Garden Restaurant

The Scene
Do you want to jostle with other hungry people for your parcel of biryani or enjoy it in a melancholically dark restaurant with disaffected waiters for company? A tough choice, we admit. A choice made easier by the knowledge that no matter which way you do it, you'll be digging into the best plate of biryani in the city. Well, in Secunderabad anyway. All right, in the vicinity of the Clock Tower.

The Food
The biryani at Garden is spicy as hell, compared to, say, Paradise. It's also much richer, and each plate includes a boiled egg. The mirchi ka salan is not much to write home about - Hyderabad House does it better - but if you like your salan watered down instead of thick, then this will do. Another mucho popular dish here is the haleem. Watch out for the random bits of bone, and ask for an extra helping of fried onions to go with it. Also, Garden opens at 8am, and there's good reason - Chicken Liver Curry, Kheema, Bhaji Gurda, Egg Burji, Omelet, Green Salad, Onion Salad... yes, the essential Hyderabadi breakfast. It almost single-handedly makes waking up seem worth it.

The Verdict
One of the major stop-overs on the biryani tour, Garden scores for a variety that's, although on the greasy side, cooked thoroughly well so the spices come together deliciously. A favorite with many true blue Hyderabadis.