New Restaurants in Kurnool (September 2026)
TL;DR
Kurnool's restaurant scene has three newcomers worth knowing: Foresta Multicuisine on Bangarpet Road, RajaVilas on Bellary Road for Telugu Andhra cooking, and Ajwa Restaurant near Railway Station for Andhra-style biryani. The city's food options are expanding alongside its infrastructure growth.
New Restaurants Shaping Kurnool's Dining Scene
Foresta Multicuisine Restaurant and Cafe has opened at Ground Floor, Medum Prabhas Plaza, Bangarpet Road, opposite Sri Rama Theatre, Kurnool 518004. The concept sits in the multicuisine segment — North Indian, Chinese, fast food and snacks alongside South Indian options — which has grown in popularity among Kurnool's expanding middle-class dining public. The location near Sri Rama Theatre places it in a busy commercial zone with good walk-in footfall. Phone: +91 63026 20512.
RajaVilas Restaurant at D.No.40/317-D-1-A, Bellary Road, Kurnool 518001 serves Telugu and Andhra cuisine — the regional food tradition of this part of Andhra Pradesh. Andhra cooking is known for its heat (the use of large quantities of red chilli is characteristic) and its rice-forward meals, particularly the traditional Andhra meals served on banana leaves with multiple curries, rasam and papads. RajaVilas on Bellary Road is positioned as a proper Andhra meals restaurant rather than a casual snack stop. Phone: +91 91216 16296.
Ajwa Restaurant at Railway Station Road, Pumphouse Circle, Ashok Nagar, Kurnool 518005 specialises in Andhra biryani — a distinct preparation from the more widely known Hyderabadi version, typically cooked in a more straightforward one-pot style with local spice blends. The location near the railway station makes Ajwa a natural stop for travellers passing through Kurnool on the way to Bengaluru or Hyderabad, and it serves a steady local and transit crowd. Phone: +91 85182 53499.
Kurnool as a Growing Food City
Kurnool is Andhra Pradesh's second-largest city by population and is undergoing significant infrastructure investment, as evidenced by the recent announcement of a new Machilipatnam-Kurnool express train service and the inauguration of India's first DGCA-certified flight training organisation at Kurnool Airport. Urban growth of this kind typically drives restaurant sector expansion, as the growing middle-class population seeks out more dining variety beyond home cooking.
The existing food landscape in Kurnool includes established hotel restaurants, fast food chains and the traditional tiffin centres that anchor everyday eating in Telugu cities — idli, dosa, upma and pongal for breakfast, rice meals at lunch, and biryani or fried rice in the evening. The new restaurants listed here represent an upgrade in ambience and menu range from that baseline.
Traditional Kurnool Food Worth Seeking 🌶️
For visitors unfamiliar with Kurnool cuisine specifically, the city sits in the dryland interior of Andhra Pradesh and has a food tradition that reflects that geography — heartier preparations, heavier use of groundnut and sesame oils, and dishes like kurnool kadapa biryani (a local variation of rice cooked with mutton) that you won't find exactly replicated in Hyderabad. The region's jowar and ragi preparations are also worth trying in traditional households and small tiffin centres.
Also notable in the area: Kurnool's market is one of the largest groundnut trading hubs in South India. Peanut chutney and groundnut-based preparations are ubiquitous and excellent.
Lepakshi Multicuisine Restaurant and the Highway Food Belt
Lepakshi Multicuisine Restaurant at Pullur Toll Plaza serves the highway traveller market on the key Kurnool-Bengaluru-Hyderabad road network. Highway dhaba-style restaurants like this one have evolved significantly in the past decade — many now offer clean facilities, an expanded menu and reliable service for families on long road trips. The Pullur Toll Plaza location is a standard rest stop for the Kurnool highway corridor.
Insider Tip
For the most authentic Andhra meal experience in Kurnool, seek out the small vegetarian hotels near the city's central market (Kothapet and Station Road area) that serve a traditional Andhra plate for lunch — typically Rs 80-120 for an unlimited meal with rice, sambar, rasam, curd, papads and two or three rotating vegetable dishes. These are rarely listed online but are consistently the best value in town.
FAQ
What is Andhra cuisine known for? Andhra cuisine is one of the spiciest regional traditions in India, known for its liberal use of red and green chillies, tamarind-forward sauces (gongura or sorrel chutney is a signature), and a tradition of elaborate rice meals served on banana leaves with multiple accompaniments. Biryani in the Andhra tradition (particularly from Vijayawada and Guntur) is also distinct from the Hyderabadi variant.
Is Kurnool worth visiting as a food destination? For travellers interested in authentic Telugu regional food rather than tourist-facing cuisine, Kurnool offers a genuine look at inland Andhra food culture that is different from the more Hyderabadi-influenced food of Telangana. The markets, tiffin centres and new restaurants together make for a varied food experience.
How do I get to Kurnool? Kurnool is connected by rail (new express service to Machilipatnam via Vijayawada now approved) and by road to Bengaluru (roughly 5 hours) and Hyderabad (roughly 3.5 hours). Kurnool Airport operates limited domestic services and now hosts the Orient Flights Aviation Academy.
Are there vegetarian options in Kurnool restaurants? Kurnool has a strong vegetarian food tradition. All three restaurants listed offer substantial vegetarian menus. RajaVilas in particular serves traditional Telugu vegetarian meals alongside meat preparations.
Bottom Line
Foresta Multicuisine, RajaVilas Restaurant and Ajwa Restaurant are three worthwhile additions to Kurnool's dining scene, covering different needs: multicuisine variety, traditional Andhra meals and biryani. Together with the existing tiffin centre culture, they make Kurnool a more complete food destination than before.