Sethupillai is a Tirunelveli institution — a roadside mutton and parotta stall in the Pettai area, in business for the better part of a century. The menu is short: mutton chukka (dry-fried with masala), mutton kola urundai (deep-fried minced-meat balls), brain fry, and the addictive Tirunelveli-style flaky parottas to mop them up.
The setting is unfussy — a few benches under a tin roof, queues at peak hours — and the pricing is modest. It opens in the late afternoon and runs until midnight. Vegetarians will find nothing to eat here; everyone else should make the pilgrimage.