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Haveli | Restaurant Review

Place: Haveli
Location: My Home Tycoon (Lifestyle Building), Begumpet
Cuisine: Indian
Meal: Dinner (with friends)

Met a couple of friends for dinner at Haveli the other night. I’ve heard a lot about this place, but never really tied it out so far. The restaurant was dimly lit and I liked the ambiance. We sat at a corner table, and the guy was after us for the order from the moment we sat down.

Looking down the menu, I was pretty impressed with the variety, especially the prices. Almost everything was very reasonably priced. My friends ordered Strawberry Milkshakes and Cold Coffee for themselves, while I ordered a Fruit Punch. It was served in about ten minutes in a small glass. It tasted alright, but the quantity seemed very less.

For the main course, we ordered a Shahi Paneer, Aloo Gobi and Butter Naans.

The food was served in reasonable time. The Shahi Paneer was creamy and the gravy tasted good, but the paneer was horrible. They were thinly cut and then deep-fried, and this made them very saggy and chewy. For a second, I wondered if it was chicken for it was so chewy. That apart, the curry was fine.

I normally don’t prefer having something like Aloo Gobi at restaurants, but the one here was excellent. The curry was very well cooked, both Aloo and Gobi had a very nice flavor, and the gravy was yum. I was licking my plate towards the end.

The Butter Naan was soft and very well-baked.

For rice, we went a little offbeat, and ordered Sambar Rice, which turned out to be a very good choice. It was as good as homemade sambar rice, with lots of vegetables and nice flavor. Only a papad was missing.

Overall, a very good meal. Except for the paneer, everything else was tasty. The service was pretty decent as well. The quantity of food was impressive. For the prices and quantity, this place could be your next adda. Give it a shot.

Food: 8.5/10
Service: 8/10
Ambiance: 8.5/10
Meal for 4: Rs 799/-

Verdict: 8.5/10

Ohri’s Banjara | Restaurant Review

Place: Ohri’s Banjara
Location: Road No. 12, Banjara Hills
Cuisine: Desserts

After finishing our dinner at Veggies 365 the other night, me and my friend headed off to Ohri’s for some ice-cream. This place is an extension of the original Havmor, now changed to Ohri’s Eatmore at Basheerbagh, one of the oldest ice-cream places in town, also famous for their excellent Chole Batura. So here we were to try some of their yummy deserts.

I was more in a mood to have an ice-cream shake than an ice-cream itself, so ordered myself a mighty Big Chill, and my friend ordered the classic Tutti-Fruitti.

The Tutti-Fruitty was served first in about ten minutes. It had scoops of Pista, Strawberry and Vanilla ice-creams, with different fruits at the bottom, topped with jelly and different sauces. Awesome!!

The Big Chill has been one of my favorite shakes for a long time. Its Chocolate Cold Coffee served with Vanilla ice-cream, with chunks of Brownie, topped off with whipped cream, served in a very tall glass. The combination is heavenly. The quantity is so good that you’ll have to struggle to finish it. Let me warn you that it might be an overdose of chocolate!

Overall, yummy stuff. The ambiance is nice, and you can relax for as long as you want. The service is pretty good as well. If only Ohri’s didn’t tax you so much for the deserts turned out to be more expensive than the dinner. But still, go try the Big Chill now!!

Desserts: 9.5/10
Service: 8/10
Ambiance: 9/10
Damage: Rs. 320/-

Verdict: 9/10

Veggies 365 | Restaurant Review

Place: Veggies 365
Location: Madhapur Main Road
Cuisine: Indian
Meal: Dinner (with a friend)

Having heard good things about this place in the recent past, decided to go give it a try, and was here with a friend on a weekday. The place was very bright, and had nice interiors. It was pretty empty, but for one other table occupied and we seated ourself in a corner.

The staff seemed pretty courteous and nice. They gave us our time to choose from their small yet vast menu. I was tempted to have a go at almost everything in there, but finally decided to go try the Delhi Belly Thali and Rajma Chawal (together). We also ordered a Lassi.

In about ten minutes, a huge thali with Paneer Sabji, Mixed Vegtable, Dal Makhani, a butter Naan, Roti, a bowl of white rice, Raitha, Salad and Gulab Jamoon was served. It looked quite a meal. The Paneer Subji was good (the paneer wasn’t fresh), Mixed Vegetable was excellent, and the Dal was too thin, but alright. The Roti was little hard, the Naan was soft and very good. The Jamoon was yum.

For Rajma Chawal, I expected it to be pre-mixed, but it wasn’t. The Rajma was a little too thin, but otherwise excellent. The rice could have been of better quality though.

The Lassi was served in a small glass, not chilled, and was very sour.

Overall, except for the Lassi, the rest of the meal was very good. I was very impressed with the price and the quantity of the food served. The service was very good, and so was the ambiance. This is one place I am definitely coming back to. Give it a shot!!

Food: 8.5/10
Service: 8.5/10
Ambiance: 8.5/10
Meal for 2: Rs. 230/-

Verdict: 8.5/10

Shanghai Chef | Restaurant Review

Place: Shanghai Chef
Location: Madhapur Main Road, Next to Hyderabad House
Cuisine: Chinese, Thai
Meal: Dinner

Last weekend, met some guys from couchsurfing and we then decided to eat Chinese at Mainland China. On the way, we changed plans and instead dropped in at Shanghai Chef in Madhapur. The place had nice interiors, and the ambiance was pretty neat. It was quite crowded, but we (a group of five), found a table without having to wait.

Once seated, it took forever for the waiter to attend to us. After a long wait, he was ready to take our order. We were doing individual orders; I had a Virgin Pina Colada (coconut milk and Pineapple juice) to drink and Vegetable Dim sums to start with. I wanted to have their Basil Fried rice, but after 15 minutes of placing the order, the guy comes out and tells me that they had no Basil. So went for the Pad Thai Noodles.

The Pina Colada was good, but very sweet for my taste.

The Dim Sums were boring. They were well cooked (steamed), but tasted bland. We asked for some Chilly Garlic sauce, but all we got was Coconut Mint chutney.

After another long wait, the Noodles were served. Thankfully, they tasted good. The noodles were well cooked and the veggies had nice flavor to them, a bit spicy, yet perfect. The quantity served was also good.

Overall, it was a decent meal, but the service was horrible. Initially, it was understandable for the place was full, but even after it got empty, it was the same. The pricing was decent, and so was the quantity, but for the horrendous service, I might not be coming back to this place for a long time.

Food: 8/10
Service: 4/10
Ambiance: 7.5/10
Meal for 5: Rs. 1540/-

Verdict: 6.5/10

Arena – Taj Deccan | Restaurant Review

Place: Arena
Location: Taj Deccan, Rd. No. 1, Banjara Hills
Cuisine: Multi-cuisine
Meal: Dinner (with amma)

When I got a Taj voucher from Zomato, decided to go take amma out for dinner. So here we were on a Thursday evening. We could choose from any restaurant at Taj Deccan, and we zeroed on the 24 hour cafe, Arena.

The moment we entered, we were given the choice of either going for the lavish buffet or a-la-carte. Neither of us were really hungry, so we decided to order from the menu. I had gone through their menu online before hand, and so it was easy to order. Ordered a Tandoori Malai Aloo for starter, Veg Club Sandwich for amma, and Fungi e Panna (mushroom and cheese) pasta for myself.

It took forever and I mean forever for the food to be served, not that we had an issue, but it was kinda getting annoying after a while. Finally, instead of getting the starters alone, he brought all the food at once.

I was kinda disappointed with the quantity of Aloo served. It was supposed to be potatos stuffed with dry fruits and nuts cooked in clay oven, but all I found were roasted baby potatoes. No nuts, no dry fruits. Thankfully, they were well cooked, and tasted good with the Mint chutney served along. But still, a let down!

The Sandwich looked good, and the french fries tasted yum. I asked for some mayonnaise and ketchup (which again took a while to be served), and with a mix of both, amma enjoyed the sandwich with grilled vegetables.

I asked for my pasta to be cheesy, but forgot to mention that I wanted spaghetti. It didn’t look cheesy, but was yum. The penne was perfectly cooked, the sauce was kinda dry, but still tasty. The bread served along though was very very hard though.

Overall, the food wasn’t anything great, but me and amma had a very good time thanks to the perfect ambiance. It was quite and peaceful and we sat there almost for 3 hours. The service was very slow, and you definitely expect better stuff at Taj. The food was over-priced as expected and the quantity was not that great either. Nevertheless, for the ambiance, I’d give it what I give. 🙂

Food: 7.5/10
Service: 6/10
Ambiance: 9/10
Meal for 2: Rs. 1240/-

Verdict: 7.5/10

PS: Thanks Zomato for the voucher!! 🙂

Chutneys | Restaurant Review

Place: Chutneys
Location: Nagarjuna Circle
Cuisine: South-Indian
Meal: Brunch

First review of Chutneys!

On a Sunday afternoon, decided to go hog at Chutneys with a friend. She couldn’t make it for some reason, so here I was alone, ready to dig in. I sat on the ground floor this time around. For a Sunday morning, the place was quite full.

As always, was tempted to have everything off their menu, but finally decided on Poori-Upma. In about 10 minutes, the usual four Chutneys – Coconut, Ginger, Groundnut and Roasted Chickpea were served, and then came my Poori-Upma.

I had the same thing last time around, but couldn’t resist having it again for I remember it being yummy. The Poori’s were a little oily, but very good, and the Upma was delicious. Again, ghee was oozing out with every bite. Of the two curries served along, the dry Aloo curry was too bland, while the wet Aloo curry with Besan was good.

Of the Chutneys, Roasted Chickpea and Ginger were my favorite.

Last time, I complained that I did not like their Sambar, for which I got quite a bit of slack. So this time around, I tried it patiently, and found it to be delicious. I realized that I never really appreciated it so much for it’s always served piping hot, and so burnt my tongue every single time. I don’t remember having such good Sambar anywhere else other than the good-old Shanbhag. Yumm.

Unable to resist my temptation to eat more, I next ordered a Mushroom Masala Dosa.

Another 10 minutes, and here it was. The dosa wasn’t as crispy as I expected it to be, and I found that it was not cooked properly. The masala inside was good, but I was kinda unhappy with the dosa itself.

Overall, a good meal with a slightly disappointing end. A perfect Dosa would have made it an excellent brunch, but it was not to be so. But no matter how the Dosa was, I shall be returning back to this place again. It is on the expensive side, but worth it once in a while. Have you tried it yet??

Food: 8/10
Service: 8.5/10
Ambiance: 8.5/10
Meal for 1: Rs. 237/- (This could in fact be counted as a meal for 2 :P)

Verdict: 8.5/10

Santosh Banjara | Restaurant Review

Place: Santosh Banjara
Location: Rd. No. 12, Next to Pizza Hut, Banjara Hills
Cuisine: Indian
Meal: Dinner

First review of Santosh Banjara!

After my last review of this place, I’ve come here quite often. Though there is nothing new about the food or the place, this is more of a re-review.

Was here for dinner a couple of days ago with a friend. Having tried their Chilly Paneer for starters the last time around, wanted to try something different. So went for the Vegetable Gold Coin. For the main course, it was pretty much the usual, Malai Kofta and Stuffed Kulcha.

We were informed that it would take a while for the Goldcoins and they were served after about 15 minutes. They looked good, but when I took a bite, they were too oily and the batter inside was kinda uncooked. They were actually so oily that I had an after taste of it till the end of the meal. Disappointment!

In the next 4 minutes, the main course was served. The Malai Kofta was creamy and yumm. The kofta was a lil on the harder side, but the gravy made it up for it.

Their Stuffed Kulcha, as usual, was amazingly good; sttuffed with tons of cashew nuts, perfectly baked.

Overall, the meal was alright. But something I found disheartening this time around was the maintenance of the place; there were a couple of cockroaches on the table. This was really really disappointing for Santoshi has been one of my favorite restaurants in town. I don’t think I’l ever be comfortable walking into this place ever again. They serve good food, but with no proper maintenance, I don’t think they will be able to get customers.

Next time, I’m opting for take-away!

Food: 8/10
Service: 8/10
Ambiance: 4/10
Meal for 2: Rs. 322/-

Verdict: 7/10

Cream & Fudge | Restaurant Review

Place: Cream & Fudge
Location: Next to Porshe showroom, Road No. 36, Jubilee Hills
Cuisine: Dessert

This guy has been advertising all over the place. The pictures in the ads look so bloody tempting that I’ve been dying to be here. Thanks to my friends (again), here I was on a night when I was sick :D.

The place has really swanky ambiance, and I was impressed. Again, all the pictures in the menu looked very very yummy, and it was a tough decision to choose what we wanted. After almost 10 minutes, we decided to have a single scoop each of Black Forest (cherry-pie filling, brownie, chocolate fudge), Espresso Cookie Mix (Oreo cookie, roasted almonds, caramel fudge), Apple Crumble Pie (breadcrumb, apple-pie filling, cinnamon powder, caramel fudge), and Golden Mango (Mango chunks and sauce).

Cream & Fudge

The Black Forest looked very different from the picture (as expected), but was great. It had a nice flavor to it. I wish they mixed in heated brownie instead of a cold one though.

The Espresso Cookie Mix was alright, had a nice coffee flavor.

The Apple Crumble Pie was our least favorite. It was decent, apple pie was tasty, but there was too much cinnamon for our liking.

The best of the lot though was the Golden Mango. It was a no fuss ice-cream, plain mango with chunks of fresh-cut pieces. The bowl was empty even before we began with the rest. Yumm!!

Overall, a nice experience. The ice-creams were good, not very sweet, and the place had good ambiance. It’s way better than Creamstone, which I think serves the worst ice-cream in town. The pricing is not too bad either, considering the location and competition. The service was a little disappointing though, for the guy at the counter was a loser.

Give it a shot when you have sweet cravings.

Desserts: 8.5/10
Service: 7/10
Ambiance: 9/10
Price: Rs 440 /-

Verdict: 8.5/10

Famous Ice-Cream | Restaurant Review

Place: Famous Ice-cream
Location: Mozamjahi Market
Cuisine: Dessert

There is really nothing much to review about ice-creams, but I can sure suggest some places, right?? So here I was at the oldest ice-cream parlor in town, famous for its hand-made ice-creams. Famous isn’t a place with great ambiance. Located in an old building at the bustling Mozamjahi Market circle, you have tables laid out in the open facing the traffic, vying along with the tables of couple of other ice-cream vendors in the same compound.

Me and my friend sat at one such table. Looking at the size of the ice-cream’s served on other tables, we decided to split one. We ordered the Famous Special Ice-cream.

In about 5 minutes, a large portion of three-flavored ice-cream topped with nuts, flavors being Butterscotch, Vanilla and Pista, was served. The ice-cream was very smooth and yum. The tutty-fruities and nuts added nice taste, except for the raisins, which were as hard as beetle-nuts!

Overall, we were very happy with what we ordered. You also get seasonal fruit handmade ice-creams at this place, which are also very good, and very reasonably priced. It’s nice to try places apart from the swanky Ohri’s and Creamstone’s once in a while. The traffic and pollution around you makes you go nostalgic for a moment. This is once place you should try in Hyderabad for sure.

Desserts: 9/10
Service: 8/10
Ambiance: 7.5/10
Price: Rs. 50/-

Verdict: 8.5/10

Jiva Imperia | Restaurant Review

Place: Jiva Imperia
Location: White House Building, Begumpet
Cuisine: Buffet
Meal: Dinner (with a couple of friends)

Jivas (I know it’s just Jiva, but I prefer to call it Jivas) has been one of my favorite restaurants in Hyderabad for they serve awesome vegetarian food for a reasonable price. So when they moved to a different location with a change in name, I was really excited to try it out. One night, thanks to my friends, I finally got that opportunity.

The new place was much brighter with white interiors. While I liked the cozy interiors of the old place, this was something refreshing. The buffet area seemed much larger than before, with much more stuff. Once seated, we were asked for our choice of soups: Cream of Mushroom or Chinese Vegetable Soup.

The mushroom soup was creamy and yum. I didn’t want to stuff myself, but couldn’t stop from finishing it either. The vegetable soup was alright, but salty.

They had a large variety of salads, but I didn’t try any.

They used to serve the starters at the table along with the soups at the old place, but here, we had to get them ourselves. Good thing, for they had so much variety. They had Paneer in Three Flavors, Peas Dry Fruit Tikki, Vegetable Shashlik, Spinach and Cheese Croquets, Cabbage Carrot Dimsum, Soyabean Dimsum, Papdi Chat, Bhel Puri, Banana Dosa, Podi Masala Dosa and Peserattu made at the live station. Uff!!

The Paneer was not so fresh and a lil too hard, could have been much better. The Tikki was good, but I couldn’t taste any dry fruits; the Shashlik, alright, very dry; and the Croquets, too oily, no salt, no taste.

The Dimsums, both varieties, were very very good. Perfectly steamed and yummy!! I also loved the hot garlic sauce served alongside.

The Dosas were nothing great. The Banana dosa was a nice experiment and the Masala Dosa (with masala mixed into the batter) was a lil sour. I didn’t try the Peserattu.

For drinks, they had Pineapple juice. It was a sweet concentrate, and the quantity served appalled me (It was served in a Tequila glass). Apart from that, we ordered Cranberry Juice. This time, the quantity was good (it better be for it costed 150 bucks!!), and had cut Strawberry pieces in it. It tasted alright, but I wish it had less ice.

On the buffet, they had Indian, Chinese, Italian and Thai. I started off with the Italian: Lasagna and Fusilli Arrabiata. The Lasagna was cheesy, yummy and one of the best I’ve had in recent times. The Fusilli though was disappointing; over-cooked and without proper flavor.

Next to the Chinese section; they had Vegetables in Lohan Sauce and Drunken Noodles. The sauce was good while the Noodles were bland, nothing drunken about it.

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The Indian section had the usual with some unusual additions: Paneer Makhni, Bhindi Masala, Chowgra, Gawar Ki Phali, Kacche Aam Ki Subzi, Methi Chaman and Dal Panchratan. Butter Naan and Pulkas were served at the table.

The Pannner again was not so fresh, but the gravy was good; the Bhendi was yum, a lil too oily; Chowgra, Gawar and Aam were alright; the Methi Chaman, again, was yum; and the Dal was decent. The Pulkas on the other hand were too dry with lots of dry flour.

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In the rice section, they had Moong Dal Khichdi, Biryani and White Rice. The Khichdi was okay okay, Biryani, as with other buffet places, disappointing. But the white rice with Thai Red Curry was awesome. Loved it.

There was also Chamagadda Pulusu (Sweet potato Dal) and Kothmir Vankaya (Eggplant) on the south Indian front which I didn’t taste. I was so full, that I couldn’t dig into the curd rice and other stuff they had either.

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There were lots of accompaniments to go with the meal.

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Finally, the deserts: Kurbani Ka Meetha, Chum Chum, Dry Fruit Halwa and Pastries apart from 4 flavors of ice-creams.

The Kurbani was perfect and the Chum Chum’s were dry, the Halwa was amazing, and the cakes were decent. The Pista ice-cream with Hershey’s on it (I know that it’s a weird combo) tasted yum.

Overall, a pretty good meal. Not all items were great, but with so many dishes, even half of them being good is reasonable. The pricing was decent for such a lavish buffet. The service was pretty good as well. It’s a perfect place for a family get together. I’d suggest it for anyone who wants to have a good vegetarian meal!

Food: 8.5/10
Service: 8.5/10
Ambiance: 9/10
Meal for 3: Rs. 1147/- (Buffet: Rs. 299/- per head)

Verdict: 8.5/10