Poolside Dining at OUDICHI

OUDICHI seats 54 beside the pool, which is the detail that matters most: you can come to lunch straight from the water and to dinner as the light goes.

The Kitchen

The menu is multi-cuisine in the practical Indian sense — Odia and wider Indian cooking alongside Chinese and Continental dishes, so a table of six with different tastes is straightforward rather than a negotiation. There is a full bar.

Eat the Coast

Puri is a fishing town, and the sensible thing to do at a table this close to the Bay of Bengal is to order from it. Ask what came in that morning. Odia cooking is gentler with chilli than much of India’s coast and leans on mustard, panch phoron and freshwater as much as sea fish — if you have not eaten it before, this is the place to start.

Ask what the boats brought in. It is a better question than what is on the menu.

Through the Day

Breakfast sets you up before a temple visit or a walk on the sand. Lunch works best late, once the sun is off the terrace. Evenings are unhurried — the pool lit, the sea audible from a few metres away, and no reason to be anywhere in particular.

Groups and Events

For larger gatherings the lawns and poolside areas extend the restaurant considerably, and the same kitchen caters conferences in the 1,152 sq ft conference hall and weddings on the lawns. Room service runs from the same kitchen if you would rather eat in.