Cafe Bahar, Hyderguda, Hyderabad

Cafe Bahar (pronounced as "Kaif" Bahar as against "Cafay" Bahar) is one of Hyderabads more famous Biriyani outlets. Its the place where you will find the housewife with her famished kids having just finished a day in school, the BPO employee gang from the latest call centre shop out to celebrate an office birthday and local students just out of tuition challenging each other to devour the famous Bahar family pack. It is the place that the Hyderabad local goes to sample some of the best Biriyani that Hyderabad has to offer. I would take it any day ahead of the more touristy Paradise or Hyderabad House. Cafe Bahar is made for the middle class Hyderabadi wanting to sample some of the best cuisine in Hyderabad in a relatively clean and hygienic environment. The setting and the ambiance is almost like a regular Andhra meal joint. The place is packed most of the times so sharing your table with other famished patrons is the norm. The service is pretty good for a place of this nature and you are pretty much served your food quite promptly especially the Biriyani which is obviously mass produced. The last time we were at Cafe Bahar, we had quite a large spread. We started with some "Dum ka Chicken" and Rumali roti - the Dum ka Chicken is apparently the dish that finishes the fastest in Cafe Bahar, the chicken is cooked in a rich, slightly sweet gravy which was laden with a largish helping of nuts to enhance the richness and the taste. The chicken was cooked excellently and was very tender. The preparation was a great accompaniment to the Rumali roti and the gravy went very well with the Biriyani rice as well. We then proceeded to the highlight of the restaurant - the mutton biriyani. The biriyani was typically Hyderabadi and very good although I personally prefer the Lucknow and Kolkata styles, the rice was excellently cooked although the meat quantity was slightly on the lesser side. Raita and Mirchi ka saalan was served on the table to be taken as per taste. We obviously took a regular portion and not the family pack, but we were lucky to see the family pack being devoured by a largish group at a nearby table. The family pack is basically a catering counter full of Biriyani! Pretty unique in the way its served, its almost as if the waiter has picked up an entire counter of Biriyani from a wedding reception and has walked over to serve it at your table. I was speaking to a Hyderabadi friend of mine who was raving about the Bahaar, apparently the challenge during his school days was to devour the entire family pack alone at one go. To fellow Kolkatans who may be reading this, that equals around 4 packets of Shiraz mutton Biriyani portions! I admit defeat. Hyderbadis can have a lot of Biriyani! A meal for two at Cafe Bahar will cost you approximately Rs 400 without drinks. How to get there: Cafe Bahar is a Hyderabadi institution and anybody in the vicinity of Hyderaguda should be able to point you to the restaurant.