Spencer Plaza is Chennai’s oldest and most storied shopping mall, tracing its roots to 1863 when it began life as Spencer & Company’s first department store in India. After a fire destroyed the original colonial-era building in the 1980s, the current three-phase mall complex rose on the same site along Anna Salai (Mount Road) in the early 1990s.
Today the mall spans multiple floors of retail units, food courts, and office space, and it remains one of South Asia’s largest shopping complexes by footprint. Locals and visitors come for the mix of clothing, electronics, jewelry, and bookstores spread across its interconnected wings.
Shops generally operate from around 10 AM to 9 or 10 PM, though individual store hours can vary by floor and section, so it is worth checking specific outlets if visiting late in the evening.
