HotAndhra Chicken Curry
Non-vegA bold, chilli-hot Andhra-style chicken curry rich with red chillies, ginger-garlic and spice — best with rice or ragi sangati.
₹180–400
Eat in Visakhapatnam
What to Eat in Visakhapatnam Today?
Search Visakhapatnam dishes by craving — andhra chicken curry, andhra meals, araku coffee and more.
Vizag's food is Andhra food by the sea: hot with red chilli, sour with tamarind, and built around the morning's catch. Vegetarians eat well too, and the coffee comes from the hills next door.
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5 Visakhapatnam dishes found
Hot
HotAndhra Meals
VegA rice thali with pappu, fiery pickles (avakaya), rasam, curries and ghee, served on a banana leaf.
₹120–300
Best around: Suryabagh
Araku Coffee
VegShade-grown, tribal-farmed arabica from the Araku valley — a smooth, award-winning single-origin coffee.
₹30–200
Best around: Suryabagh
HotCoastal Fish Curry
Non-vegFresh Bay-of-Bengal fish in a fiery tamarind-and-chilli gravy — the taste of Vizag's fishing harbour.
₹200–450
HotRoyyala Vepudu (Prawn Fry)
Non-vegPrawns tossed with Andhra spices and curry leaves and fried crisp — a coastal favourite.
₹250–500
Seafood first
Vizag has a large fishing harbour, and the fish curry here is the dish to try first. It is a sour, fiery gravy of tamarind and red chilli, called pulusu in Telugu, and it goes with plain rice. Royyala vepudu, a dry prawn fry with curry leaves, is the other favourite. Both are at their best at lunch, when the fish is freshest. The east coast has an annual fishing ban, usually from mid-April to mid-June, when the local catch is thinner.
Andhra heat
Andhra cooking uses more chilli than most of India, and Vizag does not tone it down for visitors. The Andhra chicken curry is dark red and punchy, and good with rice or ragi sangati, a millet ball. If you do not handle heat well, say so when you order; most kitchens will make it milder.
The vegetarian meal
An Andhra meal is a plate of rice with small helpings of dal (pappu), a couple of vegetable curries, rasam, curd and ghee, all on a banana leaf. The pickles decide whether you finish it. Avakaya, the mango pickle, is strong enough to use a pinch at a time. Most places refill the rice and curries until you stop them.
Breakfast
Vizag breakfasts are tiffins: idli, dosa, and punugulu, small fried batter balls, with coconut chutney and filter coffee. Tiffin houses are busy from early morning and cheap.
Araku coffee
Coffee grows in the Araku hills about 115 km inland, much of it on small farms run by tribal families. The beans are sold across the city, and a cup is an easy souvenir to drink on the spot. If you go up to Araku, buy beans there.
Where to find each dish
The where to eat page lists restaurants by area, and each dish page shows which kitchens are known for it.
Questions
Visakhapatnam — FAQ
Is the food in Vizag very spicy?
Yes, by Indian standards. Andhra cooking uses a lot of red chilli. Ask for less spice when you order, and eat curd rice at the end of a meal to cool down.
When is the best time of year for seafood in Vizag?
Outside the annual fishing ban on the east coast, which usually runs from mid-April to mid-June. The rest of the year, lunch is the best time for fresh fish.
Can vegetarians eat well in Visakhapatnam?
Yes. Banana-leaf Andhra meals, tiffin breakfasts and many pure-vegetarian restaurants make it easy. Check the badge on each restaurant before you go.
What is Araku coffee?
Arabica coffee grown in the Araku Valley in the Eastern Ghats, largely by tribal farmers. You can drink it in cafés in Vizag and buy the beans to take home.