Spicy Touch

The Scene
Quick, name a popular restaurant near Clock Tower. Chances are, Kamat. And just maybe Garden (Mehfill is too expensive to be called popular).

Yes, Spicy Touch scores highest on location - it's bang in the middle of arguably the busiest part of Secunderabad. The results show - it's been crowded right since the first month. The place certainly needed something between Kamat and Mehfill, and the restaurant from Sindhuri Residency bridges the gap.

There's effort to lend character, and both Spicy Touch's floors (there's a mezzanine) look better than they could have been. The tables have glass casings with marbles forming patterns inside, there's a determination to use lighting classily upstairs, the upholstery is noticeable, and there are a couple of group/family enclosures separated by glass and shimmery shades. Yes, you could almost call it even date-friendly. Then you remember the crowds on the ground floor. Like we said, location.

The Food
Spicy Court serves Indian, Chinese and Continental, and hold your yawn, they do an elaborate job of it. When you have 200+ items on the menu, you can offer almost every standard name in the cuisines, and then some.

Appetizers are mostly Chinese, but 22 veg and 23 non-veg feature just about whatever you can ask for, including a few tikkas. There's corn, mushroom, paneer, chicken, mutton, fish, prawns, and all of these on platters too to cut costs. Veg platters cost Rs. 249, non-veg cost Rs. 299, and prawn goes up to Rs. 599.

There are a dozen soups and salads, too, and at Rs. 50 mostly, give an idea of the prices - affordable for a middle class outing. The main course is divided into Chinese, Andhra, North-Indian and Continental, and offers 15-30 options in each (though Continental is relatively less populated). Main dishes usually cost Rs. 100-170 (veg to non-veg), and include popular names like Gobu Manchurian, Nellore Chapala Pulusu, Gongura Mutton, Punjabi Mutton Masala and Spaghetti Napolitiane, but also Chicken 777 (find out), Stir-Fried Chicken In Black Bean Sauce and Penne In Pesto.

Continental stuff is only sauteed and not baked, but there still are steaks and shasliks in the 10-item menu. There are all the standard biryani/pulao rice items (Rs. 50-135), too. Desserts (Rs. 55-95) feature mostly ice creams, with the de rigueur Gulab Jamoon.

The Verdict
There's always been a dispute on whether or not it's a sin to be found around Clock Tower on a Saturday night. Look's like there's a consensus emerging.