10 Downing Street, Hyderabad

We were on the final day of our holiday at Hyderabad and after lazing around in the morning we drove down to 10 Downing Street for lunch. The plan to visit this resto-pub for lunch on a Sunday had always been on our radar since the time we decided upon going to Hyderabad. 10 Downing Street is a resto-pub/night club with its footprints spread across 10 cities of India. Does the expansion stop at the number 10? I hope not..

Menu:

Sundays at 10 Downing Street are special. They have a special a la carte brunch menu which includes Indian, chinese, Italian and continental classics. What makes it special is what it has to offers – every main course dish ordered comes paired with a beverage of our choice and is also followed by a dessert of the day. Of course; the beverage selection offered as a part of this brunch combo is limited to a select few alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.

What we ate:

My wife and I having arrived there early decided to get started with a drink. As we waited for the rest of the group to arrive, my wife sipped Cherry Martini and I settled for a pint of beer. 

Not too long later, the rest of our group arrived and with the order placed; we were on our way to a culinary feast. Drinks were served on our table. We sipped our drinks while conversing rather planning about where and when our next trip would be. 

‘Kung Pao vegetables with shezwan rice’ was the first to arrive; with the rest following in quick successions. The Kung Pao vegetables was delicious and was all cleaned up with the accompanying shezwan fried rice. 

The next two preferred dishes were Chinese too. One was shredded chicken in hot garlic sauce and the other was chicken in Hunan sauce with veg. fried rice and butter garlic noodles respectively. Both of these dishes tasted good.

Shredded Chicken in hot garlic sauce served with veg. fried rice

Chicken in Hunan sauce served with butter garlic noodles

Moving on from Chinese, we had fish & chips on our table. Fried fillets of fish came along with a slice of toasted garlic bread, tartar sauce, boiled vegetables and potato wedges. The fish tasted fresh and the batter coating on the fish was nice and crisp. 

Next arrived, a chicken steak drowned in mushroom sauce and garlic bread and boiled veggies on the side. The sauce was nice and flavorful and the chicken was succulent and tender. The bread was just toasted and had no hint of garlic flavor while the boiled veggies were fine.

The vegetarians on our table also called for an Italian dish, the name of which I do not seem to recollect. I did not try this either but the buzz on our table was this dish tasted heavenly. Heavenly; is what it seemed, going by the pace with which this dish was all cleaned up.

In desserts we were served a scoop of vanilla/strawberry ice cream each.

Verdict:

On the service front, there were both strengths and weak links visible. Their strength was in quick service. In spite of being full house, our order was brought to our table in about 15 minutes. The food was served hot and fresh. The biggest disappointment for us on the service front was being serving an incorrect dish in the name of another; yet not accepting this mistake. 

10 Downing Street had a nice ambiance, plush interiors, and lots of polished wood; giving its patrons a feel of an English pub. The bar counter looked elegant. There was a good mix of crowd which included groups of friends, families, couples and business associates. In all, we had a good time listening to some good English numbers, sipping the well made drinks and not going by authenticity, the good food that’s for sure to leave you satisfied. I definitely look forward to coming back here when in town again; not just for Sunday brunch but also for their weekend night events. 

Though located in a shopping complex, the restaurant provides for valet parking which can be availed by driving up to the valet counter placed by 10 Downing Street. 

We ate all this and paid just a little less than Rs. 2000 which is a steal for a place like 10 Downing Street. Bangalore... Take Note..

Address: 10, Ground Floor, My Home Tycoon, Lifestyle Building, Begumpet, Hyderabad

Phone Number: 040 - 66629323

Chutney's, Secunderabad

En route Hyderabad (technically Secunderabad) for a weekend, we sat chatting in the bus about what we planned to do on this weekend holiday. While we planned to visit Ramoji Film city, watch (again) ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ on IMAX screen, party and just have fun; we could not miss talking about the food we’d eat. Given we were visiting Hyderabad, biryani was the most sought after dish among us. Keeping this for lunch or dinner, we decided to head to Chutney’s a fine dine restaurant in the breakfast space.

Menu:

The menu comprised south Indian classics like idli, dosa and uttapam varieties, vada etc and Andra specialties like Guntur idli for breakfast. For lunch and dinner; the restaurant served the regular Indian and Indo-Chinese fare. 

What we ate:

Not certain if they take reservations, we landed up at Chutney’s only to realize that we’d have to wait a bit to be seated on a table. During this wait, we looked up the menu for options and were set to order on being seated. A couple of portions of Guntur idli, vada - sambar, pongal and masala dosa it was. And Sudoku begins…. Yes, as we waited for the food to arrive, most of us tried to solve the Sudoku puzzle on the table, while I sat trying my hand at photography.

Engrossed in Sudoku, we were delighted to receive the first arrival on our table; Chutneys - 4 different types of them. Starting with the top right and going clockwise is (1) regular coconut chutney (2) Peanut chutney (3) my personal favorite – Coconut milk chutney and (4) onion, red chilli and ginger - garlic chutney.

Soon to follow was portions of Guntur idli. This was steamed rice idli topped with loads of ghee and red Guntur powder. The accompaniments to this were piping hot sambar and the variety of chutneys served. The Guntur idlis were flavorful and tasted exceptionally good with the sweet coconut milk chutney, peanut chutney and sambar.

Pongal came along with onion raita. The flavor was subtle. Thought it tasted well with the raita, my recommended accompaniment for would be sambar.

While pongal was being downed, we were distracted with the arrival of vada dipped in a bowl of hot sambar. Without wasting any time; the bowl was cleared. While the vada was good, it was the sambar that drew our attention. The flavor is so addictive with the sweetness to hit the palate initially and then the spice.

We finished with masala dosa followed by hot coffee. The dosa was of a  golden brown consistency. It was very light and crisp.  The coffee was typical south Indian filter coffee; packed with flavor and best sipped when served hot.

Verdict:

The service we received; from the time we were asked to wait for a table to be readied right up to the time we paid the bill and left the restaurant was fabulous. The staff was attentive, polite, and friendly. They ensured that the food served and any refills of sambar requested was served hot. As for the food, with no second thoughts; I can say that Chutney’s has been consistent at serving great food and delighting its patrons.

Difficult to find parking on Sardar Patel road; we were happy to be received by the valet parking staff. 

A breakfast here at Chutney’s costs an average of Rs. 200 to Rs. 300 for two and is worth every rupee spent.

Quick Tips:

Go here for a relaxed breakfast and you are sure to have a great start to your day.

Do not miss trying the guntur Idli, the variety of chutney’s served here and not to forget the vada – sambar.

Address: 1-8-303/ 48/ 3 Main Road, S P Road, Secunderabad
Phone Number: 040 - 66908484