
Starbucks
Chain
Barista
Chain
Writer's Cafe
The Roundtana and 2nd Avenue
The Roundtana, at the crossing of 2nd and 3rd Avenues, was first laid out for the Madras Expo in the 1970s and called the "Round Turn Over"; the road from the Anna Arch leads to it.1 Davara Coffee is on 2nd Avenue at the roundabout, in A Block, Anna Nagar East.
Ram's Tea House has two addresses, one at C-40 2nd Avenue. Cafe Console 101 is at the metro station on 2nd Avenue, near the Thirumangalam bus stop, and Starbucks at TBR Tower on 2nd Avenue, near the Ayyappa temple in Y Block, opens daily 09:00–23:00.
Tower Park and 3rd Avenue
Anna Nagar Tower Park covers 15 acres around a 12-storey watch tower built for the trade fair of 1968.2 The tower closed in 2011 after suicides and nuisance incidents, and reopened on 21 March 2023 once grills, fencing, new lights and anti-skid tiles were in.2
On 3rd Avenue, Cafe Arabica is at No. 4, beside Savoury Sea Shell, and Red Sky Cafe is on the fourth floor of A13. Cafe Atlantis has two branches on 3rd Street, at A99 and No. 37.
Karupatti coffee and tea houses
Karupatti is palm jaggery. Udangudi, a village near Tiruchendur, made the best-known kind and once exported it to Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Singapore, but by 2015 its trade was shrinking, partly because of the popularity of instant coffee powders.3 Karupatti Coffee in Anna Nagar takes its name from the drink.
Tea counts as much as coffee here: Ram's Tea House and Chaai Central both carry tea in their names. Coffee Tales, at 7 7th West Cross Street, is smoke-free, and Madro Cafe-Diner is at F19, 2nd Main Road, F Block, Anna Nagar East.
Getting there and around
The Green Line of the Chennai Metro reached Anna Nagar when the Koyambedu to Nehru Park section opened in May 2017, with underground stations at Anna Nagar Tower and Anna Nagar East.14 Farther out, Duet Cafe is on 15th Main Road in H Block, Anna Nagar West, and Radio Cafe at 1239A, 18th Main Road, I Block.
April to June are the hottest months, with averages of 35–40 °C, so the shaded morning hours suit a walk between the avenues.5 Mellow Cafe is at 479 1st Main Road, and the board-game crowd heads to AGH, the Antique Gaming House, at K-12 in K Block.
Sources
- Anna Nagar, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
- Anna Nagar Tower Park, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
- Udangudi jaggery industry on verge of extinction, Deccan Chronicle (M. Aruloli, May 31, 2015), accessed October 2026
- Chennai Metro, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
- Chennai, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
FAQ
Anna Nagar cafés: questions
How are the streets laid out in Anna Nagar, Chennai?
Anna Nagar follows a grid: the 2nd, 4th and 6th Avenues run east–west, and the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th Avenues run north–south. The 2nd and 3rd Avenues meet at the Roundtana, first built for the Madras Expo in the 1970s. Addresses start with a block letter, such as F Block or I Block.
When did the Anna Nagar Tower in Chennai reopen?
The 12-storey tower in Anna Nagar Tower Park reopened on 21 March 2023. It had been closed since 2011 after suicides and nuisance incidents, and grills, fencing, new lights and anti-skid tiles were added before it reopened. The tower was built for the 1968 trade fair, and the park covers 15 acres.
What is karupatti coffee, and where can you find it in Anna Nagar, Chennai?
Karupatti coffee is sweetened with palm jaggery in place of white sugar. Jaggery from Udangudi, near Tiruchendur, is the best-known kind and was once exported to Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Singapore. In Anna Nagar, Karupatti Coffee is named after the drink.
For café owners
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