Where to eat and drink this June… in Hyderabad

As a scorching summer comes to an end (hopefully) in Hyderabad, the denizens of the land of biryani have much to look forward to. From a Japanese cult favourite finally making its Deccan debut to a 40-year-old local legend expanding its footprint, the city’s newest tables span continents, ideas, cuisines, and moods, with a blue building in Jubilee Hills and a Gandipet basement thrown in for good measure.

New openings

Izumi, Durgam Cheruvu Road

After Mumbai and Goa, Izumi has marched across the Vindhyas to Hyderabad. The space, designed in collaboration with Minnie Bhatt, carries Izumi’s signature minimalism: lantern-inspired lights, intimate corners, crockery sourced from Japan, and a sushi counter that anchors the room. A view of Durgam Cheruvu does the rest. 

The sushi counter delivers bluefin chutoro, smoked hamachi, and scorched scallop nigiri alongside futomaki, chutoro, and pickled daikon rolls. From the robata grill come the lamb chops with red bell pepper sauce, yaki madai skewers with spicy miso butter, and the charred napa cabbage with mustard miso mayo—the kind of smoky, precisely seasoned dishes the grill does best.

There’s ramen too of course featuring the spicy miso, pork tonkotsu, and a Sapporo soup curry, a warming curry-flavoured chicken and lamb broth—an Izumi first and a nod to the city—that’s served with udon. 

The cocktail programme is equally considered. The Kyoto Martini and Yuzu Penicillin anchor the classics, while the Ginza Nights highball (light, and easy to keep returning to) sits alongside the Yuzu Kazi for those who prefer something with a more prominent citrus lift. For the non-drinkers, Chilli No Hana and Musky Dusky show care and hold their own.

Hotel Indu Deluxe, Banjara Hills

Forty years and one location. Until now. Indu Deluxe, the beloved Saifabad institution, has opened a second outpost in Banjara Hills, and loyalists who’ve long battled city traffic to get their thali fix are breathing a collective sigh of relief.

Second-gen owner Rohit Reddy and partner Chhaya Pal haven’t tried to reinvent the wheel. The space is simple, comfortable, and old-world, with wooden accents and two-tone tiling mirroring the ethos of the original. The menu follows suit, right down to the chutneys. A new tandoori section and a beverage menu featuring beers, whisky, and mocktails are the notable additions.

The thali remains the undisputed star. It brings together familiar, well-rounded curries, the signature tomato dal (a favourite cutting across generations), and unlimited rice and puri, a combination that has kept regulars coming back for decades. Accompaniments like chicken fry, mutton curry with its distinctively nutty gravy, and a soft, flavourful boneless mutton roast round it out further. The Royal Thali (stacked with mutton biryani and chicken roast) is Hyderabad’s quiet flex and the dish locals instinctively order when they want to show a visitor exactly what this city is made of.

Casa Loco, Gachibowli

Casa Loco, the Mexican cantina concept born from chefs John and Wayne’s love for honest, slow cooking, has opened its first India outpost on the second floor of Radisson Hitec City, Gachibowli.

The menu is a love letter to regional Mexican cooking. Tacos run the gamut from the citrus-bright baja fish to the deeply savoury lamb birria. Burritos, quesadillas, nachos, enchiladas, and fiesta bowls round out a menu that is tailor-made for sharing. The Grand Cantina Platter (with birria lamb, pork carnitas, tinga chicken, and all the trimmings) is the kind of spread that turns a table into a party. Finish with the créma con chocolate, a rich, silky dark chocolate crema with a hint of chilli spice, a hat tip Mexico’s ancient cacao heritage.

The bar is the other headline act. Casa Loco lays claim to Hyderabad’s first dedicated margarita bar, with the city’s widest margarita selection. Tortillas are pressed fresh in-house, salsas are made daily, and there’s not a preservative in sight.

Native South Kitchen & Brewhouse, Narsingi

Hyderabad has plenty of south Indian restaurants, but Native South Kitchen & Brewhouse takes a more expansive view of what that means. The 125-seater fine-dining space—complete with a brewery and a golden mirrored entrance—covers the entire southern map, from a Telugu thali to Mangalore mutton ghee roast to Konaseema mulakkada mamsam, (mutton slow-cooked in a drumstick gravy).

Executive chef Shiva Shanmugam sets the tone well: the Kongu Nadu-style chicken pallipalayam, a dry fry with coconut and curry leaves, is fiery and worth ordering. The filter kaapi martini (vodka, filter coffee, Kahlua, and Parle-G foam) is the cocktail to try, while the in-house brews, an apple cider, German wheat, IPA, and American Lager, give the meal a natural momentum. 

Qode, Gandipet

Once a nondescript basement beneath an outhouse building near Gandipet Lake, Qode is perhaps one of the most Instagrammable spots in the city right now. Designed by Studio Nilasha, the 4,500 sq ft space is reached via a green marble spiral staircase that leads to jewel-toned interiors in emerald, topaz, and burnt sienna, before opening out into a breezy al fresco lounge organised around three existing trees. Two very different moods, one address.

The menu travels as widely as the design. Small plates open with Cheese Rangoons (crispy wontons filled with cream cheese and Asian spices), a Taiwanese night market find that made its way here, alongside Thai chicken satay with peanut sauce, butter chicken empanadas, Thai spring rolls, and lamb cigars. The baked camembert, infused with spiced honey, rosemary, and roasted garlic, is worth ordering for the table.

For mains, the Mediterranean braised lamb (slow-cooked shanks with aromatic Arabic couscous) is the standout big plate, while the gnocchi with romesco sauce makes a strong case from the pasta section. The Bang Bang Prawns Bowl, crispy prawns in a creamy spiced sauce over sticky rice, is equally hard to pass up. End the evening on a sweet note with the cannoli (brandy snaps filled with Baileys espresso martini cream and pistachio ice cream).

Katha Crafthouse, Jubilee Hills

Everyone in the city of pearls is talking about the new blue building on Road No 45, Jubilee Hills. The 8,500 sq ft Brutalist-inspired space designed by Studio Mana spans three levels and four zones, moving seamlessly from a cafe by day to a cocktail bar by night.

The food spans sourdough toasts, sandos, and pancakes in the early hours, shifting to butter chicken, makhani burrata, and chana koliwada come evening. The cocktail programme, curated by Vivek S Nair, includes six drinks on tap. Read the full review here.

Special menus

Manam Chocolate Karkhana, Banjara Hills

There’s always that one summer you remember not for where you were but for what you ate. Manam Chocolate’s ‘Summer Edition 2026: A Summer Somewhere’, which runs till July 15, is a collection built around exactly that kind of memory.

The ice cream sandwiches are a good place to begin. The Cherry and Vanilla pairs tart cherry compote and mascarpone gelato with 60 per cent dark chocolate ice cream sandwiched between 80 per cent dark chocolate cookies, satisfying in a way contrasting textures can be. The Mango and Citrus (mango gelato between orange poppy seed cookies) is the lighter option, while the guava chilli soft serve (fresh guava with Guntur chilli and sea salt churned into something creamy and gently fiery) is perhaps the most eclectic offering on the menu.

The desserts move into familiar bakery-warmed territory. The pineapple coconut lamington, the mango-saffron tres leches finished with Chantilly cream and pistachios, and the mango summer sundae built around ripe Himayat mangoes and molten West Godavari craft chocolate make a strong case for ordering more than one.

The savoury cafe menu holds its own too. The mango avocado toast arrives on sourdough spread with housemade avakai chilli oil layered with buttery avocado mash and sliced Banganapalli mango. The prawn and mango salsa, with its rawa-crusted prawns, citrusy avocado mash, and sweet mango salsa, is best eaten immediately, while still hot and crisp

Dokii Dokii, Jubilee Hills

Dokii Dokii has always had a look: the bold red and blue that signals you’ve arrived somewhere with a unique point of view. The spacious interiors that look out into a garden, make it the kind of place where a weekday morning can stretch pleasantly into noon.

The newer addition is a breakfast menu that takes Asian morning staples seriously. Hyderabad has no shortage of brunch spots, but an Asian-focused breakfast is rarer, and Dokii Dokii fills that gap with some conviction. The morning congee (slow-cooked rice porridge with crispy garlic, shallots, and chilli oil) is the kind of thing you’d want on a slow morning. The Bangkok Benedict, with its tom yum hollandaise, is the more adventurous order. In between sit the Asian breakfast puffs filled with lamb rendang or satay chicken, and the Seoul pancakes, crisp and served with soy dipping sauce. Mornings in Hyderabad just got more interesting.