I had heard a lot about Raj Bhavan Road even before I moved to Hyderabad. It seemed to me that everyone’s offices were there and as were all the apartment complexes. Now that I am in the city, I find this road has more than just offices and apartment complexes. It has shops, and ice cream parlours and plenty of restaurants. This is my first review on a restaurant on RB Road, though I have been to several.
While driving down this road to find a place for dinner, my friend and I spotted board that said, ’’Big Chef’’ and a slogan that read ’’Eat More Pay Less’’ or something to that effect. How can a foodie like me even think of resisting such a caption?
The restaurant is located on the ground floor of Vista Grand Towers. At first, I thought it resembled a food arcade (like Planet Yumm). When we entered, I found that it was indeed a food arcade. Kind of like the Red E Food Court in Madras.
The place is spotlessly clean and very inviting. It’s not a restaurant that you would visit for its ambience or dim lighting. It’s the kind of place you would go to for a no nonsense meal when hunger strikes. The music is at times the same...the CD that MCH must be giving out with restaurant licences :-) and at times Kenny G. The place is very brightly lit and the seating is more like that of a coffee shop. It is a self service joint, but the staff is very friendly and there’s one gentleman who’s constantly doing the rounds, chatting up with customers etc.
Now that I’ve told you about all else, let me get to the main reason I went there...the food. The place is divided into several sections or ’’republics’’. I can’t remember the names of them all, but they’re like Chaat Republic, Hyderabad Republic, Dessert Republic, Snack Republic and so on. This place is truly multi cuisine. I mean it really offers more than just Indian, Chinese and Tandoori. And the prices aren’t bad at all. The place serves Mexican and continental fare. Even items like Shepherd’s pie that I’ve not noticed in other menus. It also serves a wide variety of salads, snacks and beverages.
Big Chef also serves combo meals that come with a soft drink. These are quite filling and are easy on the pocket. These range from kadi chawal to chilli chicken with noodles.
If variety is the spice of life, then Spice Republic lives up to it. They have, on offer, dishes like Mexican Bhel and Chinese Bhel. Must try these out sometime. Even the Indian food here has some kind of western appeal. In terms of the price, our bills have not gone beyond Rs. 100-150 for two people.
I’ve been there a couple of times and I know for a fact that I will go there more often. I’ve tried their enchilada and some chaat stuff. My friend tried their chhole bhatura and chicken burger. Everything was really good. Moreover, the chaat counter made me the wrong dish. I asked the guy at the counter why he was giving Bhel Puri instead of Dahi Puri, he showed me the token. My friend had not checked it then, and there was a mistake. The guy just asked me to return the plate and quickly made me a plate of yummy dahi puri.
The main food that we ordered was so filling that we decided to forego dessert at Iceberg. So while I do know that they have icecreams and pastries, I’ve not yet had the opportunity to sample the stuff.
On the whole, Spice Republic is one of the best things to happen to Hyderabad so what can I say but, ’’Spice Republic Zindabad!’’