Salzburg Street

It takes nerve, ambition, chutzpah, and perhaps a touch of insanity to plonk a Bavarian Castle bang opposite the customary dwelling place of the State's bureaucracy. It also takes a devil of a lot of effort to keep the ramparts gleaming. A restaurant in what is obviously a fine building is somewhat like Milo Minderbinder's chocolate-coated cotton.

The Scene
The Castle honestly defies categorization. And an amazing ground floor, complete with suits of armor, houses Salzburg Street, the 24-hour coffee shop. The suits of armor don't gleam. You can argue that this improves verisimilitude. The rough edges around the rest of the interiors, however, can't be justified so easily. Alas, poor Castle, the years have not treated thee well. Managed today by the Best Western Group, the Amrutha Castle is trying to recapture the days of future passed.

The Salzburg Street is laid out just a bit incongruously. Columns pop up, the doors to "the facilities" and to the kitchen could and should have been better disguised, and so on. Small defects like these detract from what's an otherwise beautiful room.

The lobby flows into the dining area, which is convenient for tired travelers eager for a bite before hitting the sheets. Tables, rather than boundaries, define the limits of the dining areas. There's the welcome burble of running waters, courtesy a bubbling fountain. The large fish that breast-stroke through the waters will go a long way towards perking up your kids. And that skein of beer will work for you.

The Food
Choose a table towards the middle of the room, and order a drink to start with. Tamater Dhania Shorba will keep teetotalers going while you run through the menu.

The ABC of Bavarian cuisine should be ApfelStrudel, Auszogene, Biergartens, Blueberry pancakes, Cheese, Chocolates... The beer's cold and the usual brands are all represented, but the rest of the continental cuisine is not what you would expect. You could try the Cheese Pineapple sticks, and follow it up with the Ratatouille and but no, the heart's not really in the Continental food.

The Indian food is better by far. Shikampore Kababs, followed by Kothimeeri Kodi With Parathas, may not sound too Bavarian, but taste plenty good. Vegetarians have little cause to discriminate between items. The paneers and masalas are standard, as are the dals. The Amrutha Dal is worth a visit. Rices are well prepared, though remember that this is a multi-cusine restaurant. True-blue Hyderabadis may turn their noses up, but those less used to "Hyderabadi Biryani" will find them adequate.

Dessert, too, is satisfactory and undeniably Indian - without being noteworthy.

Buffets are on offer all through the week. Vegetarian and non-vegetarian buffets on weekdays are priced separately, as are weekend buffets.

The Verdict
The Castle, started with a bang, went on the decline for a brief while. The new management has set it on the path to redemption, and the effort is encouraging. But it still has a little way to go to reclaim its "Gourmet's Delight" tag.

Also read: Amrutha Castle