the beachfront chayakada. eleven thousand people have stopped for a glass here, steps from the sand.

one of calicut's oldest hotels, the den of artists in malabar. writers and film people have passed through for decades. eat the kerala meals.

seafood plated cheap and fast, behind gokulam mall. packed at lunch, and for good reason.

the fish fry is the reason to come. fried to order, crisp at the edges and still soft inside, and it lands beside rice and papad on a banana leaf. the fish meals are what the whole room is eating.

the nostalgic kozhikode sarbath, by the beach. a local ritual in a chilled glass.

dum biriyani since 1949, and the evening snacks locals have eaten for three generations.

reliable, clean, and open until two in the morning. come for the bombolini, the cream-filled bun they are known for.

kozhikoden halwa sangamam, where the classics share the counter with kunafa and omani black.

a breakfast place first. keralan plates, early and cheap, in a room that fills with people on their way to work.

the breakfast people mean when they say breakfast in kozhikode. get there early, the room fills.

a fruit stall that pours juice, near the beach hospital and open till midnight. nothing dressed up about it, which is the whole appeal.

pot biriyani and tikka biriyani for when you want the fancier end of the spectrum.

six decades of halwa since 1963. the dates and tender-coconut are the ones to carry home.

a breakfast spot on manari road. porotta with beef fry or koonthal, eaten early and eaten standing if the benches are full.

you smell the beef biriyani before you see it. a calicut institution since 1961.

open all hours, and the coffee is actually made with care. the meeting-room favourite.

the avil milk people cross town for. roasted rice flakes, banana and cold milk in a tall glass, poured until midnight by the juma masjid.

beach road brunch done well. burgers, loaded fries, wings with a real kick.

south beach, sea in front, filter coffee in hand. the sunset seat in the city.

where the sharjah shake was invented. njaalipoovan banana and frozen milk, given a name borrowed from the cricket tournament the men next door were watching.

waterfront sandwiches and a fiery shawarma. the view is a free side.

slow-sealed dum biriyani, kaima rice, meat that slides off the bone. the beef is the one.

the one every list starts with, and rightly so. malabar fish curry that ruins you for everywhere else. go hungry, go early.

forty-five teas and something to go with each. a tea-lover's floor.

for the meals and the traditional malabar cooking, since 1978. come at night for the fish curry meals.

the oldest name on sweetmeat street, nearly a century in. forty kinds of halwa, and the black one is why you came.

european-style room, continental plates, a calm place to sit a while.

a reliable calicut classic. malabar biriyani and a beef roast that does not miss.

come for the snacks. malabari tea-time plates made the way a home kitchen makes them, best in the evening.