Hotel Haridwar (Restaurant)

The Scene
Strictly functional. Haridwar's restaurant may not inspire you to write a poem, but then it doesn't phase your dignity out either. People come here for the food, not necessarily to get photographed while at it. And they keep coming back. People include marwari and middle class families in the neighbourhood, sales executives, and students of the nearby Koti Women's College. Did we mention students of the nearby Koti Women's College? Yes, there's that glamour bit, too - they hop in mostly for breakfast.

This small air-conditioned place is an upgraded version of an even smaller self-service joint that held forth in the neighbourhood until early-2007, and has about 10 tables. The layout and ambience reflect the location - very '80s Hyderabad, when entering an air-conditioned place was an end in itself, and upholstery translated to luxury. No, this isn't a décor place - if it weren't for the food, it would be just another run-of-the-mill eat-out.

The Food
The folks at Haridwar crow about their North-Indian cuisine, and they kid you not.

Originally famous as a breakfast joint, with an array of predominantly South-Indian breakfast fare, the new avatar of Haridwar's eat-out boasts extremely good North-Indian food, too. Reflecting its significant patronage by marwaris, there's a whole section titled paneer dishes in the menu, separate from a North-Indian head.

While a North-Indian thali for Rs. 90 - with 2 curries, dal fry, raitha, curd and 2 rotis + rice (we swapped the rice for another 2 rotis by asking nicely) - would be ideal for a single person, a la carte options are many. For some mysterious reason, the waiter told us not to order the South-Indian thali, actually saying it wasn't good.

There's a vast Chinese spread, too, in this vegetarian dine-in, with even mushroom and babycorn dishes. The tiffins - primarily the South-Indian fare, including such exotic stuff as manchurian dosa and spring roll dosa - are available only 7am-12pm and 3pm-7pm, and make the place quite popular. They recommend Tan Tana Tan dosa, but it was a little too self-announcing for our courage.

They serve half portions here, something we haven't seen anywhere else - that should be a lure in itself for those wanting to try out a variety. Plus, Jain food, too. And a whole ice cream parlor attached (branded Scoops) offers an array of sundaes, priced Rs. 20 - Rs. 65.

The Verdict
Haridwar isn't perhaps a place you'd step into if you didn't already know about it. Fortunately for you, you use fullhyd.com.