5 Restaurants That Stand Out in Hyderabad’s Ever-Evolving Food Scene

Hyderabad’s food story has always begun with biryani — but that’s just the first chapter. In recent years, the city has evolved into a true culinary hotspot, where chefs blend tradition with innovation and restaurants turn dining into an experience. From reinvented regional flavours to rooftop lounges and immersive tasting menus, Hyderabad’s best restaurants are pushing creative boundaries while staying deeply rooted in local soul.

Whether you’re a seasoned foodie, a weekend explorer, or simply someone who loves discovering new flavours, these five restaurants stand out for their character, concept, and craft. Each one tells a story — of ingredients, of inspiration, and of a city that’s constantly redefining what dining out means.

So here’s our list of 5 Hyderabad restaurants that go beyond the usual— and deserve a spot on your must-visit list. 

Coffee Sangam

In my mind Chef Vignesh Ramachandran definitely ranks among the top few chefs of Hyderabad. I was a great fan of his curations at Once Upon a time, Green Park Hotel.

Chef Vignesh has recently started this café in Jubilee Hills along with the team that runs Spicy Venue, a top Telugu restaurant in town. The place is getting rave reviews ever since it opened six months ago. 

Loved the twists in the menu. Chilli Garlic Dosa and Pistachio Podi Idly (with the crunch of pista working well with the soft idly) really rocked. The Sugandha Soda is a Nannari based drink that soothens you. We also tried out Peri Peri Punugulu.

Bougainvillea

Located next to Zuci, one of the best dessert places in this city and belonging to the same management, the café spreads over three floors (with a swank PDR too) and offer multicuisine delicacies including Indian, Asian and Continental. 

You can start with warm Mutton Marag, where the broth was delightful and the mutton juicy. They have a range of sushis, tried the Black Rice Avocado variety with pickled carrot and cream cheese. The Mediterranean is represented by Sumac Chicken, and finally a thick Chicken Burger from the fast food category. The menu has much more than this, a wide choice is available in each section.

One thing about the place is that there is a lot of buzz. People sitting and eating there seemed to be genuinely happy.

Ming Ustad

Tucked close to Shilparamam, Ming Ustad blends the best of Indian and Chinese cuisines in a setting that’s both luxurious and welcoming. Step inside to find a stunning indoor space with elegant wooden accents and soft lighting, or head to the alfresco section for a breezy dinner under the stars. 

Their banquet hall can host up to 150 guests — perfect for birthdays, family get-togethers, and corporate dinners. With warm service, stylish décor, and customizable menus, it’s one of Hyderabad’s most versatile dining destinations.

Must-try dishes include Garlic Noodles with Sesame Paneer — bold, flavourful, and perfectly balanced; Lamb Rogan Josh, Chicken Meatball Curry, rich gravies paired beautifully with Masala Kulcha & Lachha Paratha. End with indulgent Hazelnut Pastry and classic Tiramisu.

Urban Nemo Café

Urban Nemo Café & Exotic Garden is, at garden café where every corner is filled with greenery, art, and good vibes! Everything around you, from the plants to the artworks, is for sale, so you can take a little piece of this magic home.

Try dishes like Spicy Corn & Cheese Toast, Chickpea Cranberry Salad, Avocado Tortilla Tostadas, Zucchini Bites, Kunafa Fried Prawns, and Grilled Fish with Mash Potatoes..

Mocktails include the refreshing Blueberry Sparkler and the indulgent Espresso Martini, and matcha lovers must try the Matcha Avocado White Chocolate Smoothie!

Whether it’s brunch, a party on the Green Deck, or just soaking in the vibes, Urban Nemo Café & Exotic Garden, Hyderabad is pure magic.

Vincent's Papaya

In the quiet lanes of Sainikpuri, Vincent’s Papaya has built its own loyal following — a charming neighbourhood café that feels both global and grounded. Known for its Breakfast Club, the place celebrates comfort food done right: The incredible spread includes Chicken ham, egg & cheese croissant, Buttermilk biscuit with chicken sausage, Pancakes drizzled with Canadian maple syrup and Lamb chops with tomato rice & omelette.

The coffee here deserves a special mention — both the Americano and Cappuccino are just what perfect mornings are made of. Plus, you’ll find authentic American-style hotdogs, tropical juices, and plenty more delicious surprises on the menu.

Read more ...

Uttarandhra with Onamaalu: Exploring the Bold Flavours from Northern Andhra Pradesh

 Onamaalu, an initiative to primote Telugu food and culture is doing a yeomen service in studying in depth the cuisines of different regions of the erstwhile United Andhra Pradesh. I have been associated with this initiative since the beginning, and really appreciate the work going on – visiting different districts of erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh, researching the cuisine along with art, culture of the place, and coming back with a rich repertoire of knowledge, recipes and culinary practices of that area. These are further documented for the future.

Recently Onamaalu organized Uttarandhra Kathalu, a two-day event showcasing the diversity of food from that region. On the first day at Culinary Lounge, Ms Sowjanya Narsipuram from Swadhistam, curated a vegetarian platter from Northern Andhra, ably assisted by The Culinary Lounge team who added a few non-vegetarian dishes from that region.

Read more ...

Monsoon Magic at Bogmallo Beach: A Serene Escape in Goa's Rainy Season

It was the month of June and both me and my wife were getting restless. Frequent travel is an addiction and it so happens that if we are in Hyderabad for a few weeks, we start yearning for a vacation. This time, a random search of flights gave us a nice price for Goa, and pronto we booked air passage for a four-night trip.

June is supposed to be peak monsoon in Goa, and we were not in mood for a place from where sea is at a distance. This is where research took over. We located couple of places and finally zeroed on to Bogmallo Beach Resort, located at a beach only 6 km from Dabolim airport. We negotiated an off-season rate of Rs 7,200 per night inclusive of breakfast and booked the place for four days. Pre-check of weather told us that there was going to be rain during these days, but not at full fury.

Read more ...

5 New Restaurants in Hyderabad That'll Impress Your Taste Buds

I have been periodically writing about new restaurants opening up in Hyderabad, and yes, there are dime a dozen these days. While many restaurants open with lot of pomp, fanfare, PR blitz and hype, it is unfortunate to find that most fizzle out like a damp squib. Here are a few restaurants that have opened in the last few months, who are actually living up to their potential and serving diverse scrumptious food. Some are unique concepts while some have really worked diligently on the said cuisine.

Read About Some More New Places

Read more ...

Angkor Wat: A Journey To Ancient Cambodia

After a very enjoyable and eventful Vietnam trip (Read here) our next destination was Siem Reap. Siem Reap is a small city in North Cambodia, primarily a tourist destination known as the gateway to Angkor Wat, the 12th century Hindu Buddhist temple complex that is a world heritage site.

We reached Siem Reap airport late in the evening, and checked into Angkor Paradise Hotel. The hotel was in a busy area of the town with the main highway right in front. Many local restaurants were located around the hotel, but we preferred to eat at the hotel itself, that had lined up a special continental menu for us. The highlights of which were the Grilled Fish in Butter Sauce, and Caesar Salad with Prawn.

Next morning after breakfast, we started in our bus for Angkor Wat which was just about 6 km away. Angkor Wat complex is a huge 400 square km archeological site housing Hindu and Buddhist temples. Since we would be in in Siem Reap for two days as part of our itinerary, hence it was not possible to completely explore the complex. Our tour organizer and my friend Indranil of Travel with Neel told us that we would be covering most of the significant places in the complex, so we were looking forward a lot.  Our first destination was the main Angkor Wat temple.

Angkor Wat that broadly translates as “Temple City” is the biggest temple in the complex. We entered through the back gate (East entrance), this led to long galleries with many sculptures on the walls. An ancient temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu, the temple had been converted into a Buddhist shrine by the next king. There is an eight armed statue of Vishnu in one part of the temple, whereas Lord Buddha was present in full glory in another part of the temple. We climbed one of the main towers of the temple and it was a tough climb. Many people congregate early morning to Angkor Wat to watch the sunrise and the shadow of the temple in the lake in front. We too made a visit the next morning, but unluckily due to clouds, the Sun God did not oblige us. 

It was fascinating to learn about the spread of Hinduism is South-East Asia, and how alternate kings with different religions (Hindu and Buddhist) kept on changing the deities in the temples. It is heartening to see that Archaeological Survey of India is collaborating with the Cambodian government to restore some of the sites.

Our lunch was at a typical Cambodian restaurant Samroh Srahsrang Restaurant in Siem Reap. We enjoyed a set menu including Cambodia’s national dish Fish Amok, served inside a tender coconut shell, much the same way as we Bengali serve “Dab Chingri”. The coconut based gravy went well with the local rice. Cambodian cuisine has similarities with their neighbouring Thai cuisine, with Tom Yum Soup and Som Tai being popular dishes here. We tried a Fried Cashew Nut Chicken that tasted great too.

Talking about the beers of Cambodia, the most popular brand is “Angkor”. There is also a popular brand called “Hanuman”. God forbid if someone tried to launch a beer with the same name in India!

In the early evening we visited the South Gate of Angkor Thom, the capital of Khmer dynasty in the late 12th century. By the time reached Angkor Thom, it started raining and we had to cut short our trip for the day, and decided to come back there the next morning. 

After the rain subsided, we visited a Riverside Night Market, where you get clothes at ridiculous price. The Cambodian currency is Riel, and one Indian Rupee equals to about 46 Riels. Cotton shirts were available in the market at as low as Rs 150.

Siem Reap itself is a cute town with its own nightlife. It has couple of huge restaurants that have really large buffet and cultural programs showcasing local dance forms are presented during the dinner. Our dinner was at one such place named Morakot Angkor Restaurant. The restaurant has long dinner tables packed to full, each table accommodating close to hundred people. The buffet spread was huge with a great number of Asian delicacies. One local dance represented the culture of the local peasants, while another depicted a form of local martial arts. It was an enjoyable evening.

The next day, as mentioned above, our attempt to see sunrise at Angkor Wat was not a success.  Our next destination was Angkor Thom. The city of ruins has multiple temples. The main temple at Angkor Thom is Bayon, one of the first Buddhist temples at that site. There are huge smiling face sculptures on the temples, it is said it is the face of King Jayavarman (alternately some say it is Bodhisatwa), who built the temple. The temple also has a Shivling built in stone apart from statues of Lord Buddha.

The next place we visited was Bantey Srei, a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva.  Ta Prohm was another temple we went to, where there was a plaque saying that the Archaeological Survey of India is helping in its restoration as part of “Indo-Cambodia Cooperation Project”. Ta Prohm means “Ancestor Brahma” , this was a temple dedicated to the King’s mother. Huge trees have taken roots in the ruins of the temple, making it an interesting location.

We visited another local restaurant Khmer Duerm Restaurant for food. The Stir Fried Sweet & Sour Fish and the Som Tam here were delicious.

We flew out of the Siem Reap Airport the next day. Given that we only had couple of days we could cover a few notable sites of Ankor. My feeling was that to cover Angkor in full you need at least five days. The airport at Siem Reap has a huge golden statue of four faced Brahma. Before our departure, we posed for a pic ibn front of the statue. Our next destination was Phuket. More on that later. 

Read more ...