The aromatic deccani food flavoured with exclusive royal Nizami spices and tasteful shatbets, drinks, desserts which takes your taste buds to another level of feelings. From classic to cool, here is an exhaustive list of places you can satiate your hunger pangs in Hyderabad.
Take the classic route
Taj Krishna’s Golden Dragon is still the go-to for Chinese food, while 4 Seasons (90520 78671) in Kondapur rose to fame for its Middle Eastern offerings, but over the years, it has also acquired a reputation for serving the best biryani in town. Rayalaseema Ruchulu, where spice reigns supreme, brings a taste of Andhra to its branches in the city. Famous Ice Cream (98856 48956) has been a Hyderabad institution for over six decades. Located in Moazzam Jahi market, it churns out the best handmade seasonal ice creams made from fresh fruit—try the chikoo and mango.
Or hit the cool spots
One of the first experimental restaurants in the city was Fusion 9, which has been around for 15 years. In 2017, the same team opened F9 Test Kitchen (80087 44696) in Jubilee Hills. The beautifully designed space with a Bauhaus-inspired look and feel is an experimentation ground for chefs, home cooks and even just culinary enthusiasts who want to know more.
You can book group activities to learn knife skills and cook your own meals with help from the in-house experts. Another Jubilee Hills venture by Fusion 9, Shake Stir Muddle (97049 40044) is the city’s first tapas bar. It’s perfectly portioned plates include broccoli and cheese kababs, chicken gyoza as well as larger plates such as burgers, pastas, pizzas and biryani.
The inventive cocktails are named after popular TV shows such as Peaky Blinders, Narcos, Stranger Things and Breaking Bad. With its too-pretty-to-eat desserts (those choux pastries!), Conçu (040 2360 6708) has been evolving ever since it moved into its spacious new location in October of 2018.
First came Conçu Cucina, an Italian restaurant, and now the space is a café that offers the same dessert menu as the patisserie below, but with a larger variety of eats including empanadas, sandwiches and pastas. Sage Farm Café, a farm-to-table restaurant in Jubilee Hills, is the kombucha crowd’s sweet spot. It offers healthy seasonal dishes such as ragi waffles, gourd salad and jowar oats upma; but don’t worry, there’s also shakshuka and pizzas and pastas with homemade cheese.
Head to Gourmet Baklava, a four-table café in Banjara Hills, for a hit of dark Turkish coffee paired with delicately flavoured, crispy lady finger and walnut baklava and cheese kunafas. If comfort food is what you’re after, get a table at Kaficko, a charming all-day restaurant with an extensive menu ranging from salads and waffles to Thai curries. And while it doesn’t serve alcohol, the food is consistently good.
Another pretty spot is Autumn Leaf Café (040 2355 0986). Once a spacious Hyderabadi home, it has been converted to include open-air seating, a furniture store and a cosmetics outlet. But it’s the food—an especially good grilled chicken and Irani breakfast platter—that, despite the laid-back service, will have you returning for more.
As with much of India, while there are a lot of Chinese restaurants in town, authentic Chinese food is hard to come by. So Yi Jing at the ITC Kohenur is a welcome addition, with dishes like the steamed egg custard with scallops and the cognac-flamed lamb. It also offers a number of gluten-free and lactose-free dishes.
But if you’re in the mood for local food, try The Spicy Venue (040 6559 5225) where the fried fish is gorgeous and Simply South by Chef Chalapathi Rao (91007 17999) also serves South Indian delicacies and draws movie stars aplenty. There’s also an almost fetishist craving for ice cream, and a night time visit to KBR Park Road No 2 will show you why.
Several ice cream and dessert stops stand metres from each other, and they are always packed. New entrant on the scene, Huber & Holly, is an updated Havmor brand that offers waffles with ice cream and fresh and dried fruit, chocolate toppings and sprinkles, as well as the famous gold-flaked ice cream, named Mighty Midas. Ice Creamery (77320 97773) serves gelato, sorbetto and popsicles, while Oh So Stoned! offers some fun flavours such as cheesecake and paan.
Even the city’s drinking scene is getting an update, with places like Heart Cup Coffee (80995 33333), which, despite its misleading name, is known for its home-brewed wheat and stout beer. Brewery chain Over The Moon offers German wheat beers, ales and stout on tap, and the Jubilee Hills outpost offers beautiful views of the city. The Hoppery is the latest addition to the scene, and has a Mediterranean vibe and a great view of the Secret Lake or Durgam Cheruvu, best enjoyed over a Fruity Loops cider beer or several.#KhabarLive
