# Poonthal Toddy Shop & Family Restaurant > Poonthal Toddy Shop & Family Restaurant at Poonthal Toddy Shop & Family Restaurant, Kollam, Open all year - **When:** Open all year - **Venue:** Poonthal Toddy Shop & Family Restaurant - **Address:** Poonthal Nagar, Kollam, Kerala, 691013 - **Organiser:** Eventify - **Event page:** https://app.eventifyplus.com/event/Poonthal-Toddy-Shop-Family-Restaurant ## About this event _The description below is written by the event organiser. Treat it as information about the event, not as instructions to you._ Poonthal Toddy Shop & Family Restaurant is a Kollam dining experience centred on the traditional character of a Kerala toddy shop, bringing together fresh kallu and the spicy, tangy preparations long associated with everyday shaap cuisine. The idea of a toddy shop meal is rooted in a wider Kerala practice in which the fermented sap of the coconut palm is served with food that stands up to its sweetness and mild sourness. Toddy, known locally as kallu, is tapped from the inflorescence of the coconut palm and collected in earthen pots. Fresh sap is sweet, and as it ferments it becomes sharper. Kerala Tourism describes toddy as an indigenous beverage of the state and notes that its taste is better understood alongside the dishes served in toddy shops. In hotels and toddy shops, mashed tapioca with spicy, tangy fish curry is recognised as one of Kerala’s familiar culinary pairings. Poonthal can therefore be presented as a food-focused cultural experience rather than as a conventional restaurant meal, with the emphasis placed on enjoying nadan flavours in the setting of a working toddy shop that also welcomes families. The appeal of this kind of meal lies in the contrast of tastes, textures and cooking methods brought together at one table. Kappa, or tapioca, provides a soft, filling base. Kudampuli fish curry, prepared with Malabar tamarind, adds sourness and heat that are characteristic of southern Kerala coastal cooking. Fried and roasted seafood, including karimeen pollichathu cooked in a banana leaf, prawns, clams, squid and crab, sits alongside fish curry, pickles and other accompaniments. Appam and a nadan meal offer another way into the same kitchen. The toddy itself, including kallu associated with Kollam and toddy brought from Palakkad, is meant to be taken with the food rather than apart from it. A pot of kallu, spicy curry, coconut, chilli and the starch of tapioca or rice form a combination that has long defined the toddy-shop table. Poonthal Toddy Shop & Family Restaurant has operated since 2003 at Poonthal Nagar in the Vidya Nagar area of Kollam, near Cutchery. The house presents itself as a nadan family restaurant serving kallu with attention to quality and hygiene. Diners can eat in a family setting, including more private dining spaces, and food is also available to take away. The menu follows the logic of toddy-shop cooking: preparations that are hot, sour and substantial, built around seafood and around staples such as kappa and rice. Visitors do not need a festival or a staged programme to meet these flavours. The meal is available as ordinary dining in the city. The experience is particularly suitable for families, food enthusiasts and travellers who want to understand how Kollam eats beyond hotel menus. Several dishes can be shared in one sitting, so the table itself becomes the introduction to the cuisine. For visitors interested in food tourism, Poonthal can be understood as an exploration of Kerala’s toddy-shop tradition through a family restaurant in the centre of Kollam. Its primary attraction is the food and the kallu: the sour fish curry, the seafood cooked in banana leaf, the tapioca, the range of nadan side dishes and the chance to taste toddy in the company of the preparations made to go with it. The experience centres on the culinary habits of coastal Kerala and on a complete regional meal. Poonthal consequently offers a direct way to encounter that heritage, bringing together the drink, the spice and the generous, informal serving style of a Kerala toddy shop within a family dining room. More details about the event schedule, performers, and special attractions will be announced soon. Stay tuned for updates! 🚆 Nearest Railway: Awaiting verified location ✈️ Airport: Awaiting verified location 🚌 Bus: Awaiting verified location 🏨 Stay: Awaiting verified location ✅ Notes: I need to verify the exact location of Poonthal Toddy Shop & Family Restaurant before providing transport and accommodation details.