A Nine-Course Journey That Rewrites the Grammar of Southern Indian Cuisine At Avartana, ITC Maurya

High above Delhi’s familiar clamour, Avartana does something quietly radical. It asks you to slow down. To listen. To reconsider what you think you know about Southern Indian food.

Set on the rooftop of ITC Maurya, Avartana—its name derived from the Sanskrit Avartan, meaning rhythm—does not trade in nostalgia alone. Instead, it offers a carefully choreographed nine-course Sunday lunch tasting menu that moves with restraint, intelligence and a deep respect for the peninsula’s culinary inheritance, while refusing to be bound by it.

The experience begins not with fireworks but with intent. The French-pressed tomato rasam arrives as a revelation—clear, aromatic, and almost meditative. Familiar flavours are stripped back, refined, then rebuilt, reminding you that tradition need not shout to be heard. This is a recurring theme across the meal: comfort reimagined through precision.

Courses unfold like chapters rather than showpieces. A cauliflower crunch balances texture and spice with surprising elegance. Stir-fried chicken and Uthukuli chicken showcase how regional flavours can be elevated without losing their soul—robust yet restrained, deeply spiced but never overwhelming. Each dish feels purposeful, free from the excess that often plagues modern tasting menus.
 

What sets Avartana apart is its refusal to perform South Indian cuisine as spectacle. Instead, it treats it as philosophy. The food is inventive, yes, but never gimmicky. Fermentation, smoke, heat and acidity are deployed thoughtfully, allowing ingredients to speak rather than compete. By the time the ninth course arrives, you realise the menu has not merely fed you—it has educated you.

The setting reinforces this sense of considered luxury. Sculpted walls, curated art and softly glowing chandeliers echo the restaurant’s ethos: contemporary, rooted, and quietly assured. Even the view—of the green ridge meeting Delhi’s skyline—feels deliberately chosen, a reminder of calm amid complexity. 
 

Avartana does not attempt to replace the icons housed within ITC Maurya, like Bukhara or Dum Pukht. Instead, it complements them by occupying its own confident space—one where Southern Indian cuisine is not reduced to stereotypes, but allowed to evolve on its own terms.

The nine-course Sunday lunch tasting menu is not just a meal; it is an argument—one made gently but persuasively—that Indian fine dining can be both cerebral and soulful. Avartana doesn’t demand applause. It earns contemplation.