Kholani's - Banjara Hills

Kholani's has always been one of the popular restaurants in the city since 1996. Their main branch is located in Old city. They also opened their branch in Banjara Hills and since it is close by for me I decided to go and pay it a visit.

Kholani's at Banjara Hills is located on a huge villa that looks absolutely gorgeous. We decided to dine on the ground floor which was lit up with huge chandeliers.

We started off with the Haleem. This was good and prepared well.

We then had the Crispy Baby Corn. The corn was fresh and the batter was crispy.

The next item that we had was the Reshmi Kebab.

We then tried the Crispy Honey Fried Gobi. I must say this was really delicious and to make this as a vegetarian dish was a fantastic idea.

The next was a fish item which was based in mustard sauce.

The next dish was the butter chicken. Although the gravy was thick I felt the food had too much color.

The next item was the butter paneer. Again, the gravy was the same as that of the butter chicken.

The next item was the roasted prawns. I felt this was just a bit too dry.

We then tried the Chicken Biryani. Again, the flavors could definitely have been worked on better.

For desserts we started off with the Gulab Jamun.

The last item was kheer. This was made really well and tasted delicious. Overall: Kholani's was a huge name back when it started but in the current space they really need to up their game for a place like Banjara Hills. A good place for a family dine in.

Ambiance: 4.5/5

Service: 4/5

Food: 4/5

Price: Mid-range

Turning 21 - Hitech City

Turning 21 is on the top floor of Tabla Sapphire. The best part about this place is that it is roof top and has both an open roof as well as a closed space thus making it the ultimate choice for hanging out. We went to this place on a Wednesday evening.

We started off by ordering the Mango colada which was a mock tail.

We then tried out the cock tails. The first one was the Manhattan. This was a mix of white spirit, lime juice, triple sec topped with coca cola.

The next was the Long Island Ice Tea. This came in a tall glass and was quite strong.

We then tried out the Blowjob Shooter. This had Baileys, Vodka and Grenadine Syrup.

The next one was the Supreme Lady Shooter which was a mix of Strawberry and Gin.

The starters slowly started coming in at this juncture. The first one was the Grilled Chicken that was served in easy to eat pieces and tasted great.

The next dish was Mushroom Duxelles. This had fresh mushrooms stuffed with cheddar cheese, jalapeños and olives.

Then we had the Murgh Nawabi Kebab. This had Chicken tikka with sweet and spicy flavored cream cheese.

We then had a mock tail which was called Guava Maary. The base was guava juice and lime juice that was mixed with black salt and a pinch of chat masala.

The next starter was the crispy corn. The corn was really sweet and fresh.

Then came the Buffalo Wild Wings. This had traditional New York style chicken wings marinated and tossed in red hot pepper sauce.

Next was the Crispy Paneer. The Paneer was soft but had slightly less salt.

We then had the Panco Fried Fish. This had well marinated fish crumbed and fried and was served with tartare sauce.

We then had Mai Tai. This drink had dark rum, lime juice and orange syrup.

We then had a coconut based cocktail.

We then tried out the Chicken skewers.

We then had Bar Man Special. This was a mix of white spirit, lime juice, triple sec, topped with beer.

We then ordered a Pasta which was cheesy and great to taste.

The next item in the main course was the Mix vegetable curry which had a thick and consistent gravy.

The Dal Tadka also was made well and had the taste of home made dal.

We then had the butter chicken masala which had the right flavors.

The Chicken Dum Biryani was prepared well and was neither too spicy nor too bland.

For dessert we had rasa malai.

We finished it off with the Gulab Jamuns. Overall: Amazing ambiance with great food and drinks and an amazing DJ!

Ambiance: 4.5/5

Service: 4/5

Food: 4.5/5

Price: Mid-range

Absolute Sizzlers - Gachibowli

Absolute Sizzlers is located on the top floor of the SLN Terminus in Gachibowli. We went there on a Friday evening. We started off by ordering the Chicken Shashlik - Grilled Chicken in skewers on the bed of rice with Garlic sauce. The chicken was grilled well and tasted absolutely smashing with the Garlic sauce.

The next sizzler that we ordered was the Lamb Chops that came with Pepper Sauce. The Lamb was so tender that one could almost mistake it for chicken.

We also ordered the Chicken 65 starter. This was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside and had the right amount of spices.

We had also tried the Bay Breeze which was a combination of mango juice, litchi juice and kiwi syrup and I must say they blended the drink really well.

And how can one complete a good meal without a dessert? We had caramel custard for dessert and must day that it was absolutely perfect. The caramel wasn't burnt too much and at the same time it wasn't too less or more sweet. The consistency of the custard was also perfect - neither too hard and not too wobbly.

They are soon starting an offer where you can have 1 Sizzler + 1 Portion of Garlic Bread + 1 Drink + 1 Dessert for Rs. 349 + taxes. This offer is only valid for lunches (weekdays and weekends). Overall: I absolutely loved the food here and would definitely recommend a visit for their sizzlers, desserts and mocktails.

Ambiance: 4/5

Food: 4.5/5

Service: 4/5

Price: Mid-range

New Andhra Meals Restaurant at Banjara Hills

Andhra Meals have always been of my favorites. But in Hyderabad the ones that do serve good Andhra Meals are all too far from Banjara Hills where I live. So when Vana Bhojanam opened up, I definitely had to try it out. They are reasonably priced at Rs. 130 for unlimited meals. They have opened up in the place which was previously the Old Door.

Quite a few of the antique pieces from the Old Door have been retained. There are many antiques that were used in old Telugu Films which are demonstrated across the space.

Now coming to the food - we started off by ordering the Vana Bhojanam Special Karivepaku Kodi. This was crispy fried chicken with curry leaves and tasted really good.

The next dish was the fish fry - they had used Katla fish for this. Although most of us liked it, it had quite a few bones and there were quite a few of us who couldn't eat it so probably another option with a less bony fish for the fish fry could have been better.

The next dish was the Vanabhojanam Special Karivepaku Royyalu. This had crispy fried shrimps with curry leaves. I felt this was slightly too salty and the spicy coatings were coming off the shrimps. Otherwise they were good to taste as well.

The next dish was the Crispy Okra Fry. This was made really well but here the salt was too less, although a salt sprinkler was provided on the table.

The next dish was the mutton fry. This was extremely spicy and most of us liked it. It was also cooked in cashews which were fried in ghee which added to the flavor.

We then ordered the Thaali Meal. I must say this was very filling. The sambar was yummy, the dal was good and the variety was sufficient for the Thaali. There was also ghee and podi which is the best for any Andhra Thaali meal.

We also tried out the Mutton Dum Biryani. The Mutton was soft and the Biryani was done well but I felt it was slightly less flavorful.

Finally it was time for desserts - we started off by ordering hot gulab jamuns.

We finished off with the Poornam Boorelu. This typical Telugu dessert had the same filling as that of the Pooran Poli which is essentially a Maharashtrian dessert. This is supposed to be torn off at the top first. Then you need to pour a wholesome amount of ghee on it before you take a bite which makes it essentially more delicious.

Overall - This place is a must visit in the area for the Andhra Thaali Meal as they offer the best and reasonable rated Thaalis.

Ambiance: 3/5

Food: 4/5

Service: 4/5

Price: Budget-Friendly