Hello guys!
Since I’ve taken everyone along on a virtual tour of Hyderabad via my older posts, I thought let’s move on to the next best thing there- the food. If you’ve not seen my older posts, I would recommend you do so, it might just give you a new place for your next travel adventure.
My girlfriend and I are avid foodies. We love to explore new cuisines and restaurants. Knowing India’s diversity, being in another city meant an opportunity to try a whole different cuisine. As a person who likes to plan ahead, I made a list of restaurants and cafes that we would want to explore. I also tried to keep a healthy balance between authentic Hyderabadi delicacies and a few must-try restaurants.
From the list, few restaurants were a miss, but most were a total hit! I’ll exclude the awful ones so they don’t ruin the good vibe!😆
Café Niloufer
Our first stop was breakfast in Café Niloufer. Operating since 1978, this café had humble origins. They started with just one store in the city selling their signature tea and Osmania biscuits. Today, they are available in four locations within Hyderabad city and an outlet at the Hyderabad International Airport.
We visited the Premium Lounge in Banjara Hills, as it was close to our stay. The café was massive with 2 storeys and a hell lot of counters. Since we had to be on the move quick, we sat on the ground floor. There were customers coming in continuously, but the café never really got crowded.
We got right down to business and placed our orders. Everything on the menu was pure vegetarian and everything they served was on display which helped our decisions.
Here’s my frank opinion on all of them (I’ll be rating them from 1– 10: 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest).
Knotted soft croissant shaped bun stuffed with cream cheese and spicy paneer (cottage cheese) was delicious. Great contrast between the sweetness of the bun and spice from the filling. I’d say it was a solid 8/10. This was priced at 200 INR per piece (2.31 USD).
Double chocochip cookies.
Apologies in advance for not clicking individual shots of the food mentioned above.
We began with the Spinach and Corn Puff. This flaky puff pastry was stuffed with creamed spinach and corn and hit all the right spots. Although the combination isn’t anything new, it had great flavors. This was priced at 45 INR per piece (0.52 USD), and I would rate it 9/10.
Moving onto the Maska Bun- this soft bun was packed with sweet, softened butter. The bun to filling ratio was perfect and it wasn’t too sweet (which if you are an Asian, is a great compliment). As I picked it up, the staff came by to tell us that our tea was ready, and they recommended to dip the bun into the tea. While it brought out a whole different flavor profile, I liked it better without dipping it in the tea. I rate this dish a solid 10/10 and it was priced at 80 INR per piece (0.92 USD).
The butter croissant which was priced at 70 INR per piece (0.81 USD) was decent-it had an okayish taste but no flakiness. It genuinely missed the texture that a croissant should have. I’ve had much better and would rate this a 6/10.
We also had the double chocolate chip cookies, and this was an instant hit for my girlfriend. The massive chocolate chips and the amazing chewiness made it a solid 9.5/10 and this was priced at 18 INR per piece (0.21 USD) which is the cheapest cookies I’ve ever bought.
We moved onto the tea and realised that we forgot to order their specialty Osmania biscuits. Quickly headed to the counter and ordered a couple of them.
These biscuits were priced at 12 INR per piece (0.14 USD), and these perfectly complimented the tea. It was pure buttery goodness, and it made sense how an empire was built on an age-old tea and biscuits combo.
We had the Niloufer special tea which was priced at 104.14 INR per cup (1.20 USD). The tea was unlike any other we’ve had so far. It had an almost soothing fragrance and was mildly sweet. The tea itself was rich and creamy, which we were later told is because of steeping the tea in milk directly. It got even better with the Osmania biscuits. 10/10. Pure bliss, no notes!
The café also had an area to shop for bakery items like biscuits, cakes and cookies and tea powders as well. We purchased two tea powder varieties and three biscuit boxes- for a total of 645 INR (7.44 USD).
The total food bill remains a mystery though since we visited the place three times during our five-day stay.
Pista House
Our main mission in Hyderabad was to find an amazing biryani spot since Hyderabad is credited to have the best biryani in India. We checked online, asked around and narrowed it down to a list of 5 places. On the commendation of a fellow hosteler, we went to Pista House.
Pista house is a restaurant chain that has been serving authentic Hyderabad delicacies across multiple outlets in India, UAE and USA. As we were heading to the Ed Sheeran concert (I have a separate post for the concert), we stopped by one of the outlets in the center of the city.
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This one had beautiful interiors with a few elements inspired by the Royal Palace. Pista house is well known for their world-famous Haleem (A slow-cooked stew made with meat, lentils, and spices), but since we were rushing to the concert and did not want to eat too heavy, we skipped it.
427.62 INR (4.93 USD)
This dish was packed with flavors and fragrance; however, the chicken mince was a bit dry. I’d say it was a 6/10 since it came with a great coriander-mint dip.
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475.24 INR (5.47 USD)
We asked for their special lamb biryani, and we were served a huge utensil full of it. This rich aroma packed biryani was served to the four of us and by the looks of it, that box of biryani could serve another two to three very hungry souls and fill their stomachs as well.
The quantity of the food was over the top however, the biryani itself was a bit sweetish in taste. While most biryanis found in India tend to be on the spicier end, this biryani said otherwise!
I would rate this dish 7/10.
466.67 INR (5.37 USD)
Most Indian restaurants claim to serve broasted chicken and serve deep-fried chicken instead. We saw it on the menu here and decided to give it a shot and oh my goodness. This was the highlight of our meal. It was tender inside and super crispy on the outside and made a great side for the sweet biryani (unexpected, I know). Rating this dish a solid 10/10.
113.33 INR (1.31 USD)
Having barely any space for dessert, we persevered and ordered the Hyderabad special ‘Double Ka Meetha’, translating it to ‘double sweet’. It had the flavor profile of carrot cake but with a mushy texture, it was rich and almost knocked us into a food coma.
We paid a total bill of 1756 INR (20.13 USD) and our previous memo to ‘Eat light’ was clearly not followed. My stomach resembled an early pregnancy, and it took reaching the concert venue in 35-degree heat for me to feel any lighter. We had a fun concert, followed by a late morning and some more exploring after which we headed to an authentic Mexican restaurant, located in Jubilee hills.
Mexarosa
As a person who has never gotten a chance to have authentic Mexican food, I was absolutely blown away by the cuisine. The flavor packed food and how fresh it all feels on the palate made me a huge fan!
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The place was vibrantly painted with a loud and fun theme. They had a DJ playing some good music in the adjacent room, which also had a bar seating and a dance floor. We stuck to the dining room and got down to the most important business- placing our orders.
895 INR (10.33 USD)
We hit it off with a strong Cocktail since 
545 INR (6.28 USD)
An amazing dish of spicy fried chicken that had been tossed in their home made special hot sauce and finished with garlic, coriander and the Mexican chamoy sauce. Enjoyed by all and no crumbs left behind. Rating this 9.8/10 as well.
625 INR (7.20 USD)
We moved to the mains and ordered these wrapped tortillas smothered with their spicy enchilada sauce, topping it with cheese and baking it to perfection! While we enjoyed every bite of this dish, we were not fully satisfied and kept wanting more. Rating this 9.9/10
595 INR (6.85 USD)
We decided to get a bit messy and ordered a Birria Taco. This flavor packed dish not only blew our minds but made us think that this was too good to be true. A lamb that had been slow cooked for 5 hours, marinated in authentic Mexican chillies and spices and topped with Monterey Jack cheese, served with the birria consommé. What’s not to love? This was a 10/10 and I would visit Hyderabad again for this alone.
525 INR (6.05 USD)
Ordered by 
595 INR (6.85 USD)
A bite of this is what made me love Mexican food! An 8 hour smoked pulled pork that had a spicy marinade and topped with roasted mango salsa and pickled red radish. The flavor profile of this dish opened a new world of food combinations for me! (Forgive me if I’m late to this cuisine- but here, in India, fruit and meat isn’t a popular combination). This was our breaking point, and it made us order two plates of these.
Rating it a 100/10!
395 INR (4.55 USD)
Satisfied with the food, we moved onto the deserts and ordered the churros which were alright.
The churros were sprinkled with cinnamon sugar and accompanied with spicy chocolate sauce, crème diplomat and dulche de leche. This was below average since the churros lacked flavor. We didn’t let that hinder our happiness from other dishes.
We paid a total bill of 5,441 INR (62.38 USD) which included a 10% service charge and 5% tax. Satisfied, we head back to our stay and had a much-needed early bedtime.
Stay turned for the next part where we go in search of the best biryani in Hyderabad and visit a chocolate factory! 😉
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