Sri Kakatiya Deluxe Mess — Restaurant in Hyderabad

Kakatiya Mess in Ameerpet has long held cult status among Hyderabadis for its unapologetically authentic Telugu food, and my wife and I—both fans of homely pappu, rice, and the kind of cooking that feels like a warm hug—finally made the pilgrimage. We went in knowing it wasn’t going to be a fine-dining experience, but nothing quite prepared us for the chaos.

Driving there was our first mistake. The mess is tucked into a narrow street with barely enough room for a couple of parked cars. We got lucky with a spot near the dead end, but it felt like winning a lottery. The restaurant itself is decades old and unpretentious, which we appreciated. No valet, no reservations, no token system until you’re inside. But even at 2:30 PM, the queue outside was intense—standing, jostling, and inching forward like temple crowds during festival season. After 30 minutes of this, we were let in, only to face another challenge: finding a table. There’s no host or signage, and the wait staff are indistinguishable unless you spot plastic gloves or serving buckets. Uniforms would go a long way here.

Once inside, you buy a prepaid token for your meal and any extras. We got two veg meals and added chicken curry for myself (my wife is vegan). The system is designed for speed—within a minute, your plate is loaded and the meal begins. It’s a factory-style setup with rapid turnover, and while efficient, it’s not exactly relaxing.

The food, thankfully, lives up to the hype. The sakkara pongal was a standout—comforting and rich. The rice, spinach dal, mango pappu, chicken curry, and bendakaya poriyal (ladies’ finger stir-fried with coconut) were all excellent. Sambar and pickles were average, but overall, the flavors were deeply nostalgic and satisfying. At ₹250 per person, it’s economical and just short of being worth the money—mainly because of the experience, not the food.

Hygiene is tolerable but messy, especially considering how many people cycle through each table in an hour. The washroom experience isn’t for everyone, and you’ll need to purchase bottled water separately. The place is 100% not accessibility-friendly—tight spaces, no ramps, and no seating support for seniors. It’s best suited for bachelors or families who don’t mind the wait and the hustle. I honestly can’t imagine this place ever being crowd-free.

I’d rate it 4 stars. The food is genuinely good, but the overall experience felt more like a survival challenge than a meal. Worth trying once if you’re craving authentic Telugu food and don’t mind a bit of chaos. For us, it was an adventure—one we’re...

What a mind-blowing simple and homely food. You will forget about all the nooks when you have the first morsel of the food you ordered. It's so heavenly. You will feel that you are having homemade soul food. The spices and taste of the food are so original, that I felt like it is exactly made the way my granny used to feed me with lots of love. The food will be served in Natural Sal Leaf Plate with a small katori of dahi, small portion of sweet/halwa and papad. They will serve you piping hot rice, with unlimited fine quality ghee, which one can enjoy with different types of Podis/powders such as Karam podi. Along with that comes several pickles, there was avakaya, carrot and brinjal pickles. The menu changes every day and that day we had dal, bhindi/okra fry and dosakaya sabzi. I had tasted dosakaya first time in my life.Loved each one of the items. The servers will fill your plate instantly if they see it empty. Loved their hospitality and the fact that the food was moderately spicy, which absolutely match the taste buds of a person like me who can not tolerate too much spices. we had also ordered Boneless chicken fry pulao and chicken fry. Both were awesome. A must-try place in the city of nizams.

Again visited on 25th March 22 during lunch hours . Seeing the huge crowd on the stairs I was coming back . But then gradually the crowd started thinning away, so entered into the restaurant. Waited for 15-20 mins and got the seat. Got the seat and had to share with some unknown couple, which I didn’t like. This time I felt that the dal and soyabean dosakaya sabzi was too sour for my palate. There was also sambar on the table tasted good. Though the brinjal fry was the show-stealer. I had it with fresh ghee and rice. Enjoyed sweet Pongal and my all time favourite dahi. The servers are really good, they take good care of their guests, But one suggestion, crowd management should be better so that one doesn’t have to wait for more than 15 mins in...

Pet Puja Food and Travel - Restaurant / Food Review - Long review alert

Sri Kalatiya Deluxe Mess, Ameerpet

Well! This place doesn't need any introduction. Very popular amongst office goers and students of numerous coaching centers in and around Ameerpet. Also they are listed on #Swiggy .

This place was on our 'to be visited' place since long. Finally went there today.

It's a typical mess scene. No way that one can get a reserved table 😁. Wherever there is a chair empty, you may be accommodated there and share the table with some unknown hungry people 😋.

Don't forget to buy the coupons at the counter before you are seated. Unlimited veg meals costs INR 130 per person and you can buy non-veg sides (Mutton fry, Chicken fry, fish fry, fish curry etc) at extra cost. As fish was not available during lunch today, we went ahead with simple veg meal.

The meal was typical South Indian meal which contained plain Rice, Daal, a Brinjal curry, fried Cabbage, Sambar, Rasam, Papad, Curd and sweet.

4-5 varieties of pickles, Ghee and a variety of gun powder was omni present on the table. Well, as it's a mess, you get unlimited helping of everything except for Curd and sweet. And you can trade the curd for an extra sweet incase you do not wish to have curd.

Food tasted good (good and not superlative) and service was quick. Though the place was very crowded, we somehow got a place immediately (we had to share the table with some strangers though).

They have made arrangements for car parking in a place little ahead of the restaurant (walkable) as the lane is very crowded. This is good arrangement.

Overall, one can have a satisfying South Indian meal with a small budget and can make friends with a stranger (if you have the skills to make friends within 15-20 minutes of your meal time 😁).

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