The History

The Haven of Cuisines..!

A food business can't cherish owing only to its location. The standard of the food & services offered largely determines its success. What when both the geography and the quality blend to best suit a business? The Modern Restaurant is one such restaurant business, only a little younger to Independent India, started by a migrant from Palakkad, Kerala, in the heart of the magnificent city of Madurai, which has since been active in making a history of its own.

The Modern Restaurant, located in close proximity to the glorious Meenakshi temple and minutes away from the Madurai Railway Junction, is an authentic, traditional, South Indian, vegetarian restaurant catering mouth-watering varieties of dishes in exemplary style.

The restaurant is celebrated for its lip smacking delicacies and has been the diner's delight for nearly a century. We strive to exhibit in our dishes the untold tales of our deep-rooted origins. Our prime goal has always been to bring the heritage of the land to the plates of the guests.

Mr. V M Sadasivam, the founder, who started his career as a grinder operator in the erstwhile Sri Rama Cafe during the late 1940s, after earning the trust of its owners got entrusted into its stewardship as a reward for his untiring efforts, dedication, and commitment. He subsequently renamed the Cafe into the Modern Restaurant after elevating its standards and adopting modern methods. Being a man of innovation, he thus instigated what went on to become one of the finest legacies that are carefully carried on through generations by his successors.

Right from our famed 'Sambar Vadai' to the loved 'Rava Kesari', the secrets of the recipes are passed on through the generations. The cooks who have been staying for years are one among these secrets. The unwavering attention bestowed throughout the preparation of highly attractive traditional dishes, sweets, savories, and North Indian varieties have helped us retain a good number of customers who have had their taste buds convinced.

The successors of Mr. V M Sadasivam, his sons Mr. S Ramakrishnan and Mr. S Mohanasundaram along with their cousins Mr. T V Sundaresan, Mr. M Venkatesh, and Mr. T V Ananthasubramanian, following his policies in true spirits have steered new ventures in the hospitality industry and Catering services industry. The Hotel MR International, a state-of-the-art upscale accommodation destination came into being on the golden jubilee of the restaurant and is managed by Mr. Ashwath Sadasivam and Mr. M Raman, the grandsons of Mr. Sadasivam. The hotel has a banquet hall to serve for parties, weddings, conferences and the like, and the food served is top notch.

The Modern Restaurant was the first to undertake Outdoor Catering services since 1952 in Madurai and has a list of multifaceted clientele that only increases with the passing of each day. The commercial list includes TVS group, India Cements, Lakshmi Mills, PSG group, Ramco Cements, N.Mahalingam Group, Lions & Rotary Clubs and ABT among others. With a dedicated team to help plan events, the Modern Restaurant extensively covers catering orders coming from across South India: notably Salem, Coimbatore, Chennai, parts of Kerala and Karnataka.