Friday, May 09, 2008

Hyderabad's Only Drive-In Irani Restaurant

Yesterday I dropped in at an unusual Irani Restaurant. This restaurant located near Ravindra Bharati is Hyderabad’s only drive-in Irani Restaurant. Hotel Panchsheel just beside Ravindra Bharati on the Birla Mandir side is the drive-in Irani I am talking about. You can drive your bike straight into Hotel Panchsheel, park it and walk two steps to your table. This isn’t the only good thing about it- watching your bike while you sip your tea-for the chota samosas in this Irani are some of the best I’ve tasted in Hyderabad.

I was there yesterday evening on my way to a second hand bookstore in the vicinity. It isn’t very busy in the evenings but seems to attract a lot of people in the afternoons. It is one of those Iranis that serve food too- biryani and stuff like that. The only thing missing in this Irani is the mirror which is a regular fixture in most old time Irani restaurants in Hyderabad.

Panchsheel was quite spacious before the GHMC started cracking down on hotels and establishments that didn’t have adequate parking space. Though they have made a provision (a sliding iron contraption)for parking your bike on the pavement, they also seemed to have shifted some table from a portion of the hotel and made it a parking place. Only hitch is you can park only bikes not cars. However, there aren't many people left around who come to Irani Restaurants in their cars.

No comments: