Restaurant review: The Biryani Café is a hidden gem worth exploring [4.5/5]

Phrases like “hidden gem” are often thrown around for every little shop with even halfway decent food these days. Let me be clear that while The Biryani Café is indeed small as compared to its competitors, it deserved the “hidden gem” moniker in more ways than one.

The Biryani Cafe Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

The ambience

The Biryani Café is located on the second floor of a building, and is accessible only through a series of stairs and a narrow balcony. Once you enter, you are greeted with what can best be described as old-world charm.

There is no uber-trendy furniture ready to greet you. Instead, this looks like any other hole-in-the-wall eatery, with an open view of the kitchen.

The starters

A group of us gathered at The Biryani Café on lazy Sunday afternoon for what we had been told would be a revelation for us. We were not exactly disappointed.

We started with the Pepper Chicken Ghee Roast, a savoury dish with crispy curry leaves complementing the succulent chicken marinated in a blend of spices that danced around on our tongues.

Pepper Chicken Ghee Roast

Up next, some Chef’s Special Boneless Chicken. This was clearly the piece de resistance, with the tang from the curd complementing the heat of the spices as the chicken played around in your mouth. I had to go for seconds!

Chef’s Special Boneless Chicken

Then, some Biryani Cafe Special Chicken Fry. The slightly dry chicken did not take away much from the flavour, and this was demolished within minutes of its arrival.

Biryani Cafe Special Chicken Fry

We decided to change things up a bit and ordered one of the few vegetarian dishes next: Paneer 65. The crunchy, salty exterior complemented the dense paneer really well.

Paneer 65

Next up, some Kotthu Paratha. This was Kerala-style Parotta pulled apart into small pieces and then cooked with scrambled eggs. If ever there was a list of comfort food with eggs, this had to right on top with the best of them!

Kotthu Paratha

The main course

You can’t just go to a place called The Biryani Café and not order biryani. Thus, the first item on the main course was the Basmati Rice Biryani.

Basmati Rice Biryani

This Hyderabadi-style biryani had robust spices, and was served with Chettinad Chicken. The two combined to set the tongue on fire!

Chettinad Chicken

If you are averse to anything too spicy and would rather enjoy the flavour, I suggest you go with the Donne Biryani. Mildly spiced and fragrant, this was a mouth-watering treat.

Donne Biryani

This was paired with the Chilli Chicken, which was quite different from the fare that you normally get at Chinese eateries. This had more of an Indian feel to it, with the punch of the chillies coming through nicely.

Chilli chicken

Final thoughts about The Biryani Café

It is a pity that The Biryani Café does not serve alcohol, because most of its starters — especially the Chef’s Special Boneless Chicken and Paneer 65 — would have been beautiful accompaniments. It would be a good idea to order them to go, and bring them home for a good party with friends.

Even otherwise, this is one place where you can go with your family and have a good time. The host will make sure you do!

If you have anything to say about to review, or just want to reach out, right this way, please! We promise to reply in a jiffy!

Arkadev Ghoshal

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