Ishtaa — Restaurant in Hyderabad

Title: A Disappointing Experience at "Ishtaa" - A Review to Remember

I visited "Ishtaa" for lunch on 20 Jan 2024, expecting a delightful culinary experience. Unfortunately, my expectations were met with a series of disappointments that I feel compelled to share.

Long Waiting Time & Rude Staff: Right from the beginning, the visit was marred by an unreasonably long wait time. The behavior of the staff, particularly the person managing the queue, was outright rude. Their lack of coordination was evident when, after a prolonged wait, we were sent in only to be questioned rudely about our presence without permission. This was not just disorganized but seriously insulting.

Subpar Food Quality: The main disappointment, however, was the food. We ordered the 'Sankranti Pandaga Bhojanam,' which turned out to be a culinary disaster. Every dish, be it pappu, sambar, drustick or potato curry, was excessively salty. The quality was so poor that it was hard to believe we were eating at a reputed restaurant.

Poor Service: The serving experience was equally dismal. The attentiveness of the staff was practically non-existent. We had to repeatedly call for service for every little need. To add to the frustration, 90% of the servers seemed clueless about what they were serving. Only one person could speak local language and it was impossible for him to attend every table.

Exorbitant Prices: The prices were exorbitant, especially considering the quality of food and service. It felt like even a small, local mess would offer a far better taste and value for money. This left us questioning the expertise of the chefs in the kitchen.

Valet Parking Fiasco: Lastly, the valet parking service was a nightmare. Our car was parked 500 meters away on a road lined with '1000 rupees fine' boards. The inconvenience of walking this distance and the risk involved were the final straws is an already frustrating experience. Never seen such a careless approach to the cars of the customers.

Conclusion: Overall, my visit to "Ishtaa" was nothing short of pathetic. From the long wait, rude staff, and terrible food to the poor service and parking disaster, every aspect of the experience was a letdown. I would ironically suggest renaming the restaurant to "Aishtaa," as it certainly did not live up to its name. A word of advice: avoid visiting Ishtaa if you cherish your time, money,...

Extremely Disappointed with Service, Food Quality, and Value for Money at Ishtaa.. We visited Ishtaa a couple of weeks back with our parents, hoping for a peaceful and satisfying meal. Unfortunately, this turned out to be one of the worst dining experiences we’ve ever had in Hyderabad — not just in terms of food, but also the service, response time, and value for money.

We placed an order for 2 Veg Thalis and 1 Panasapottu Biryani. After making us wait for over 15 minutes, the server returned and casually told us that Veg Thali was not available due to a backlog of orders. This should have been informed while taking the order itself, not after making us wait unnecessarily.

We even requested if they could arrange at least one Veg Thali, since we had already waited. But the server didn’t even respond properly. We then raised it with the floor manager, who said he would try to arrange it. Again, no update came even after 10 more minutes of waiting.

Tired and hungry, we changed our order to 2 Panasapottu Biryanis, Muddhapappu Avakay Annam, and Curd Rice. Shockingly, they brought 1 Veg Biryani and 1 Panasapottu Biryani instead. The Veg Biryani was already served on the plate, so we had no option but to accept it. Such carelessness and miscommunication is unacceptable.

Another major letdown was the quantity. For the price they charged, the Muddhapappu Avakay Annam and Curd Rice portions were extremely small. I even asked the server how they could justify this quantity for such pricing — no proper response was given. It felt like we were being overcharged for the bare minimum.

To top it all, the Panasapottu Biryani was undercooked and tasted below average. Clearly not prepared well. Since we were too hungry and tired by then, we avoided further complaints and just ate whatever was manageable and left.

To be honest, I wouldn’t even consider giving a 1-star rating for this kind of service, food quality, and customer handling. It's shocking how such a restaurant operates with this level of mismanagement.

This was hands down one of the most disappointing and frustrating restaurant visits we’ve had. We had high hopes from Ishtaa, but we’re extremely let down, and we do not...

As everyone was talking about this new pure-vegetarian hotel in Hitec City, I went to Ishtaa for lunch to see what all the fuss was about. First, there was a long line during peak lunch hour but the good part was that the queue was well-managed. The large wooden framed door, the green interiors, and the massive kathakali masks all give off a nice South Indian vibe as soon as you walk in. The seats were plush and very comfortable. The menu was quite extensive, with too many options to choose from. Because there were five of us, we ordered a variety of items from the menu to try. The soups were flavorful and delicious. Even all the appetizers we ordered, Hara bara kebab, spring rolls, paneer satay, and malai broccoli were all very tasty. I particularly enjoyed the malai broccoli and paneer satay. We ordered Rotis, Butter Naan, and Mixed Kulcha, as well as curries, for the main course. The rotis were soft and went well with the curries, which were flavorful and adequately spiced. Even the Noodles and Ishtaa special fried rice were quite good. And for the kids in the group, we ordered teddy dosa, noodles, fries, dragon paneer, and Ice cream dosa. Even those were quite good, and the kids seemed to enjoy them. There are a whole lot of items specifically for kids too! We only ordered one dessert, Basundi Jamoon, because we were already quite full. It was perfectly sweetened and delicious. Needless to say, it was completed quickly. Overall, Ishtaa was a delightful experience. Very family-friendly environment, courteous staff, extensive South Indian and North Indian menu items, and absolutely delicious food! I would definitely recommend a visit and I myself plan to return very soon!! PS: They have a Wallet service to the basement parking, so no problems in...