There was one good italian restaurant in chennai...real authentic...Pasta Salvatore in Thirumalai Pillai road, the pasta has that authentic rubbery feel, the sauces were perfecto italiano...however they shut down thanks to Chennaiites not liking authentic italian food. The rest of them serve pasta that textures more like rice...overcooked...the pasta sauces indianized and sometimes tasting like ketchup. If that is what you like feel free to go to any of the places listed above. For authentic italian food buy Ragu sauce from Amma Naana and cook pasta at home...you may know how its supposed to taste....

Yes to ratna cafe....its great stuff...Murugan Idli shop however is i find better in its chakra pongal and its idlis are at best OK....

You surely must be joking. Maison has bare almost empty shelves, the people who run it have no clue about international foods. I tried asking them about the coffee they sell and its origin and they replied it was french(i do know french market coffee..i never knew about france as a coffee growing country). They have a very small collection and are extremely overpriced. The shop opposite Ramana Ashram in Tiruvannamalai has a more practical collection and Amma Naana in Chennai is definitely better in terms of collection(or you can try the notified shops in Parsns complex and get much better stuff). Nothing of real value here.