Farzi Café Brings Its Unique Cuisine to Hyderabad

Hyderabad had been somewhat ignored in the plans of national restaurant chains till about couple of years back. However, recently there has been a deluge in terms of the number of nationally acclaimed chains opening their outlets here. Farzi Café from the Massive Restaurants group, is the latest on that list, opening their much talked about the restaurant at Jubilee Hills.


The restaurant is known for its smart presentation of food without sacrificing its authenticity. Concepts of molecular gastronomy and table theatrics have been popular in the food and beverages scene all over the world in recent times, and Farzi Café is one of the pioneers for the same in India. The end result is contemporary global as well as Indian dishes with a lot of visual appeals, in sync with the name of the restaurant which means “illusions”.


The outlet in Hyderabad is in a two-storied building in Jubilee Hills with indoor as well as outdoor seating and ample parking. On a weekday afternoon, the restaurant was filled choc-a-bloc.  We were seated promptly and served a complimentary amuse bouche, Mishti Doi Spheres. Served in flowing smoke with a hint of strawberry syrup on top, this was the perfect way to start the lunch. In spite of the spherification, the doi taste completely authentic to a hardcore Bong like me.

Mishti Doi Spheres
Mishti Doi Spheres

Indian dishes made into arancini balls is nothing new, just a few months back we had tried out curd rice arancini at another place. Farzi brings Dal Chawal Arancini, where the comfort food for Indian homes have been transformed into the Italian arancini balls, served with papad and achar. While the presentation is very stylish, I found the dish a bit dry and underwhelming in flavours.

Dal Chawal Arancini

Mini Raj Kachori
Dal Chawal Arancini (Top) and Mini Raj Kachori

The Mini Raj Kachori served with chutney foam was decent. The taste was chatpata as a chaat item should be. Tempura Fried Prawn was served in a light foam of chilli and lemon. The tempuras were covered with a tangy dip which complemented the batter fried dish well.

Tempura Fried Prawn

Dal Gosht Open Face
Dal Gosht Open Face

Dal Gosht Open Face is one my picks from the lunch. Served on mini parathas, the popular meat and lentil dish from North India retained its authentic taste and some added pickled onions made it a nice short eat.

Butter Chicken Bao

Bheja Fry Appam
Butter Chicken Bao (Top) and Bheja Fry Appam

At this stage, a palate cleanser was served, which was a Hajmola flavoured Sorbet attractively presented on a candy stick.

Chicken Sukka Appam
Chicken Sukka Appam

In sync with the recent popularity of food coloured black, appams at Farzi are black, with the colour, derived from the burnt coconut itself. We tried out two dishes with it – Bheja Fry Appam and Chicken Sukka Appam. Nicely presented, both the magaz (brain) and the chicken dish were drool-worthy. The soft galouti kababs had a makeover as a patty in Galouti BurgersPosh Maggie was a dish which would appeal to many Maggie fans, with the homely noodles cooked with exotic vegetables.

Galouti Burgers

Posh Maggie
Galouti Burgers (Top) and Posh Maggie

Another dish which is a must-try here is the Lamb Shanks in Desi Ghee Nihari. The lamb pieces were ideally cooked to slide off from the bones, and this was presented in a smooth and silky gravy with fried onions in it. Shawarma Biryani has the mutton presented as a shawarma on top of the biryani. The biryani itself had distinct North Indian flavours.

Shawarma Biryani
Shawarma Biryani

The desserts were very innovative. The Rasmalai Tres Leches layered with gajar halwa and rose petals were simply heavenly. I remembered the Rasmalai Cheesecake at Mocha Bar which had a similar look but was a different dish altogether. Patishapta Mille-feuille was attractively presented in a deconstructed form, but the taste of the Bengali Sankranti special sweet with fresh coconut cream was delectable.

Rasmalai Tres Leches
Rasmalai Tres Leches

The dining experience at Farzi Café is unique. The dishes are styled differently, presented with a lot of drama and they do taste good. The menu is huge and apart from the few dishes we tried, there are many more interesting items. Most of the dishes are regional Indian recipes with clever presentation often with a twist. The place definitely warrants a look-in from any food lover.

Location:
Farzi Café
1200, Road 59
Jubilee Hills
Hyderabad
Telephone: 91000 68325

Disclaimer: The review is based on an invite from the restaurant


Also Read: Ten New Restaurants of 2017 in Hyderabad

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