Hyderabad | - Page 7

Santosh Dhaba | Restaurant Review

Place: Santosh Dhaba
Location: Kondapur
Cuisine: Indian
Meal: Take-away

Amma and dad were travelling through Kondapur during lunch hour last week, and decided to bring some food home for lunch. Not just me, but dad also likes the food at Santosh Dhaba (Abids), so from the abundant choices in and around Kondapur, they chose this one.

They ordered for Malai Kofta, Kaju Biryani and Butter Naan. Apparently, the order took longer than usual (for Santosh Dhaba standards), and they had to wait for about 15 minutes for the food to be packed.

Unpacking the contents, the food looked yum. The Malai Kofta was delicious, with a couple of well cooked kofta balls. The gravy was thick and had a nice flavor. I was dreading the Butter Naan to have become rubbery, but it turned out to be pretty soft. The best dish of the meal though was the amazing Kaju Biryani. Full of cashew nuts, this was one of the best biryani I’ve had in recent times. Not too spicy, rice full of flavor, yummilicious! The gravy served along was equally good as well.

Overall, an excellent meal. Because of their oily food, I’ve been avoiding Santosh Dhaba of recent. Yes, their food is oily and greasy, but is usually delicious too, and the quantity is sumptuous. It’s a must try for any Punjabi food loving vegetarian. Try them out (any of the six locations in town) if you haven’t yet, and lemme know what you think 🙂

Food: 9/10
Service: N/A
Ambiance: N/A
Meal for 2: Rs. 235/-

Verdict: 8.5/10

Swathi Tiffins | Restaurant Review

Place: Swati Tiffin Center
Location: Behind the bus stand, Mehdipatnam.
Cuisine: Tiffins and Indian
Meal: Take-away

I last reviewed this place 3 years ago (review). Since then, a lot has changed in Hyderabad. But there are still a few places which serve pretty good food at reasonable prices, and Swathi remains one of them. Was passing by Mehdipatnam last week, and decided to pack some yummy food.

I ordered a Kaju Masala, Butter Naan and Vegetable Biryani. It took forever for the food to be packed and I was starting to get restless while my food was finally ready.

The Kaju Masala looked yum and tasted pretty good. Though the gravy was thick and full of cashew, it was very spicy. Even with the best Butter Naan in Hyderabad, it was hot! And ya, theirs is definitely the best Butter Naan in town without a doubt; in layers, oozing butter, and as thin as a Roomali roti.

Their Biryani used to be pretty good and I was hoping that it’d be the same. Stuffed with curry under the rice, it’s similar to Bombay style Biryani. While it still tasted good even this time around, it also was pretty spicy. Looks like the chef was trying to get rid of all the chilli in the kitchen.

Overall a decent meal, but for the spice. Both the Kaju Masala and Biryani would have been excellent if they had gone easy on the chilli. The service, while I was waiting for my food, seemed bad with waiters getting into arguments with customers. The place always had mediocre ambiance and it hasn’t improved over time. So opt for an take-away. Give it a shot if you haven’t already, and make sure you ask your food to be less spicy.

Food: 7.5/10
Ambience: N/A
Service: N/A
Meal for 2: Rs. 230/-

Verdict: 7.5/10

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Place: Swati Tiffin Center
Location: Opp. Yashoda Hospital, Raj Bhavan Road
Cuisine: Tiffins and Indian
Meal: Take-away

A couple of days later, happened to pass by Raj Bhavan road and decided to pack some dinner for me and amma. This place looks almost similar to the one at Mehdipatnam (almost all Swathi’s look the same), and has small seating area in the basement. Ambiance is also very similar, a basic tiffin center.

I ordered the same food as a couple of days ago, mainly to compare tastes: Kaju Masala, Butter Naan and Special Vegetable Biryani. The food was prepared pretty quick, and I was on my way home in about 10 minutes.

The Kaju Masala looked a little different from the one at the other place, and was much less in quantity. The gravy was pretty tasty but apart from cashew, it was full of finely chopped capsicum pieces (I hate it when restaurants do that for I hate capsicum, and I had to pick them out before I hogged). The Naan was decent, but not the best.

There was nothing so special about the vegetable biryani, but it was decent nevertheless. It actually tasted yum with the gravy served along.

Overall a decent meal. Both the restaurants had different tastes, and had their own merits. The best part of Swathi is the pocket friendly prices. The taste too is pretty good, and so is the quantity. They might not be fine dine restaurants, but do give the take-away a try.

Food: 8/10
Ambience: N/A
Service: N/A
Meal for 2: Rs. 205/-

Verdict: 8/10

Shriji Rasoi | Restaurant Review

Place: Shriji Rasoi
Location: Surekha Chambers, Opp. Vijaya Textiles, Dharam Karam Road, Ameerpet
Cuisine: Indian
Meal: Dinner

Wanted to eat something yum the other night but didn’t wanna travel too far either. Searched on Zomato for a reasonably priced, high rated restaurant near Ameerpet, and found Shirji Rasoi. Wanting to explore and experiment, rode down to this place which is in the interiors of a building opposite Vijaya Textiles on Dharam Karam road. You need to walk in through another restaurant to reach Shriji (which I thought was pretty weird). Anyhow, the place is more of a shed with the kitchen in the background, with no ambiance of any sort. A number of tables were placed very close to each other, few under open sky, and I sat in the center, trying to get a view of the small TV placed in a corner.

I had to call for the waiter twice before he came down and handed me a menu. I asked him what their speciality was, and after a minute of cluelessness, he pointed at a special menu board hanging next to me (which had nothing special). He didn’t have any idea on what those items were either. Realizing that he was useless and had no clue on the offerings, I ordered a Punjabi Chole Kofta (for it sounded different and I was curious) and a couple of Phulka.

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The food was served in about 15 minutes (I was actually starting to get a little impatient for I was very hungry). The curry looked good, and apart from a couple of Koftas made of mashed channa and aloo, there was chole in the gravy (quantity of which seemed less for the huge koftas). On taste front, while the Kofta was decent and well cooked, the gravy was pretty spicy. The Phulkas served along were soft and good.

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Wanting to try more dishes, I ordered for a Kaju Pulao and it again took forever for it to arrive. Filled with as many cashew nuts as different garam masala – cardamom, cloves, pepper, cinnamon stick, bay leaves, etc, it tasted pretty good and I actually liked it better than the Kofta. However, it was quite overloaded for Pulao and so tasted pretty much like mild Biryani.

Overall, the food was pretty decent. However, the service was pathetic. The waiter was getting into arguments with customers and was acting callous. Ambiance too isn’t great for it’s a shed, and the tables aren’t so clean either. For the price, quantity of food served is good, and so is the food. So I’d suggest this place for a take away rather than dine-in. Give it a shot for some cheap fare Indian food.

Food: 8.5/10
Service: 5/10
Ambiance: 5/10
Meal for 1: Rs. 236/-

Verdict: 7.5/10

Papa Johns | Restaurant Review

Place: Papa Johns
Location: Banjara Hills
Cuisine: Pizza
Meal: Take Away

After my terrible experience at Papa Johns the last time around (review), I was tempted to order a pizza for delivery on a weekday afternoon, thanks to their flyer in the news paper. Their new Fajita Pizza in medium size was being offered at the price of regular. I called in and asked for the same, along with a portion of Cheese Sticks and extra Garlic sauce. As promised, the pizza was delivered in around 30 minutes.

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The Cheese Sticks, though a little too dry for my liking, tasted yum with the garlic cause (the size of which has also been reduced). On pizza front, the Fajita Pizza came with sweet corn, onions, green peppers (which I replaced with olives), mushroom, jalapenos, fajita seasoning and sauce. Though it looked colorful, I thought the pizza looked small for medium size. The base was good, and the veggies were crunchy, and it tasted alright but I would have preferred it to be a little more cheesy, with more mushrooms and onions, and may be a bit spicy. For something Mexican, the pizza didn’t taste like one.

Overall, a decent pizza, but not something I would have bought for 400 bucks (I ordered only because of the offer). The Cheese Sticks were good, and the Garlic sauce was finger licking good. I don’t think I’ll ever walk into a Papa John store again, but ordering when they have some offers isn’t a bad idea.

Food: 7.5/10
Service: N/A
Ambience: N/A
Meal for 2: Rs. 394/-

Verdict: 7.5/10

Hazzel Ice Cream Cafe | Restaurant Review

Place: Hazzel Ice Cream Cafe
Location: Near Peddamma Temple, Road No. 10, Jubilee Hills
Cuisine: Desserts, Fast Food
Meal: Ice Cream (with friends)

Met a couple of friends the other night, and after hogging on the last order at Maharaja Chat, decided to stop by at Hazzel for ice cream. I was the one who dragged them here, thanks to the reviews. Walking in at around 11:30 PM, we were surprised to find the place packed. The ambiance is pretty neat, with the place is brightly lit. We sat in a corner, and waited for someone to hand us a menu.

After about 10 minutes, we were handed a pretty badly torn menu (one menu for 3 people). The first few pages were filled with food items (I thought this was an ice cream corner :|). We finally found the page with the ice cream offerings, and there were quite a few. After a long discussion, we finally decided on a Sticky Chewy Chocolate, Chocolate Almond Fudge and Chocolate and Cream.

It took forever, and I mean forever for the ice cream to be served. And this wait was even more painful as the guy at the counter was mashing ice creams (aka Cold Stone style) so loudly that we couldn’t hear each other across the table. He could have bought a building down with the amount of sound pollution. Anyways, after about 15 minutes, the first ice cream was served.

The Sticky Chewy Chocolate it was, and it was just alright. It had some gooey chocolate sauce along with chocolate ice cream and a couple of brownie chunks. It was a decent ice cream, but nothing memorable.

After another 10 minute wait, the Chocolate Almond Fudge was served. My friend asked for some caramel sauce on this one, but there was none. This tasted similar to the first ice cream, with the gooey chocolate replaced by very little fudge. Again, nothing special.

After an hour since we entered the place, my ice-cream, the easiest one to make of them all, Chocolate and Cream was finally served (My friends had almost finished their ice-creams by now). This one looked great, and the cream tasted yum. However, the chocolate fudge on the bottom was very very sweet, and spoilt the entire ice cream when dug into. The chocolate ice cream and cream were the only palatable items.

Overall, a disappointment. None of the ice cream were out of this world good, and the noise at the place was a huge put off. I read a couple of reviews calling this place economical and pocket friendly, but I wouldn’t agree. For 500 bucks, I could have had close to 10 Kwality Walls or Amul ice creams. But for the hype and the noise, there’s nothing special about this place.

Another place with raving reviews, another disappointment!

Desserts: 7/10
Service: 4/10
Ambiance: 7/10
Price for 3: Rs 494/-

Verdict: 6/10

K&C Bakers & Confectioners | Restaurant Review

Place: K&C Bakers & Confectioners (The Original King and Cardinal Bakery)
Location: Himayat Nagar X Roads
Cuisine: Bakers, Fast Food
Meal: Dinner

There are tons of places boasting to serve the best burger in Hyderabad, but nothing beats the ones you get at the original King and Cardinal Bakery. Forget Universal, Pick and Move, Big Byte, the burgers here are, wait-for-it, legendary!

The bakery has been split into two in the last few years, with another branch located two building next to it (which is called King and Cardinal). The newer place has better ambiance, and is a tad bit expensive than K&C, and their burgers are equally good. But I’d prefer the original K&C any day, which is on a lower ground compared to the newer place on every front but for the taste.

For 50 bucks, these guys serve a sumptuous and juicy burger (I know it’s weird calling a veggie burger juicy, but this one is, trust me). The patty is yum, and their mayonnaise is finger licking good, oozing out with every bite. The bun too is super soft and fluffy. Overall, an amazing burger experience.

If your love your burgers, K&C must be on top of your list. The place, service and ambiance aren’t great, but who cares when their burgers are awesome. Their pizza’s are pretty famous too, but I’ve never tasted one so far (maybe next time). As of now, go grab their burger!!

Food: 9.5/10
Service: 7.5/10
Ambiance: 7.5/10
Meal for 1: Rs. 50 /-

Verdict: 9.5/10

Edit:

I also tried out the Veggie Burger at the newer King and Cardinal, which has better ambiance. Priced the same, this burger gives close competition to the one at K&C, but is no where close to the original’s legendary taste.

Ram Ki Bandi | Restaurant Review

Place: Ram Tiffin Center (Ram Ki Bandi)
Location: Adj. lane to Arrow, Road No. 2, Banjara Hills
Cuisine: Indian Tiffins
Meal: Lunch

Update: Ram Ki Bandi, Banjara Hills, has now upgraded to an air-conditioned joint with ample seating, and is open all day long 🙂

Read on…

I’ve been reading and hearing some raving reviews of Ram Ki Bandi at Nampally for a long time now, but never got an opportunity to visit the place as it’s open only in the mornings, and is kinda far from my place. But now that they’ve opened a new branch at Banjara Hills, I wasn’t gonna stay put. On a weekday afternoon, here I was to hog.

This place serves Idly, Vada and their speciality, dosas. On ambiance front, its put up in a small hall with standing area, nothing great. Who cares about the ambiance when the food is finger licking good? Anyways, I ordered a Butter Paneer Dosa, and was served in about five minutes.

Ram Ki Bandi Restaurant Review — Paneer Masala Dosa

Having seen how the dosa was being made, with tons of butter and paneer, my mouth wouldn’t stop watering. I gulped it down piece by piece, and realized that all the reviews I’ve heard so far weren’t exaggerating (surprisingly). This dosa was simply yum. It was crispy, and the masala rubbed across with the butter and paneer gave it an amazing taste, while the chutney served along also was delicious. I absolutely loved the dosa, but was kinda disappointed with the size for it didn’t even fill half of my tummy. So now ordered a Butter Cheese Dosa, which turned out to be even better than the Paneer Dosa. Awesome stuff!

Having tasted some amazing dosas at Khau Galli, Ghatkopar (Mumbai), I’ve always been apprehensive of the kind and variety you get in Hyderabad. Ram Ki Bandi served something on par with the dosas you get at in Mumbai. I wish and hope they would increase their menu offerings (such as Spring Roll Dosa, etc.).

Give this place a try if you haven’t yet. It’s something every Hyderabadi must taste 🙂

Food: 9.5/10
Service: 9/10
Ambiance: 7.5/10
Meal for 1: Rs. 120/- (60 bucks for each dosa)

Verdict: 9/10

Bikanervala | Restaurant Review

Place: Bikanervala
Location: Road No. 1, Banjara Hills
Cuisine: Indian, Buffet
Meal: Dinner (with amma and dad)

On Mother’s day, and my brother’s birthday, I decided to take amma and dad for dinner at my brother’s favorite restaurant in town, Kailash Parbat. Unfortunately though, after reaching Jubilee Hills, we realized that the place has been closed for a while. We then decided to finally give A’la Liberty a try. We reached there about 9:00 PM, and were surprised to find the restaurant totally packed, with an approximate waiting time of 90 minutes. Given that we were all hungry, we finally moved to Bikanervala, which had a minimal waiting time.

We decided to sit upstairs at the restaurant, which has better ambiance and is less crowded than the snack section downstairs. After waiting for about 10 minutes, we were seated at a table for five, right next to the buffet spread. Though we had initially planned on going for à la carte, I was tempted by the wide spread, so I alone opted for the buffet. Amma and dad ordered a Nargisi Kofta along with Masala Kulcha and Methi Paratha.

The food was served in about 10-15 minutes. The Nargisi Kofta looked really good, and tasted yum. The kofta ball was soft, full of paneer and nuts, while the gravy was thick and rich, with a nice spicy flavor to it. The Methi Paratha was alright while the Masala Kulcha was very good, with tons of butter on it. These guys also ordered an Aloo Paratha later on, and apparently, this wasn’t that good compared to the Kulcha.

Talking about the buffet which I hogged on, on this Sunday evening, they were serving Tomato Shorba and Sweet Corn Soup, along with Paneer Tikka, Baby Corn Honey Chilli (or something of that sort), and Veg Tikki/Kebab as starters. I opted for the shorba, and was immediately served the soup along with the starters.

The shorba was thin and didn’t taste great. I’ve had better Tomato Shorbas in my life. Of the starters, the paneer was very fresh and tasted good, while the baby corn needed more spice to be flavorful. The kebabs were just alright.

I also had some Dahi Papdi before indulging in the main course, which was pretty good.

Apart from the regular make you own salads and Indian snacks (such as fryums, papad and Dhokla), for main course, they had Lahori Paneer, Paneer Korma, Bharwa Mushroom, Chiya Kofta, Veg. Jalfrezi, Kadi Pakoda, and their special Punjabi Chole on the Indian front (apart from Dal and Dal Makhni). There were different variety of breads to choose from, and I had a Tandoori Roti and Paneer Kulcha.

Except for the mushroom and Chole, all other curries were just alright and forgettable. The Paneer Korma (white gravy) was infact very bland. The mushroom on the other hand was amazingly good. They were stuffed with paneer and other spices, and cooked just perfect. I would have preferred them to be less greasy, but maybe it was the ghee which made them taste so good. The Chole was authentic and yum. Of the breads, the Paneer Kulcha was very good, while the Tandoori Roti was decent.

I had a small serving of the Dum Biryani, which like in any other buffets, tasted terrible.

On International front, they served Pasta Oliva, Chow Mein and Mixed Vegetables in Coriander Sauce. I The pasta was very dry, and again, was just decent. The Noodles were pretty good, but the accompanying oriental gravy wasn’t upto the mark.

Not being entirely satisfied with the buffet till this point, I divulged into their desserts. They had Moong Dal Halwa, Malpua, Motichur Laddu, a couple of Bengali sweets, fresh fruits and three flavours of ice creams.

The Malpua and Moong Dal Halwa were very palatable, and the Laddu too was very good, while the Bengali sweets could have been better. The ice creams were alright. I was actually hoping for more on the dessert front, and was not entirely satisfied. It would have been nice if they had more variety.

Overall, I actually regret not going for the à la carte along with amma and dad, for I really didn’t enjoy the buffet so much. Except for a couple of Indian curries and desserts, the rest of the items were plain average. For 600 bucks, I expect much more than average. The à la carte dish tasted way better than any curry on the buffet (I know this is expected, but still). I honestly don’t think I’ll ever be coming back for the buffet, especially when there are tons of other places which offer such average dishes with much more variety for lesser price. Give it a try for their à la carte, or their snacks, and that’s about it.

Food: 7/10
Service: 8.5/10
Ambiance: 7.5/10
Meal for 1: Rs. 599/- (Buffet)
Meal for 2: Rs. 649/- (À la carte)

Verdict: 7/10

Lazzio -The Pizzeria | Restaurant Review

Place: Lazzio – The Pizzeria
Location: Adj. Maharaja Chaat, Kavuri Hills
Cuisine: Pizza
Meal: Dinner

Met a friend for a cup of coffee at My Cafe Latte last week, and on parting ways, I decided to give this new pizza place a try on my way back home. Brightly lit, the place is in the building right next to Maharaja Chaat. It was past 10:00 PM when I walked in, and was cheerfully greeted by the owner Tejas. There were a couple of tables in the interior, and another couple on the exterior, and the pizzeria had decent ambiance.

I ordered a Khumb Delight Pizza (minus capsicum, plus olives) for take away. The pizza was ready in about 10 minutes, and Tejas suggested I reheat the pizza at home if necessary for it was packed in a cardboard box.

I dug into the pizza immediately after reaching home without re-heating, and boy was it good. The tomato base had an amazing flavor to it, while the thin base was a bit thicker than I expected, but no qualms for it actually tasted good. The cheese was gooey, and the veggies crunchy. I absolutely loved the pizza, especially for its sauce.

For 100 bucks, though the pizza is quite a steal, I thought it was kinda small (at least when I compare it to the ones served at Viva Italia, which are also priced around the same). Nevertheless, I was very satisfied with the pizza. After Viva Italia, this is one pizzeria everyone needs to visit!

Food: 9/10
Service: 8.5/10
Ambiance: 8/10
Meal for 1: Rs. 100/-

Verdict: 9/10

Big Byte Bakery | Restaurant Review

Place: Big Byte Bakery
Location: Srinagar Colony Main Road
Cuisine: Pizza
Meal: Dinner

I’ve been hogging at Big Byte from the day it opened 20 years ago. Their Chocolate Eclair and Black Forest pastry were my daily treats after school for close to 4 years. All their pastries are yum, and so are their Burgers. My personal favorite is the Paneer Burger.

But over the years, their food quality has been reducing while their prices have been on a substantial rise. The ambiance has also lost its charm, is now pretty untidy. I happened to find cockroaches around their pastry cabins on more than a couple of occasions. I’m gonna think twice now before I have any of their pastries!

Anyhow, on this evening I was craving for a pizza but didn’t want to spend hundreds on a Dominos or Pizza Hut, and so was at Big Byte to have their special, Veg Pataka Pizza (double layered). I asked for a take away, and had to wait for about 15 minutes.

Big Byte Bakery Review by Sasikanth Paturi — Veg. Pataka

The pizza looked really good, but wasn’t that great to taste. The base wasn’t baked properly, and the tomato sauce tasted more like ketchup. I asked for pizza sans capsicum, but was served a pizza with barely any other veggies (just a couple of onions and tomatoes). The cheese too was very light, and was coming off the slice in just one bite. A disappointment, and my craving wasn’t satisfied.

Big Byte, along with Baker’s Inn and Midway (now closed), happens to be few of the best bakeries from the 90’s. But unless they improve on their quality and their standards, I don’t think I’d be returning to them for my baking needs.

Food: 6/10
Ambiance: 5/10
Service: 5/10
Meal for 1: Rs. 130/-

Verdict: 5.5/10