Unlike citizens of other southern cities like Chennai or Bangalore, more Hyderabadis prefer non-vegetarian cuisine. Diehard vegetarians (like my mom) who would prefer only to pure veg restaurants have fewer places to visit. But the many vegetarian restaurants that have come up in recent times in town are usually of high quality. I rate Utsav as the top vegetarian multicuisine restaurant in town.
It is located in Secunderabad behind the notorious Lamba cinema and is adjacent the (decent) Tivoli Cinema. It is housed in a magnificent old British style mansion that has been white washed and refurbished. There is no car parking inside the gate and patrons have to park on the opposite side of the road (free valet parking available). Two wheelers can be parked inside the gate. Inside the gate is also the open waiting area with plastic chairs where patrons wait to be called in, on crowded weekends (that shows how popular the place is!).
Once u step inside the glass door, there is an ante-room with with two sofas/couches and a high table where you can give your name to be called in when a table is available. The main dining area beyond has an impressive ambience. the whole restaurant is covered in a glass ceiling (sky light) that lets in comfortable natural light in the daytime and gives an effect of being out in the open. At night too, the high ceiling enhances the impression of a large open area.
A flight of stairs lead to the first floor, which is a sort of a balcony overlooking the ground floor. The seating arrangement is comfortable and well planned both on the ground floor and the first floor. The first floor can also be fully or partially booked for private parties or get-togethers. The menu is fairly extensive and varied with Indian, Chinese and Continental available. But this restaurant is more famous for its North Indian cuisine and that is what I always have here. I prefer to eat Chinese at Chinese restaurants and Continental section is not that extensive here.
Chinese starters are good though. The starters like baby corn manchuria, mushroom manchuria, thread paneer etc are top notch! The main course consists of the usual choise of Indian breads and a long list of curries to go with the bread. I really cannot recommend one particular dish since I have sampled many and liked them all! The food is well made and presented tastefully too.
A NOTE: if you prefer your food to be spicier (hotter) specify it while ordering, else most of the dishes are prepared mild.
The restaurant is also known for its executive lunch buffet, but I have never had the opportunity to taste it. Another point about the restaurant are the regular food festivals that take place here, of which the ’’Jaspal di Bhatti’’ Punjabi Festival is the most popular. There is a special menu with some traditional Punjabi dished written on a slate, rural dhabha style! There is also a popular South Indian Food Festival with a huge buffet of traditional Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayali dishes. This is also ’’finger-lickingly’’ good!
The prices in this restaurant are not low, but not very exorbitant either. The curries are priced from around 60-70 upwards, which is quite reasonable for a classy stand-alone restaurant in Hyderabad.
The portions are decent too. This restaurant is highly recommended when you want to impress your strictly vegetarian client or in-laws or just to indulge in the pleasure of eating!