Place: Rajdhani
Location: First Floor, Uptown Banjara, Opp. TV9, Banjara Hills
Cuisine: Rajasthani, Gujarati
Meal: Dinner (with bro)
Rajdhani used to be one of my favourite restaurants while I lived in Mumbai. Their food was finger licking good, and the service impeccable. Though their restaurant in Hyderabad opened a while ago, I was hesitant to go for I was apprehensive on whether the food and service here would live up to the Mumbai standards. My brother visited this place a couple of weeks ago and said quite a few good things about it. So here I was to check it out myself.
Walking in, the place had a traditional touch, and the ambiance was good. Being a weekday, the place was pretty much empty. We sat down at a table for four. Like with De Thali, the thalis was pre-arranged on the table. Once we were seated, the service started.
They had a Mango festival all through the month of May, so most of the food had mango in it. This day, they had Aam ka Panna as the welcome drink, Punneri Misal, Khapoli Wada and Dal Bati Churma for starters, Lilla Kinda Pitlo, Paneer Hariyali, Batata Raswala and Ragada Vatana for Vegetables, Spicy and Sweet Dal, and Kadhi, Pulkas, Poori, Biscuit Bakri, Mithi Paratha, Kichidi, Biryani, Aam Ki Lungi, and for deserts, Aam Ka Ras and Fruit Custurd. Uff!!
The Aam Ka Panna had the perfect sweet and sour taste. The Punneri Missal was more of a mixture, Dal Bati Churma was very good, and the Khapoli Wada was excellent. I ended up having almost 3 or 4 Wadas. Off the subjis, my favorite was the Pitlo. It was besan (gram flour) curry, cooked to perfection. The paneer was so so, aloo curry decent and vatana alright. The Pulka was a little too dry for my taste, but the Pooris were awesome. Both the Dal’s were yummy, while the Kadhi was decent.
The Kichidi was rich and awesome. The Biryani was simple, with not much masala, but was equally yummy.
Both the deserts were just awesome. The Aam Ka Panna was not to sweet, and the custard was thick. Heavenly!!
Overall, an excellent meal. I should say that the thali was much better than what I remember from Mumbai. The service was exceptional, and all the waiters were courteous. Compared to De Thali, the place is expensive by about 70 bucks, but the difference is totally worth it. But just like the former place, it’s not a restaurant you can visit often.
Dig into the Khandani Rajdhani Thali soon!! Do check out their daily menu online before dropping in 🙂
Food: 9/10
Service: 8.5/10
Ambiance: 8/10
Meal for 1: Rs. 274/- (all-inclusive)
Verdict: 9/10
