Arabian speciality restaurant in Chennai

After getting bored of eating the regular tandoori chicken and chicken 65 we wanted to try something new. I and my friend sat on a motorbike on a Sunday night and were roaming the city for some new eatery joint. We entered Greams road, as soon as we neared a restaurant called “Sea Shells” the burning smell of barbeque entered our nostrils and made us halt there.
Sea Shell is an Arabian speciality restaurant run by persons from Calicut, kerala. Their specialities are Al Faham Dijai, Barbaque chicken, Keebab Mushakkal, Laham Kebab, grill chicken and the famous SHAWARMA. For a new comer this name might sound little strange. Yes it’s all Arabic!

They are one among the very few restaurants in Chennai specialized in serving Arabian delicacies. Their barbeque has a unique taste. They use only charcoal and firewood to burn instead of modern electric and gas grill. The quick selling starter is “Shawarma”.
It’s a chicken roll. Shawarma is a turkish word meaning turning. It is made by placing strips of marinated chicken on a stick; an onion or tomato is placed at the top of the stack for flavoring. The meat is roasted slowly on all sides as the spit rotates in front of a flame for hours. After cooking, the meat is shaved off with a large knife dropping to a circular tray below to be retrieved. Shawarma is eaten as a fast food, made up into a sandwich wrap with fluffy flat bread called “kubboos”. The burnt chicken is then mixed with vegetables like cucumber, onion, tomato, lettuce, pickled turnips, and cabbage. It’s served with garlic mayonnaise and vinegar dipped chilly, carrot and beetroot.

One has to be before 7.30pm on weekends. It’s a small and crowded restaurant with a seating capacity of 30 to 40 people. They also serve regular Indian, Tandoori and Chinese dishes. They serve some Arabian fruit punch and cocktail. It’s a decent place to dine with your family. It’s economically priced. A meal for two will cost you around Rs 500/-. Home delivery is done at an extra charge. It’s worth a try from the regular eateries in Chennai.

Sea Shell
No5: Greams Road, Chennai.
044-28295788,28295789