Thiruvananthapuram’s contributions to Kerala’s culinary map are often downplayed in comparison to Kochi, with many dishes arriving in the capital years after they gain popularity in the state’s commercial hub. In 2025, however, the city saw a surge of continental eateries making their mark — from pizzerias to Egyptian dessert spots and smokehouses.
Here is a quick look at the culinary trends that shaped Thiruvananthapuram last year.
Bread wins dough
From pizzas to sandwiches, bread was the star of many menus in the city, with dishes featuring white bread to the slightly more complicated ciabatta breads — the latter recently announced its arrival in the city.
Toasteria at Kesavadasapuram serves sandwiches inspired by Turkish, Japanese, American and Indian cuisines, featuring dishes such as Tamago sando (a Japanese egg sandwich), Turkish delight sandwich, and Bombay sandwich, among others.
Tamago sando from Toasteria
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Inippu at Kannammoola and Frost & Toast at Kowdiar serve sweet and savoury toast, which seems to have gained a following in the city. Another outlet, Cocoa & Crust at Pettah, puts special focus on bread, offering chilli cheese toast, ciabatta and eggs, and Kim-credible (an in-house bun filled with homemade kimchi).
Ciabatta & eggs from Cocoa & Crust
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Nainu Oommen
The city has also seen new pizza spots, including Pizzeria Toto at Ulloor, known for its sourdough pizza crusts, and Sahib’s Brick Oven Pizza at Nanthancode.
Vegan gains ground
Vegan options have been on the rise this year, with plant-based dishes gaining attention. Grasshopper, a food start-up, sells vegan shawarmas, kombucha and health drinks, replacing meat with jackfruit.
Vegan shawarmas from Grasshopper
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NIRMAL HARINDRAN
Mama’s Oven Trivandrum, a home baker in Paruthippara, introduced vegan, gluten-free, lactose-free desserts like vegan chocolate cake, ragi jaggery banana walnut cake, wheat and oats pineapple cream delight cake and sugar-free dates cupcake.
A good time for desserts
Desserts were on the rise, too, offering continental options in cakes and puddings, witnessing a growth in spaces devoted to desserts such as Tree of Treats, Nanthancode, which began as a weekend home cafe selling puddings. Luxuree Crumbl, an English dessert spot in Kuravankonam, opened in early 2025.
Sticky toffee pudding topped with vanilla ice cream from Tree of Treats
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Nainu Oommen
Dessert kiosks selling waffles, churros, cakes and other sweet goods flourished in Kesavadasapuram and Kowdiar.
Arabian desserts such as Koshari dessert and Salankatia, riding social media trends, also became popular. Farsi Laban and Qasr Laban, serving pistachio, nutella and lotus biscoff-flavoured, layered desserts, trended. Other dessert outlets, such as Smoocho and Choco Bae, have also added a range of kunafa bowls to their menu.
Kunafa bowl from Choco Bae
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Haps the Melting Happiness, an Egyptian dessert kiosk at Kulathoor, has sweets like bambokza, hebba cake and qashtota on their menu.
Hop, hop, hop
It was a good year for cafe hoppers, with new restocafes like Casamigo at Nalumukku and Tangerine Resto Cafe at Kowdiar opening their doors. Malibu Club, an e-game hub and a cafe, began operations in the city in September 2025. The Artists’ Cafe at Sreevaraham is another addition to the city’s line-up of cafes.
Cafes with board games such Pakida, Frost & Toast and Savour Street Cafe have become the new hangout spots.
Meaty developments
Briskets and burgers found footing this year. Eateries and cloud kitchens like Tex&Mex by ChefJee and Smokey Ridge (which started in 2024) gained popularity among meat lovers, further popularising beef briskets and slow cooked meat.
Beef brisket from Smoky Ridge
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New burger outlets, such as The Burger Kitchen at Kuravankonam and Smokies Hamburger at Kumarapuram, gained popularity. The outlets offer chicken and beef burgers, stacked with fillings such as mushrooms, fried eggs and bacon, among others.
Idli eateries continued to be popular, a boom that began in 2024. Outlets such as Sudu Suda Idli and Chaikaari have expanded their business over the past year.
Published – December 30, 2025 05:00 pm IST