Ask anyone in Kerala where to eat and most will say Kozhikode. The city's food grew out of centuries of trade with Arab merchants, the Zamorin's court and the Mappila kitchens of Malabar, and it's still the best reason to spend a day in town. This is the short list we give guests heading in from the river.
Biryani
Kozhikode biryani is its own thing. It's made with small-grained, fragrant rice rather than long basmati, and it's gentler on chilli than you might expect, with the spice coming from whole garam masala, fried onion and ghee. Chicken, mutton, beef and fish versions are all common. Every family argues about who makes it best.
The old restaurants
A few places have been feeding the city for generations, and they're still busy.
- Paragon, near CH Overbridge on the Kozhikode–Kannur road, has been open since 1939. Go for vellappam with fish curry cooked in roasted coconut.
- Hotel Rahmath on AG Road, near Mananchira, is known for its beef biryani. Its first eatery dates from 1961.
- Bombay Hotel, near the beach, has served dum biryani since 1949.
- Sagar on Mavoor Road, open since 1978, is the place for fish curry, especially ayala (mackerel) in a red chilli gravy, with flaky porotta.
Expect queues at lunchtime, especially at weekends. Go early or late.
Halwa on SM Street
SM Street, short for Sweet Meat Street and called Mittayi Theruvu in Malayalam, is lined with halwa shops. The story goes that the Zamorin invited sweet-makers from Gujarat to cook for a royal feast and gave them land near the palace kitchen, and the street grew around them. Kozhikode halwa is nothing like the north Indian kind: it's firm, glossy and sliced into blocks, in flavours from the classic black and red to chilli, passion fruit and chocolate. Arab traders took boxes of it home centuries ago, and people in the Gulf still do.
Malabar snacks
Evening tea in Kozhikode comes with snacks, and the variety is the point. Look out for unnakaya, ripe plantain stuffed with egg, coconut and sugar; pazham pori, banana fritters; kallummakkaya, mussels, stuffed and fried; and pathiri, thin rice-flour flatbreads that go with meat curries. Many bakeries and tea shops in the city sell a dozen kinds at once.
Sulaimani
The drink of Kozhikode is sulaimani: black tea with lemon and sugar, sometimes spiced. It's served after biryani to help with digestion, and at any hour in between.
Eating at home
Restaurant food is only half of it. In Malabar homes you get breakfast of puttu and kadala or appam and stew, fish curry at lunch, and a full vegetarian sadya on a banana leaf for celebrations. At BelleVue our kitchen cooks this kind of home food to order, veg and non-veg, and guests often mention the biryani and the chicken 65 in their reviews. If you'd like a sadya or a particular dish, ask us when you book.
A few tips
- Go to the biryani places early. Popular ones can run out.
- Many traditional restaurants are busy and simple. That's part of it.
- Buy halwa on your last day, and ask the shop to pack it for travel.
- Staying with us? Calicut city is about 45 minutes away, so a food day trip is easy. See our weekend plan from Calicut or our homestay near Calicut.
Sources
- Onmanorama: Kozhikode's oldest running restaurants
- Onmanorama: How the Kozhikode halwa became a celebrity
Written by the BelleVue team in Koyilandy, Kozhikode. Last updated 12 October 2026.
