Alleppey Houseboat Food Menu, Deluxe and Premium
This is the Alleppey houseboat food menu on the boats we book, meal by meal. An overnight stay includes five: a welcome drink, a Kerala lunch, evening tea with snacks, dinner and breakfast. The cook prepares everything fresh in the boat’s kitchen from a fixed menu, and the menu depends on the boat you choose — Deluxe or Premium.
Side by side
Deluxe and Premium menus
| Deluxe | Premium | |
|---|---|---|
| Welcome drink | Lemon juice or fresh juice | Tender coconut, and fresh juice or lemon juice |
| Lunch — fish | Fish fry | Karimeen (pearl spot) fish fry |
| Lunch — curries | Sambar, thoran, mezhukkupuratti, banana kalan or curd | Sambar, avial, thoran, mezhukkupuratti, curd |
| Evening | Tea or coffee, banana fritters or onion pakoda | Cardamom tea or coffee, banana fritters and onion pakoda |
| Dinner — bread | Chapathi and white rice | Chapathi or Kerala parotta, and rice |
| Dinner — mains | Dal curry, chicken curry or roast | Dal fry, chicken roast or curry, paneer masala for vegetarians |
| Breakfast | Idli, appam, puttu, or bread and omelette | Idli, appam, bread and jam, fresh fruit |
Both menus include pappadam, pickle, fresh salad and seasonal fruit at lunch, and fresh salad and curd at dinner. Drinking water is included.
Welcome drink, when you board
On a Deluxe boat you are welcomed with lemon juice or a fresh juice. Premium boats serve tender coconut as well — the coconut water drunk straight from the shell.
Kerala lunch
Lunch is served as the boat heads out across the lake, and it is the main meal of the day: white rice with sambar, a vegetable thoran (dry vegetables with grated coconut), mezhukkupuratti (stir-fried vegetables), pappadam, pickle, fresh salad and fruit. The Deluxe lunch adds a fish fry and banana kalan or curd. The Premium lunch adds avial, a mixed vegetable and coconut curry, and karimeen fry — pearl spot, the backwater fish Kerala is known for.
Evening tea
Around the time the boat moors for the evening, tea or coffee comes out on deck with banana fritters or onion pakoda. On Premium boats the tea is cardamom tea, and both snacks are served.
Dinner
Dinner moves to chapathi and rice, with dal, a chicken curry or chicken roast, a vegetable side dish, salad and curd. Premium boats offer Kerala parotta, a flaky layered flatbread, in place of chapathi, and serve paneer masala to vegetarian guests.
Breakfast
Breakfast is served as the boat cruises back in the morning. On Deluxe boats you choose one of idli with sambar and chutney, appam with vegetable stew or egg curry, puttu with kadala (black chickpea) curry, or bread, butter, jam and an omelette. Premium boats serve idli, appam with stew or egg curry, bread and jam, and fresh fruit.
Vegetarian and special diets
Every meal can be made vegetarian: the fish and chicken are replaced, and Premium boats serve paneer masala at dinner. Tell us before you arrive about vegetarians in your group, allergies or anything you do not eat, so the cook can shop for it. Premium boats can also cook South Indian and North Indian dishes on request.
Which menu to choose
If karimeen and tender coconut matter to you, choose Premium; the difference is ₹3,000 a night on a 1-bedroom boat and ₹4,000 on a 2-bedroom, and it also brings full-time bedroom AC. The rest of the Premium upgrade is on the Premium houseboat page, and the Deluxe boat is described on the Deluxe houseboat page. For a walk through the kitchen, bedrooms and deck, see inside an Alleppey houseboat.
FAQ
Food on board, answered.
Is food included on an Alleppey houseboat?
Yes. An overnight stay includes a welcome drink, lunch, evening tea with snacks, dinner and breakfast, cooked on board.
Can we get vegetarian food on the houseboat?
Yes. Tell us before you arrive and every meal is made vegetarian. Premium boats serve paneer masala at dinner.
What is karimeen?
Pearl spot, a backwater fish. It is served fried at lunch on Premium houseboats.
Can we choose our own menu?
The menu is fixed, but the cook adapts it for vegetarians, allergies and dietary needs if you tell us in advance.
Dietary needs? Tell us early.
Message us on WhatsApp with your dates and any vegetarian or allergy needs, and we pass them to the cook.