Cafe Tabandah & Bakery — Restaurant in Hyderabad

Lukhmi (Veg) - Rs.15/pc Irani Tea - Rs.20/-

Cafe Tabandah, Nampally, Hyderabad

Local Hyderabadi Snacks

$

21.06.2025

After the wonderful 1st Day of the Food Tour & since I'm here also for a Hyderabadi wedding, l started today with a dish which until 20-25 years ago was the main starter dish in any Muslim Hyderabadi wedding. The Lukhmi. Lukhmi in Urdu loosely translates into Morsel or Bite Size.

The Lukhmi was a Royal dish in the courts of the Nizam & was one of those dishes that was created to substitute the vegetable samosa for the Nizam to enjoy. When the Nizams power started to dwindle, the dish began to be served in rich affluent Hyderabadi weddings as the cost of meat would have been alot to bear. It usually has a filling of beef or mutton & the pastry was much more crispier than a samosa. Then slowly it started appearing in Irani shops as a snack & was popular until the Chinese snacks & starters came into the picture & became popular as they were taken to be more exotic.

Today even shops that sell Lukhmi will prepare only a batch a day as there are no more takers as it is double the price of a vegetable samosa & can be found only in localities with a predominant Muslim population. Hence once a mainstay in the Hyderabadi menu, it is almost difficult to find Lukhmi, especially the meat version as I found myself hopping all alone through 3 stores across the city (Alhamdulillah Hotel, Sarvi Hotel & Cafe Tabandah) in very local local places, only having to be content with the Vegetable version at @cafetabandah , which many hardcore Lukhmi patrons will not even consider as authentic Lukhmi.

Here is my review of this iconic dish-

Ambience- 3.9 This is a local eatery in the truest sense of the word. I was the only Asian looking guy in the place. Infact I was the only Asian looking guy in the entire locality. Everyone in the shop were actually staring at me. The tables & chairs were pretty normal & it was more an open kind of a setting where one would have to share tables with a total stranger. In a way it had a charm of its own. The counter was at the other end of the room.

Service - 3.6

The people in Hyderabad speak Urdu but it is a little on the coarser side, not like the Urdu in Lucknow. So the person who brought me my Lukhmi had a harsher tone but then I'm quite used to it.

Quantity - 4.35

Well since Lukhmi meant Morsel in Urdu, I didn't expect it to be a big portion, but when it came it was much bigger than what I had in mind. But I wished the filling was a little more than what I got.

Quality - 4.4

The quality was good as in though it didn't come out straight of the frying pan, it was still crispy outside. And it wasn't oily at all.

Taste -

Lukhmi -4.6

The pastry was light & crispy. Much more crispier than a samosa but it was airy & fluffy inside. It had the same buttery texture as a puff. The filling was potato & peas. It was tasty but I can imagine how minced beef or mutton would taste like. As a dish, it was very good.

Irani Tea-4.3

It was good tea but definitely not as good as the one I had yesterday at Cafe Niloufer.

Price - 4.6

15 bucks for a vegetable snack is equivalent to a veg samosa in Shillong but if it had a bit more filling, that would have made it excellent.

Overall-4.24/5.0

If I was rating it just for the Lukhmi it would be close to excellent. But taking everything into account it was still a wonderful once in a lifetime kind of experience.

Instagram -...

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