Category: Indian Food

Place: Taj Mahal Hotel 
Location: Next to Chandana Bros., S.D. Road, Secunderabad 
Cuisine: Indian 
Meal: Dinner (with family)

Taj Mahal happens to amma’s favorite restaurant in town. Whenever we plan to go out, she  always suggests Taj. Be it Secunderabad, Himayath Nagar or Abids, their Cutlet and Upma are the best in town. We dropped in at the Taj Mahal, Himayath Nagar a couple of weeks ago for lunch, but except for the mentioned Cutlet, the rest of the meal was nothing great. So, coming to this place, my expectations weren’t really high.

We walked into the air-conditioned section of the restaurant and were courteously seated at a table for four in the center. Ambiance wise, the place is simple, and you can easily make out that it’s a very old restaurant (it opened in 1960’s). Amma opted for a Uthappam, dad ordered Upma, South-Indian Thali for my bro, and a Taj Special Thali (North-Indian) for me. We also ordered a single Cutlet.

Their Cutlet, without doubt, is the best you will ever taste in town. Stuffed with spicy curry, its breaded to perfection, and is served with a tangy Tomato chutney/sauce. Heavenly!

The Uthappam was alright, and Upma was yum, full of ghee and cashew nuts. Their Sambar isn’t the best, but pretty decent. The South-Indian Thali was much better than what we had the other day at Himayath Nagar. Poori, Pulao, Dal, Aloo Capsicum, Kootu, Rasam, Sambar, Curd and Ice-cream were served in it, all unlimited. The special Thali came with the same stuff in addition to Tomato Soup, Naan (instead of Poori), Paneer Butter Masala and Mixed Vegetable Curry (all unlimited, except for the curries).

The Soup was tepid and a little spicy. Not the best, but decent nevertheless.

The Naan was a dry and hard. There was not much paneer in the PBM, but the gravy was yum, and the Mixed Vegetable was excellent. The Pulao was very good as well. The rest of the meal was alright.

Overall, a decent meal. The service was a lil old-fashioned, yet effective. Our waiter was pretty sweet and served us extra Ice-cream. The prices are very reasonable as well. Give it a shot when you are looking for a simple yet yummy meal. Do try their Cutlet and Upma for sure, and let me know your thoughts 🙂

Food: 8/10
Service: 7.5/10
Ambiance: 7/10
Meal for 4: Rs. 406/-

Verdict: 8/10

Place: 4 Seasons 
Location: Opp. RTA Office, Tolichowki 
Cuisine: Indian 
Meal: Dinner (with couple of friends)

Wanting to try a different place, we drove to Tolichowki to drop in at 4 Seasons. I’ve heard quite a lot about this place, and wanted to check out if it was worth the talk (I was aware that this was a place famous for its non-vegetarian food, but still). So here we were on a Thursday night at about 9:30 PM. To our surprise, the place was packed and we had to wait for about 15 minutes before we got a table.

Ambiance wise, the restaurant has nothing much to offer. The place was brightly lit and looked pretty clean. Once seated, a chilled bottle of water was placed on our table along with these huge, heavy, laminated menus, which had pictures of almost all the dishes in it. All the pictures looked pretty tempting. Me and my vegetarian friend ordered a Sweet Corn Soup, Paneer Tikka and Sautéed Mushrooms, while my other friend ordered a Chicken Kalimirch Kabab and Goan Fish Kabab for himself, and a couple of cold drinks

The soup was served in about ten minutes. It was thick and full of vegetables, just the way I like it. My friend had trouble though. He thought the pepper served on table was stale, and informed this to the waiters, but their attitude was totally ungracious. This was quite a turn off.

The starters were served pretty soon. The quantity of Paneer Tikka served was very good, and it was presented well. But taste wise, it was just alright. The paneer seemed over marinated, and it could have been grilled better.

The Mushroom was very good. Tender mushrooms, perfectly baked and sautéed. Yum!

For the main course, we ordered a Kaju Vegetable Curry, Paneer Naan, Garlic Naan and a Vegetable Biryani, and a Chicken Biryani.

The Kaju Vegetable Curry turned out to be nothing but Vegetable Korma. We struggled to find cashew-nuts in it. There were a couple of par-boiled potatoes, but on the whole, it was a decent korma. The Paneer Naan was similar to a stuffed kulcha, and pretty good. The Garlic Naan was alright.

We were expecting an awesome biryani, but it wasn’t anything great. There was lot of cinnamon in the dish, which gave the rice a very strong flavor.

On the Non-veg front, my friend liked the Kali Mirch Kabab the best. He was disappointed with the fish and the biryani.

Overall, an average meal. The food was decent, but what put us off was the terrible service. Apart from the soup incident, the starters dishes were cleared even while we were still not done with them. The prices were on the higher side as well (a chocolate shake was priced 120 bucks), and there is not much to choose from for the vegetarians. We thought the bottle was complimentary (like most other places these days), but later realized that we were expecting too much. Fortunately though, there are no taxes.

On the whole, except for the laminated menu, there is nothing so special about this place. Give it a shot if you please.

Food: 7.5/10
Service: 5/10
Ambiance: 6/10
Meal for 3: Rs. 2010/-

Verdict: 6.5/10

Place: Veggie 365 
Location: Madhapur Main Road
Cuisine: Indian
Meal: Dinner (with family)

De Thali, which I loved the first time, turned out to be a disaster the second time around, and so is the case with Veggies 365. Since I was very much impressed with the place the last time (review), went with my parents and bro on a Sunday, promising them some good food. Alas!!

We dropped in at about 8:30 Pm, and the place was pretty much empty. We sat ourselves at a table for four, and were attended to after about 10 minutes, asking if we wanted regular water or bottled water. We asked for regular, and were served hot water (in summer). We asked for some ice, they didn’t have any. Hoping that the bottled water would be chilled, we asked for it, but that wasn’t cold too.

Anyways, we had a Snapdeal coupon (buy one get one), so ordered four Thalis – Amritsari Tadka, Parantha Gali, Ghar Ki Thali and Flavours of Dakshin. They had a new starters menu, ordered Honey Chilli Potatoes.

The starter was served in about 15 minutes. Battered French fries, deep-fried, and sautéed in Honey and Chilly sauce – this should actually taste yum, but unfortunately it wasn’t. The battered potatoes were hard, and there was no chilly in the sauce, just honey. It tasted decent, but a disappointment nevertheless.

After a while, the thalis were served one after another. The first one was Dad’s Flavours of Dakshin – 1 Masala Dosa, 1 Utappam, 1 Idly, 1 Vada, Coconut chutney, Laal chutney, Rice, Sambhar, Rasam. There was no Rice, but a Gulab Jamoon in our platter. The Idly and Utappam tasted alright, Dosa was soggy, and the Vada was made with spoilt batter. We informed this to the waiter, but he had no clue of what we were talking about.

Next came Amma’s Parantha Gali – 1 Aloo Parantha, 1 Pyaz Parantha, 1 Paneer Parantha, Dal Makhani, Green chutney, Salad, Raita, Gulab Jamoon, Butter cube. Except for the Paneer parantha, which was very hard, the rest tasted good. The Dal was decent. Best thali of the lot.

Next came my Amritsari Tadka – 1 Chur-chur Naan, 1 Kulcha, Kadhi, Paneer subji, Chole, Rice, Salad, Raita, Gulab Jamoon. This I though had the least quantity of food compared to other thalis. The Paneer subji tasted decent, better than the last time, and the Chole was alright. The Kadhi was very sour, and so was the Raitha.

The last one served was my brothers Ghar Ki Thali – 3 Phulka, Bhindi Pyaaz subji, Aloo Subji, Yellow Dal, Rice, Papad, Salad, Raita, Gulab Jamoon. This one was pretty decent, but the size of the Pulkas could have been better.

Overall, an average meal, but a disappointment all together. The service on this night was horrendous. The place got full as the night progressed and they just had 3 guys to attend to about 15 tables. It took about 15 minutes for the bill to arrive, and another 10 minutes for the payment to be processed. When we spoke to the owner about the Vada, he informed us that the cook wasn’t in and that is the reason the thali wasn’t good. Why serve it when you can’t?? I said ‘This is one place I am definitely coming back to’ in my last review. I take back my words.

Food: 6.5/10
Service: 5/10
Ambiance: 8/10
Meal for 4: Rs. 551/-

Verdict: 6.5/10

Place: Cafe Nandini 
Location: Jubilee Hills Checkpost 
Cuisine: Indian 
Meal: Dinner (with amma and bro)

Wanting to go to a no frill place, dropped into Nandini on a week day for dinner. Similar to Sandarshini or Swathi, the place is more of a tiffin center with an air-conditioned dine in. The restaurant is pretty neat and the ambiance is decent. The place was pretty much empty when we got in, but eventually got full as the night progressed.

Amma wanted to have South-Indian food, so she ordered a Masala Dosa for herself. Me and bro ordered a Nargisi Kofta with Stuffed Kulcha and Tandoori Roti.

The Masala Dosa was served first, in about ten minutes, with the regular chutney, sambhar and Imli chutney. It was crispy and tasted good, but I thought the batter was a little sour. The sambhar was decent enough.

It took forever for the rest of the food. After repeated reminders, and more than 30 minutes, the Kofta, Roti and the Kulcha were finally served. I’ve had the Nargisi Kofta once here before, and this one looked very different from what I had the last time. It had two kinds of gravy’s with paneer kofta balls. It seemed like they were out of the gravy masala midway through, and tried to make up something to fill the dish. However, it tasted pretty alright. A little oily though.

The Stuffed Kulcha was soft and very good. One of the best Kulcha’s I’ve had in recent times. The Roti was decent as well.

To finish it off, we ordered a Jeera Rice, making sure that it wouldn’t take long to be served. It came with biryani gravy and tasted fine.

Overall, a decent meal. The food was tasty and the quantity was on the good side. But for a low fare place, the prices were very high. The Roti was 20 bucks a piece while the Jeera Rice costed 90 bucks. The service too was not so great for it took an eternity for the food to be served. Give it a shot when possible, but don’t expect anything great.

Food: 8/10
Service: 6/10
Ambiance: 7/10
Meal for 3: Rs. 338/-

Verdict: 7/10

Place: Sahib Sindh Sultan 
Location: 5th Floor, City Center, Road No.1, Banjara Hills 
Cuisine: Indian 
Meal: Dinner (with family)

For dinner on my brother’s birthday, it was a choice between Siaa in Jubilee Hills and Sahib Sindh Sultan. We decided on the latter, called and made a reservation. We dropped in on time and were cordially guided to our table. The place is designed like a railway station with a train compartment on it. The compartment is very bright with tables for four, while the station  is dimly lit with a rustic touch to it. We were seated inside the compartment, whose interiors very well done. It almost felt like we were inside a train, but for the movement.

We started off with some mocktails. I had a Holiday Isle (Peach juice with Vanilla Ice-cream), mom had a Sindh Tandai (milk and crushed almonds, flavored with saffron and cardamom), and my bro had a Sahib Ka Panna (ripe pineapple roasted on charcoal pulped and combined with cumin). Dad had a cocktail.

My mocktail was creamy and alright, but it wasn’t cold. The Badam milk was excellent and the Panna was decent, but nothing great.

While we enjoyed our drinks, bread-sticks were served with three types of chutneys/sauces.

For starters, we ordered Gul Gulshan Aur Gulfam Ke Paneer (Mildy spiced paneer decked with green peas, mushroom and dry fruits, char grilled). For the second starter, the waiter suggested we try the Makai Motia Seekh (Soft vegetable seekh kabab with paneer and sweet corn niblets). We were informed that it would take a while for the food to be served while placing the order.

After about 15 minutes, the kababs were served. They looked delicious and tasted delicious. Served with mint chutney, they were as good as the kababs we recently had at Rubaiyat.

The other starter was served soon. The paneer was very soft and fresh, and tasted yum along  with the stuffing in between. I couldn’t taste any dry fruits, but it didn’t matter.

We took our time to decide on the main course and finally ordered Palak Malai Kofta (Soft malai koftas stewed in a gravy of cooked spinach and nutmeg) and Pista Kaju Aur Badam (Pista, kaju and badam simmered in a gravy of onions and tomatoes with spices) along with portions of Malai Reshmi Paratha, Pudina Paratha, Methi Paratha and Stuffed Kulcha. For rice, we ordered Aloo Aur Wadi Ki Tehri (Amritsari wadi and potatoes combined with basmati rice).

The Pista Kaju Aur Badam, their specialty dish for vegetarians, was excellent. Though the tomato onion gravy was spicy, the nuts gave it a slight sweet taste, and on the whole, it was delightful.

The Kofta too was delicious. The palak gravy was creamy and sapid, and the kofta balls were a little hard, but still good.

The rotis here are one of the best I’ve had in town. The Malai Reshmi Paratha was as soft as butter and melted in my mouth. The Masala Kulcha, though not heavily stuffed, was very soft. The other two parathas were pretty good as well.

Like other places I’ve been to recently, the biryani was a little disappointing. The waiter did mention that the wadi, or the pakoras would be smoked, but we thought they were smoked to the extreme. It was good, but after having some delicious stuff, this didn’t match our expectations.

Overall, a sumptuous, yummy meal. We were so stuffed towards the end that we didn’t have any place left even for the paan. The quantity of food served was pretty decent, but being a fancy restaurant, the prices were pretty fat. I thought the drinks were not worth the money, but the rest of the food, probably barring the biryani was excellent. Though the ambiance, the royal service, and the yummy food partly justify the prices, it’s not a restaurant for fortnightly visits, but one for special occasions.

Food: 9/10
Service: 8.5/10
Ambiance: 9/10
Meal for 4: Rs. 2663/-

Verdict: 8.5/10

Place: Sandarshini 
Location: Masab Tank, towards Banjara Hills Rd. No. 1 
Cuisine: Indian 
Meal: Dinner (with family)

Dropped in at Sandarshini last week for dinner. I’ve already written about this place back in July (review), and love their North-Indian Thali. As already mentioned, it’s not a hi-fi place, but one with decent ambiance.

I had a Thali for myself, while my brother ordered a South-Indian mini meals. Mom had a plate of chapathi and dad had a Masala Dosa.

The North Indian Thali was as good as the last time. They served the same stuff as the last time – Tomato soup, Paneer Butter Masala, Channa Masala and Mixed Vegetable, Pulao, Rice, Dal, Rasam, Sambar, Curd, Raitha, Gulab Jamoon and Ice-cream. All the subjis were decent, while the dal and rasam were excellent.

The South-Indian meals had the same stuff, minus the subjis, and came along with cabbage curry. It was pretty decent as well.

The Chapathi was nice and soft, and was served with a spicy kurma.

I did mention about their Masala Dosa the last time around. It was served with tons of butter on it, and was crispy and yummy. The sambar served along was very good.

Overall, a good meal. The service was a little off this time around, but otherwise, we had a good time. Give it a shot sometime.

Food: 8/10
Ambiance: 7.5/10
Service: 6.5/10
Meal for 1: Rs. 124/-

Verdict: 8/10

Place: Sitara Grand 
Location: KPHB Phase 1, Kukatpally 
Cuisine: Indian 
Meal: Dinner (with family and friends)

Went to visit family friends in Kukatpally last week with amma and my bro. We decided to head out for dinner, and dropped in at Sitara Grand. For a weekday, the place was packed at 9:30 in the night. It had decent ambiance, but the crowd was overwhelming. It took about 20 minutes for us to find a table (for 5 adults and 2 kids).

The table was still being cleaned when we were directed to it. There were loads of used tissue papers under the table, which we had to ask to be cleaned. Thanks to the capacity crowd, the waiters were running around the place, and it took about 10 minutes before water and menus arrived.

The kids ordered Chilly Chicken and American Chopsuey for themselves. The rest ordered a Paneer Butter Masala and Aloo Gobi with Tandoori Roti. We also ordered a Jeera rice.

The chicken arrived first, but instead of Chilly Chicken, Drumsticks were served. The kids dug into them without realizing this. Later, The Chilly Chicken was served. The Subjis and the Roti were served in reasonable time as well.

The Paneer Butter Masala was very good. For a change, the paneer was fresh and soft. The gravy was creamy and yum.

The Aloo Gobi proved the fact that I need to be trying something other than the regular PBM and Kofta more often. It was very well cooked, spicy and tasty. I loved it better than the PBM.

I was kinda apprehensive about the Jeera Rice, but it turned out to be very good. It had cashew-nuts and in all, was very good.

Overall, a decent meal. Though the service was quite a mess initially, it got better and better as the place emptied. The quantity of food served also was very good. It looked to be the only decent restaurant in KPHB, and it didn’t disappoint. Give it a shot when you’re in this part of the town.

Food: 8/10
Service: 7/10
Ambiance: 7/10
Meal for 7: Rs. 1300/- (approx)

Verdict: 7.5/10

Place: De Thali 
Location: White House, Next to Life Style, Begumpet 
Cuisine: Rajasthani, Gujarati 
Meal: Dinner (with bro and cousins)

After visiting De Thali in February, here I was again for dinner on a weekend. As expected, the place was full, and we had to wait for almost 40 minutes to get a table for 5. There was no amiable welcome this time, and we were just directed to our table.

Now here starts the trouble.  Once seated, there was no one to attend to us. I kept asking the waiters to serve food and all they were doing was relegating the message to someone else. More than the wait, it was the waiters attitude which got us really pissed. We were really hungry, it was past 10 and this was really annoying. Even the last time around, there were issues with the service, but this kind of lag is unreasonable. Finally, after more than 15 minutes, the empty thalis were placed on the table.

And then, this was listed menu for the day.

We were really excited about the Aam Panna being served. It was being advertised on the Ohri’s facebook page, and all of us were really looking forward to it. Even the Gobi Thepla’s sounded tempting.

But when it came to the meal, they were out of most of the stuff. Both the sweets were exhausted. We were instead served Kurbani Ka Meetha (at an authentic Rajasthani restaurant) and, I believe, Sooji ka Halwa. On the roti front, only Phulkas were available, no Thepla, no Jawari roti. The special dish was replaced with Masala Bhel. But the best was when Aam Ka Panna was replaced with Jaljeera water. Beat that!!

The standard seemed to have fallen on the taste front as well. The Paneer was hard like rubber, and both the Corn tikki and Dhokla were very very dry. Thankfully, the Dabka Kadi and Bhendi were excellent. Even then, they need to pull up their socks!!

Overall, a disappointing experience. I was, in fact all of us were really looking forward to a great meal, but it wasn’t to be. The waiting got us annoyed, and then the lack of items listed on the menu was irritating. It’s been a little more than 4 months since this place opened, and already this is the state. Ohri’s group, are you listening??

Food: 7/10
Service: 5/10
Ambiance: 8/10
Meal for 5: Rs. 995/-

Verdict: 6/10