If you are looking for a place to enjoy a delicious meal but are on a tight budget, Savari Thattukada located near Pulimoodu Junction, is an eatery that you must head to straight away. This restaurant is simple and completely no-frills, with limited seating and no decor. The focus here is solely on the food, with an extensive variety of dishes to choose from, each with a explosion of flavors. Enjoy items like the Dum Biryani and the popular favorite Chicken Chukka, along with puttu, iddiyappam or a parotta. There are also options like the Beef Roast and the Liver Roast available here. Once you are done with your meal, don't forget to ask for the Sulaimaani tea, as this is one of the very few places where it can be found in Kerala.

If you wish to savory delectable poultry and seafood specials then the Open House restaurant is your place to be. Set in a busy neighborhood, this restaurant is thronged by hungry locals and they do not hesitate in recommending it to tourists as well. For those who enjoy spicy food, Open House's chilly chicken is the dish to indulge your palate it. Complement it with some piping hot Kerala parathas and you are sure to bid hunger adieu. Their fried rice is also a popular dish. Food is inexpensive and served in massive portions at the Open House restaurant.

The restaurant Arul Jyothi is situated opposite the Secretariat at the heart of the city center. This restaurant is famous for serving vegetarian delicacies from the North India as well as the local delights, and is known for their flavorsome Sambar and delicious Dosas. Visited by locals as well as tourists alike who want to try out the vegetarian Indian dishes. A perfect place for lunch or dinner served that is light on your pocket.

One of the most prominent joints in Thiruvananthapuram for authentic south Indian non-vegetarian delicacies, Buhari hotel is visited by large crowds in the evening. The signature dish here is Puttu (cylindrical steamed rice pancake) with mutton curry.The restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The interiors reflect a typical style of rural Kerala restaurants, and is quite cozy and vibrant. The service is quick and friendly and you can always ask the waiters to suggest the best dish of the day. Do eat here if you enjoy trying out a new taste, it will be a refreshing treat for the taste buds.

Do not let the simple exterior of this restaurant deceive you in anyway, because whatever the place lacks in frills, it more than compensates with good food. From spicy scrambled eggs, omelets to egg roast and more, the Irani Restaurant has plenty of breakfast specials. Lunch items here include dishes like Aloo Mutter, Malai Kofta and Veg Khurma which are popular among vegetarians, while mutton roast, mutton fry and mutton chilly are favorites among meat lovers. The restaurant is also known for their coffee.

Ask any local in the locality where to find Chandran Chettan’s Tea Shop and you will be rightly directed. Such is the popularity of this humble snack and tea joint that it is bustling from the time it opens early in the morning till it closes in the evening. There is never a dull moment for Chandran, the owner or his employees. Famous for their delicious snacks such as egg burji or mutta baji as it is sometimes calles, samosa, tawa vegetable sandwich and more, this shop has been serving for more than two decades now. Take a sip of their piping hot chaya (tea) and gorge on these tasty savories.

One of the best things about rural Kerala are the roadside food shacks strewn all over serving local specialties that you won't probably find in established or fine dining restaurants in urban areas. For that you got to explore and one such worth finding is Krishna Hotel Kattachalkuzhi or Hotel Krishna. This simple looking eatery is famous in the area for just one dish - Chicken Perattu. A typical countryside dish, it is prepared with country chicken which is marinated with local spices and cooked in a wooden stove. This dry dish is then served with traditional parotta (a type of layered flat-bread from Kerala), puttu (steamed ground rice cylinders with coconut layers) and kappa (mashed tapioca). Please bring cash along as credit cards are not accepted.