In Varkala, eat a Kerala breakfast after your morning surf, fresh fruit and chai in between, and seafood for dinner, ideally somewhere with the sea in view. The breakfast to look for is appam with stew or puttu with kadala curry; the dinner to look for is a fish curry in coconut gravy. That covers the essentials. The rest of this guide is about where to find them, and how to eat well on a trip that starts in the sea at dawn.
Surfing makes you hungrier than you expect, and Varkala is a very good place to be hungry. Kerala Tourism's own food pages say that "Kerala boasts a breakfast spread that can rival just about any in the world" (Kerala Tourism). We agree, and we would add that it tastes better after an hour in the water.
The Kerala breakfast
Breakfast is where Kerala's food shines brightest, and it is the meal you are most likely to eat after a surf.
- Appam and stew. Kerala Tourism describes appam as a fermented rice pancake and stew as a thick, coconut-based gravy (Kerala Tourism). The appam is soft in the middle and lacy at the edges, made for soaking up stew or egg curry.
- Puttu and kadala curry. Steamed rice cake with grated coconut, and a spicy black chickpea curry. Kerala Tourism calls it the go-to breakfast for most Keralites (Kerala Tourism).
- Idiyappam. Delicate steamed rice noodles, often served with coconut milk or vegetable stew.
- Dosa. Not strictly Keralan, but everywhere, and good.
- Fruit. Papaya, pineapple, banana, watermelon: whatever is in season, cut and piled high.
What to eat around a surf lesson
Beginner lessons run early, usually between 06:30 and 09:30 depending on the tide, which raises the eternal question: eat before or after?
- Before: something light. A banana, a few biscuits, a small cup of chai. A full breakfast before an hour of paddling is a mistake you make once.
- After: the big one. Carbohydrates, protein, fruit, and plenty of water.
- All morning: water. Kerala's coast is hot, and dehydration is the most common reason people feel awful after a first lesson.
Coconut water from a roadside stall is the best recovery drink on this coast, and it is sold everywhere.
Where to have breakfast
These are the places we send our own guests to. Most of them are on Black Beach Road or along the cliff.
- Kuma breakfast, on our rooftop. Kerala-style, every morning, cooked in the house. Free for guests, and outside guests are welcome too; the café page has the details.
- Baker & Mill, Black Beach Road. A French artisan bakery with fresh bread, pastries and coffee that holds up. Open 6:30 to 18:30.
- Tickety Boo, Black Beach Road. Dosa and South Indian breakfast. Authentic, local, and the one we recommend most.
- Mellow Bistro, Black Beach Road. For the slow breakfast: good coffee, no rush.
- InDa Café, Black Beach Road. Indian and Western, open all day. The safe bet when a group can't agree.
- Café Mimosa. Newly opened, a quick stop, already a favourite.
Seafood and dinner
Varkala is on the sea, and the fish is the reason to eat out at night. The dish to order at least once is a Kerala fish curry, which Kerala Tourism describes as made "with a coconut-based gravy and a variety of spices, including turmeric, chilli powder and mustard seeds". Prawn curry comes in a similar gravy.
- BLG Surf Bistro, North Cliff. Seafood on a rooftop with the sea in front of it. Hard to beat for a first night.
- Mamma Champos. The best fish restaurant in the area, off the tourist trail, and not somewhere you would find on your own. Ask for directions.
- Holy Rabbit, on the cliff. North Indian, South Indian and international, all done properly.
- Tickety Boo again, because it is as good in the evening as in the morning.
For sunset with your food, Trip Is Life and Café Sarwa on South Cliff both sit right on the edge, with views to match.
Dishes to try at least once
| Dish | What it is | When |
|---|---|---|
| Appam and stew | Fermented rice pancake with coconut stew | Breakfast |
| Puttu and kadala curry | Steamed rice and coconut, black chickpea curry | Breakfast |
| Idiyappam | Steamed rice noodles | Breakfast |
| Fish curry | Fish in coconut gravy with turmeric and chilli | Lunch or dinner |
| Parotta with curry | Layered flatbread, usually with a meat curry | Any time |
| Sadya | A vegetarian feast of many dishes on a banana leaf | Festivals and special occasions |
| Payasam | Sweet, cardamom-scented dessert | After any of the above |
Descriptions follow Kerala Tourism's guide to popular Kerala dishes. If you are vegetarian, you will eat very well here: many of Kerala's best-known dishes, from puttu and kadala to the whole sadya, are vegetarian already.
Eating with dietary needs
Kerala is easier than most places for particular diets, as long as you ask.
- Vegetarian: straightforward. Many of Kerala's best-known breakfasts and the whole sadya are vegetarian, and most cafés mark their menus.
- Vegan: coconut, not dairy, is the base of many curries and stews, so a lot of traditional food is close to vegan already. Ask about ghee and curd, which do appear.
- Gluten: the classic breakfasts, appam, puttu and idiyappam, are made from rice. Parotta and most bread are wheat.
- Spice: ask for "less spicy" and you will get it. Kerala food is flavourful rather than fiery, but the fish curries can have real heat.
- Allergies: say it clearly, and early. Coconut, nuts and seafood all turn up in unexpected places.
The toddy shop
Toddy is fresh palm wine, and a visit to a toddy shop is a Kerala classic and a small rite of passage. It is best in the afternoon, and you will have opinions about it by evening. Save it for after the day's surfing, never before: Kerala Tourism's surfing rules say plainly that alcohol and surfing do not mix.
A few customs worth knowing
- Eat with your right hand if you are eating with your hands, which is how many meals here are eaten. Cutlery is always available if you ask.
- Banana-leaf meals are served in a particular order; follow the lead of the people around you.
- Tipping is appreciated in cafés and restaurants but not expected in the way it is in some countries.
- Coffee and chai are different things here. Filter coffee is strong and milky; chai is spiced and sweet. Try both.
Eating well on a surf week
Over several days of surfing, the pattern that works is simple: light before the lesson, a big breakfast after, a proper lunch, a rest through the heat, and fish for dinner. Carry water all day. If you are staying with us, breakfast on the rooftop is included in every room; the stay page has the details.
More from the local guide
Our local guide keeps the full list of cafés, dinner spots and tips, updated as places open and close. If you are planning a short trip, Varkala in 2 to 3 days builds these meals into a plan, and your first surf lesson, minute by minute explains why breakfast after a lesson tastes so good. Deciding between staying on the cliff or somewhere quieter? Edava vs Varkala Cliff compares how easy food is from each.