Chennai · Kodambakkam & Vadapalani
Cafés in Kodambakkam & Vadapalani
Kollywood's studio district, Vadapalani's Murugan temple and metro, Ashok Nagar's avenues and a degree coffee shop.
Photo: Swastik Arora, Pexels License
Kodambakkam gave Tamil cinema its nickname: Kollywood joins the neighborhood's name to Hollywood.1 The first studio in Vadapalani and Kodambakkam was set up by Avichi Meiyappa Chettiar in 1948, Prasad Labs followed in 1974, and Vijaya Vauhini and L. V. Prasad Studios worked here too.1 The name may come from the Urdu Ghoda Bagh, "garden of horses", or from Karkodagan Pakkam, after a mythical snake said to have worshipped Shiva here.1
The area also takes in Vadapalani to the west and Ashok Nagar to the south-west, linked to Kodambakkam since 1967 by a flyover 623 m long.1 The coffee comes in small formats: a Kumbakonam degree coffee shop, a karupatti coffee shop and tea stalls toward West Mambalam, plus cafés on Arcot Road and in Ashok Nagar.
Local tip: Ashok Nagar metro station is one stop from Vadapalani on the Green Line, handy for Third Wave Coffee on 4th Avenue, open until 23:00.3
At a glance
13Cafés listed
0With opening hours
–Earliest opening
–Latest closing
Coffee kadai
Elkuvaa Cafe
The Brown Bean
The FlashBack Cafe
V Cafe
Bean & Bread
Kumbakonam Degree Coffee
New Ganesh Cafe
Saravana Coffee
Sri Krishna Tea Stall
Karuppatti Coffee Halwakadai
Rio Cafe
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Coffee chains in Kodambakkam & Vadapalani
Chain
Café Coffee Day
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- Kodambakkam & Vadapalani
- Kodambakkam & Vadapalani
- Kodambakkam & Vadapalani
- Kodambakkam & Vadapalani
- 61, Inner Ring Road, Near Ginger Hotel, Vadapalani
- B/190, Block No.72, 11Th Avenue, Ashok Nagar
- Ginger Hotel Chennai Vadapalani, Smart Towers, Puliyur, No 61, Jawaharlal Nehru Road, Vadapalani
- Shop No 013, Forum Vijaya Mall, N S K Salai Vadapalaini
Chain
Starbucks
Chain
Third Wave Coffee
- 70/44 4th AvenueDaily 08:00–23:00
Getting around
Kodambakkam has a station on the Chennai suburban railway.1 Vadapalani metro station, an elevated stop at the junction of Jawaharlal Nehru Road and Arcot Road, has been on the Green Line since 29 June 2015, between Arumbakkam and Ashok Nagar.3
Vadapalani is a major bus terminus on Arcot Road, and the Nexus Vijaya Mall stands there, with six levels of shops and thirteen of parking.2 Under the Pallavas and the later Cholas, the western part of Kodambakkam belonged to the temple town of Vadapalani.1
Vadapalani temple and Arcot Road
The Vadapalani Murugan Temple, the Palani Andavar Temple, was built in the late 19th century; AVM Studio sits in neighboring Saligramam, while the AVM Rajeshwari cinema is in Vadapalani itself.2 The Brown Bean is at 334 Arcot Road, Vadapalani, and Bean & Bread at 6/33 West Sivan Koil Street.
The FlashBack Cafe is on Jawaharlal Nehru Salai, near the RBL Bank branch. Coffee kadai (kadai, a shop) is in Block 2 on Ponnambalam Salai.
Degree coffee and karupatti
Kumbakonam degree coffee is a way of making filter coffee from Kumbakonam in Thanjavur district, built on cow's milk without adulterants.4 Kumbakonam Degree Coffee pours it on Vadhyar Subbraya Mudali Street. Before coffee, many Tamil homes started the day with neeragaram, fermented rice water with salt.5 Coffee only became bound up with Tamil identity over the 20th century, after middle-class puritans had at first opposed it.5
Karuppatti Coffee Halwakadai pairs the palm-jaggery coffee with a halwa kadai, a sweet shop. Udangudi's palm jaggery is made from April to June, and dealers store it to sell all year.6 Sri Krishna Tea Stall is at 31/13 Kodambakkam Road in West Mambalam, and New Ganesh Cafe on 10th Avenue, Sarvamangalam Colony.
Ashok Nagar
Kodambakkam itself is about 8 km from Fort St. George, and Ashok Nagar lies to its south-west.1 Elkuvaa Cafe is at No. 24 Ashok Nagar Main Road, and Attee at 7-18 Danasekaran Street. Rio Cafe and V Cafe are in the area too.
Third Wave Coffee, at 70/44 4th Avenue, opens daily 08:00–23:00.
Sources
- Kodambakkam, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
- Vadapalani, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
- Vadapalani metro station, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
- Kumbakonam Degree Coffee, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
- A Coffee Break in Tradition, Open Magazine (Shylashri Shankar, December 14, 2016), accessed October 2026
- Udangudi jaggery industry on verge of extinction, Deccan Chronicle (M. Aruloli, May 31, 2015), accessed October 2026
FAQ
Kodambakkam & Vadapalani cafés: questions
Why is Tamil cinema named after Kodambakkam in Chennai?
Kollywood joins Kodambakkam's name to Hollywood, because the neighborhood is the center of the Tamil film industry. The first studio in Vadapalani and Kodambakkam was set up by Avichi Meiyappa Chettiar in 1948, and Prasad Labs followed in 1974. AVM Studio is in neighboring Saligramam.
What is Kumbakonam degree coffee, and where can you drink it in Kodambakkam, Chennai?
Kumbakonam degree coffee is filter coffee made the Kumbakonam way, with cow's milk free of adulterants; Kumbakonam is a town in Thanjavur district. In Kodambakkam, Kumbakonam Degree Coffee pours it on Vadhyar Subbraya Mudali Street, and Karuppatti Coffee Halwakadai serves palm-jaggery coffee.
How do you reach Vadapalani in Chennai by metro?
Vadapalani metro station is an elevated Green Line stop at the junction of Jawaharlal Nehru Road and Arcot Road, open since 29 June 2015. Arumbakkam and Ashok Nagar are the neighboring stations. The Brown Bean is at 334 Arcot Road, Vadapalani.
For café owners
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