The restaurant at Hotel Parisutham is the most reliable option in Thanjavur for both South Indian and North Indian dishes in a proper dining room rather than a canteen setting. The hotel has been one of the city's main business hotels for decades and the restaurant reflects this — a step above the temple-area dhabas in terms of comfort and menu range, with attentive service and air conditioning.
The South Indian thali is the thing to order: a large banana leaf or stainless plate laid with rice, rasam, sambar, three or four vegetable dishes, pickle, and pappadum, refilled until you indicate otherwise. The Chettinad chicken preparations here are considerably better than average. Prices are modest by any standard; a full meal for two rarely exceeds 400 rupees.