Where to eat this July…in Hyderabad

Hyderabad is launching restaurants at almost the same pace as the internet is announcing AI tool updates. Consider this month’s openings. There’s a Michelin-recognised Bangkok favourite bringing its tightly edited Thai menu to the city, a concept that travels thousands of kilometres across Telugu kitchens to recreate regional meals with precision, and a Middle Eastern table that moves easily between mezze and grills. A Mumbai favourite arrives with high-energy cocktails, while a design-forward cafe pairs specialty coffee with pickleball courts and viral drink trends.

Add to that a theatrical Thai sibling duo, a dessert-led cafe, and a reservation-only ramen edit, and the city’s newest tables literally have something for everyone, no matter how fussy!

New openings

Baan Phadthai, Sattva Knowledge City

Those who follow the Michelin Guide Bangkok’s Bib Gourmand list need little introduction to Baan Phadthai. The restaurant founded by Frédéric Meyer in 2016 has featured on it every year since 2018. This is the brand’s third India outpost, and Hyderabad gets its own exclusive additions on the focused 25-dish menu. 

The signature phad Thai, built around an 18-ingredient secret sauce balancing sweet, tangy, and umami, remains the anchor. Around it, the Hyderabad menu introduces eight exclusive dishes, including yum makuer, a smoky Thai eggplant salad, and gai yang vichianburi, an Isaan-style char-grilled chicken with cucumber, coriander, and spicy coconut dressing. The tom yum kaichiau (a Bangkok-style jumbo lump crab omelette with kaffir lime and tom yum reduction) should make it to your long order list. And the cha yen, or Thai iced tea, is the perfect finish. Deep- blue walls, timber facades, and vintage Thai curios complete the picture.

Oota, Sattva Knowledge City

Oota is Kannada for ‘meal’, but the brand’s Hyderabad outpost is dedicated entirely to Telugu cuisine. The contradiction, apparently, is precisely the point. Oota’s culinary team—chefs Suresh Venkataramana and Manjit Singh along with researchers Anurag Mallick and Priya Ganapathy—travelled 3,637 km over two years across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana cooking 500-plus dishes and learning alongside local communities, small eateries, bars, hotels, and food historians.

The menu carries that rigour. Vijayawada-style munagaku-siridhanyalu pakodi (moringa leaf and mixed millet fritters) and the classic uggani with mirapakaya bajji make for a strong start. The Nellore fish fry brings the right amount of heat. The big thali (steaming rice, hot ghee, muddapappu, fresh avakaya, pacchipulusu, and bendakaya fry) is simple and deeply satisfying. The kache gosht ki biryani, a Nizami recipe made with generous amounts of saffron, bridges Telugu and Hyderabadi traditions on one plate. Order the Nizam-e-khaas cocktail, described best as a liquid biryani, and end with the Treasures of Godavari: mamidi tandra, madatha khaja, and a local sweet served on a tray. As the nadaswaram plays on, the meal settles in.

Kyma, Hitech City

Kyma brings the Middle East to the table with a menu that covers considerable ground: from the familiar comforts of hummus and pita to grills and kebabs that take their cues from the Levant, Turkey, and Morocco. Founded by Narayan Poojari, the menu alone warrants attention, with eight varieties of hummus, ranging from the edamame truffle-scented variant to the spicy beetroot and pickled jalapeño, all served with grilled pita.

The hot mezze section delivers haloumi eggplant rolls, traditional shakshuka eggs with saffron pita, and the bourek spicy chicken cigar rolls (shredded chicken and cheddar in kunafa pastry with marinated baharat). From the grill, the joojeh chicken kebab, marinated in saffron and yoghurt and cooked on lava fire, and the Al Beiruti lamb cutlets with harissa and Israeli shatta round out a menu that is generous in both range and spirit. Signature cocktails, like the Za’atar Collins and Whispers in Casablanca, bring the taste of the Mediterranean to you

Butterfly High, Hitech City

After winning hearts of office goers in Mumbai, Butterfly High has spread its wings to the City of Nawabs. The menu nods to the city with a reimagined Chicken 65, Guntur podi chicken wings, and Nizami dum ka murg alongside Mumbai favourites like ghee roast flatbread and burnt garlic fried rice with sapo sauce.

The cocktail menu, created by Stanley Fernandes, keeps the energy going with pours like Nizam’s Blush and Sunset by the Charminar. The interiors—velvet stools, backlit spirit shelves, a concave crackled glass installation, and walls that shift between jungle botanicals and Baroque excess—give the space a character that reveals itself gradually.

Mirthy Patisserie and Café, Jubilee Hills

Mirthy feels designed for people-watching. Through the large glass doors, the city becomes part of the room, and the room becomes part of the street. Inside, chefs Pranathi Vallabhaneni and Rupesh Vallurupalli have built something around a straightforward idea: exceptional desserts, good food, and hospitality. You can take a peek into the open kitchen to see the BTS of your order: breads being shaped, pastries laminated, and plates finished. The pastry counter is the first place to linger. Sculpted entremets, like the Hazelnut Obsidian and The Cherry, look almost too beautiful to cut into. The Mirthy Signature Cheesecake already has its own following.

Beyond desserts, the menu covers ground with dishes like blue pea fried rice with Japanese short grain, Korean chicken rice bowl, fried chicken burger, caramelised pineapple peri peri paneer panini, and chilli garlic noodles for those who want something more substantial. Baos and a continental breakfast round out the all-day offering.

Fireback and BarBack, Hitech City

Hyderabad’s dining scene gets a theatrical new entrant with Fireback and Barback, EHV International’s sibling act that has the city in a tizzy. Spanning 6,800 sq ft and designed by Russell Sage Studio, the space moves seamlessly between moods: Fireback’s warm, elegant dining room with rattan textures, burgundy tones, and a sculptural bronze canopy, and Barback’s edgier Chinatown-inspired vibe.

One can order from either menu, helmed by chefs David Thompson and Kaustubh Haldipur respectively. There is pineapple som tam, which balances sweet and sour notes, grilled gorlae chicken, which arrives smoky and deeply spiced, and krapow, which comes topped with a fried egg. The citrus chilli seabass feels light yet layered. From Barback, the spicy mala lamb noodles bring a bold, numbing kick. Cocktails by Varun Sharma shine: don’t miss the Tom Yum Gimlet, bright with lemongrass and chilli, the lilting Pandaan Negroni or the Mango Rice, a nostalgic, creamy take on the beloved Thai favourite.

9Bar Speciality Coffee at Financial District

Ube is currently to the city what the FIFA World Cup is to a football fanatic: everywhere, irresistible, and impossible to ignore. And at the centre of this purple-hued wave is 9Bar Speciality Coffee. Designed by Vybe Studio, the space blends a clean, contemporary cafe aesthetic with an unexpected edge: an attached pickleball court (not owned by the cafe) that turns a casual coffee stop into an all-day plan.

The classic avocado toast is a dependable favourite, with its creamy richness against a crisp sourdough, while the hot honey fried chicken delivers a punchy mix of crunch and sweetness. The lamb kheema sando leans indulgent, layered with bold spice and depth. But it’s the drinks that steal the spotlight. The ube latte is earthy, nutty, and subtly sweet, making it the cafe’s signature for good reason, while the Mont Blanc cold brew is smooth, creamy, and almost dessert-like.

Add in fresh bagels, playful brews, and a steady buzz, and you understand why every influencer in town is heading to 9Bar.

Special menus, pop ups and more

Fussy Ccat at Oxymorons, Begumpet

There is a cat that used to wander the Country Club compound in Begumpet: fussy, unhurried, eating where she pleased. When Rehan Guha and Honey Jain Guha, the founders of cocktail bar Oxymoron, wanted to introduce a lunch-only, reservation-only dining concept in the same spot, they turned to the feline for naming inspiration.Thus, Fussy Ccat.

The concept is built around edits: limited-period menus centred on a single food obsession, changing every few months. The first is ramen. Not because Fussy Ccat is a ramen restaurant but because it is what the kitchen is most excited about right now. The tonkotsu arrives in a rich, slow-cooked pork bone broth; the thecha paitan ramen brings a fiery Maharashtrian green chilli heat to a creamy chicken base; and the vegan tan tan udon delivers a sesame-forward, plant-based depth that holds its own. The pork cabbage roll makes for a worthy start before the bowls arrive. Future edits may go anywhere. And that is the point.

Windmills, Sattva Knowledge City

Windmills Craftworks made its Hyderabad debut earlier this year with a jazz theatre evening featuring the Stéphane Wrembel Trio. The design-led space, where live music, craft beer, global cuisine, and over 30,000 handpicked books converge, has already found its footing in the city. This July, it adds another reason to visit.

The Mediterranean Trail (running all month) is a limited-edition food and cocktail menu that traces the port cities and coastlines where civilisations once met and borrowed from each other. The food moves from Greece to Morocco to Lebanon: baba ganoush with smoked eggplant, tahini and warm pita; chermoula fish drawn from north African coastal cooking; a kefta bocadillo, lamb kefta in a Moroccan street-style sandwich; and galaktoboureko, a Greek dessert of crisp filo layered with semolina custard, to close.

The cocktails follow the same map. The Blue Note Martini (gin, dry vermouth, green pepper brine, and blue-cheese-stuffed olives) is the savoury order, while the Yellow Submarine, with gin, pineapple, raw mango, arugula, and yellow mustard, captures the brighter, breezier side of the Mediterranean. Best enjoyed, as always, with live music.