Shadab
Biryani near the Charminar in the style Persian cooks brought to the Deccan courts, layered raw and sealed under dough.
Order the mutton biryani; very busy at lunch.
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Hyderabad
Qutb Shahi kings built it in 1591 when the fort at Golconda ran out of water; the Nizams kept it a separate state until 1948.
Musi
1518
Golconda
A diamond-trading sultanate rises.
1591
Charminar
A new city laid out on the Musi.
1724
The Nizams
Asaf Jahi rule begins, lasting 224 years.
1948
Accession
The princely state joins India.
Price per person₹ under ₹300₹₹ ₹300–1,000₹₹₹ ₹1,000–3,000₹₹₹₹ over ₹3,000
Nimrah Cafe
Irani chai and Osmania biscuits in the monument's shadow since the mid-twentieth century; the biscuit is said to be named for the last Nizam's own table.
Buy a box of Osmania biscuits to take away.
₹
Hotel Shah Ghouse
Haleem, a wheat-and-mutton porridge carried here from Yemen by the Nizams' Arab guards, pounded for hours in Ramzan.
Haleem is mainly served in Ramzan; the biryani is good year-round.
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Grand Hotel
Opened in 1935 by Iranian traders during the Nizam's era, this Abids cafe has served Irani chai and dum pukht biryani for about 90 years.
Good for chai and a samosa in the afternoon.
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Cafe Bahar
Founded in 1973 by Iranian immigrant Syed Hussain Bolooki whose family arrived from Iran around 1934, it grew from a tiny Irani cafe into a landmark biryani and haleem destination.
Expect a wait at lunch; the mutton biryani is the order.
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Paradise
Opened in 1953 as a small cinema canteen, now Hyderabad's most famous biryani name.
The original Paradise Circle branch has the most character.
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Govind Dosa
A street cart near the Charminar making butter-laden dosas and idlis every morning for decades.
Breakfast only; it closes by late morning.
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Hotel Nayaab
An Old City restaurant known for its breakfast of nihari, paya and khamiri roti.
Go early morning; nihari sells out.
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Pista House
The name most associated with Hyderabadi haleem, which won a geographical indication in 2010.
Haleem is best during Ramzan, when stalls serve it late into the night.
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Karachi Bakery
A bakery founded in 1953 by a family who moved from Karachi after Partition, famous for its fruit biscuits.
The Moazzam Jahi Market shop is the original.
₹
Adaa, Falaknuma Palace
Hyderabadi royal cuisine in the Taj Falaknuma Palace, the 1893 hilltop palace of the Paigah noble Viqar-ul-Umra.
Book ahead; non-guests can only enter with a dining or tour reservation.
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