Hyderabad House — Restaurant in Indianapolis

I rarely post reviews, but this place is a gem on the south side...so I am making this effort. HH offers Indian dishes that actually have spice, are pungent and bring the heat...like Indian cuisine should. We, my spouse and I, enjoyed the meal and will definitely be back to try new items on the vast menu.

FOOD AND DRINK

We started with a Dosa and enjoyed it completely. I think we had the Masala Dosa. Everything it came with was very flavorful. Unlike many other Indian places we've been to in Indiana, the Tandoori Chicken we ordered was flavorful but also moist and juicy. We also had an okra curry and chicken biryani, both had absolutely amazing flavor. We ordered it with garlic naan, which was really nice with those dishes. Portions are PLENTIFUL. Also, I want to note that the presentation of the dishes was excellent.

We shared a mango lassi (be careful with these as they taste great but can be very filling and you'll be stuffed before the food arrives), which helped ease the fire from heat in the dishes. They provided water in bottles, which we also drank.

I don't usually get Indian sweet desserts as I prefer light and fruity type desserts, but we shared an order of the gulab jamun. They were super sweet, as they should be. We were too stuffed to try some of the other offerings but will try them in the future.

VIBE

The restaurant has only been open for about 2 months, according to our server. It's modern and clean with booth and table seating. It's not a sports bar, but it sure had TV's on all the walls playing YouTube videos. Visually, it was a lot though...maybe that's the trend.

We went at around 8:30 PM on a Saturday evening and the place was packed as was the ice cream joint next door (I believe the are connected). Nearly the entire clientele appeared to be Indian families, which to me is one indicator of a good Indian restaurant.

Service was responsive and polite, despite being as busy and as late as it was. They stay open until 11 PM. I didn't look at the time, but it must have been 9:30 or so when we left and it was still full and people were still coming in!

HONEST FEEDBACK

When the waiter asked if everything was ok at the end of our meal, I shared the feedback that we enjoyed everything, but that we thought the okra may have had just a touch too much salt. He immediately offered to remove it from the bill. I declined as we enjoyed had the dish nonetheless. We brought everything we couldn't finish home (which was a lot).

Apparently, the dishes we had ordered were a medium level spice. We only know this because the receipt states this. The topic of spice did not come up while ordering. While this did not phase me, my spouse was a bit surprised by the heat level. I hope this place continues to keep the spice level where it should be for Indian food. Bland Indian food isn't Indian food, IMHO. But if you prefer a lower level of heat, you may need to mention this to your server when you order.

Also, I don't know if it's because the restaurant is new and they are working out the kinks, but it seemed unusual to get plastic bottles of water at a sit-down restaurant without a cup. I'm ok with the bottled water, but taking swigs from a plastic bottle makes me feel like I'm at a convenience store, not a restaurant. This is minor point and not really a complaint, just given the high level of execution with the food and service, this seemed like an after thought.

One area of improvement, though, may be the menu. Not the selection, which is huge and great. No, it's that there are no descriptions of the dishes and the menu assumes the customer is an advanced-level master of Indian-cuisine. For those unfamiliar with Indian dishes by name only, the menu offers little help. If you are a novice, check out the article "Indian Food 101: Indian Restaurant Menu Guide" on "Sukhi’s Gourmet Indian Foods" site.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Very delicious meal. Very friendly service. Prices were on the high side, but for the quality of the food, it was worth it. We'll...

*An update to our original review. We returned this month for lunch and wow, how things have changed in 2 months time. We were completely dismissed when trying to speak to the server, more than once. He just couldn't be bothered to answer a couple questions and then when he did he was rude. We also noticed that the restaurant is gross and needs to be cleaned. The floors have trash thrown on them, we watched someone drop a cup on the floor and return it to the counter to be used, the parking lot is disgusting along with the ice cream shop next door. Sad because we really do enjoy their food, but because of the server's attitude and the uncleanliness of the restaurant, we won't be back.

We stopped into Kwality Ice Cream a couple weeks ago and the gentleman there was SO generous with his time and in allowing us to taste test all the flavors we weren't familiar with. Some of the flavors are quite interesting and colorful and definitely worth tasting! Gulab Jamun and the Malai Kulfi were my personal favorites! Absolutely delicious, but very "vanilla" in the flavor department. The flavors with rose petal and the meetha paan (I believe it was the colorful one?) were quite distinct flavors, but so fun to try. We've been back since for ice cream, but today we decided to visit Hyderabad House for lunch.

The gentleman that waited on us was so pleasant, gracious and helpful. He answered all our questions, explained the foods, the spices, the flavors and even how to eat it! Upon his recommendation - to Americans not used to authentic Indian food - we ordered the garlic naan, vegetable samosa, butter masala with chicken and saag with chicken and to drink a mango lassi (I believe). Both entrees came with a huge bowl of Basamati rice (delicious!). I really wanted to try the goat, but I decided to hold off til at least my 2nd or 3rd visit! The garlic naan was amazing, basically Indian garlic bread, can't go wrong. The samosas were a tad spicy, but so, so delicious, would absolutely order again! The butter masala was creamy and flavorful and the chicken simply melted in your mouth! The saag was a total shot in the dark. I'd never even heard of it, but he recommended it so I gave it a go and wow!! The flavors!! Truly delicious. I'm used to eating greens like southerners eat greens and this was not that - at all. You could definitely taste the greens, but the spices and the chicken complimented them and the texture is much more palatable in my opinion! If you like leafy greens, give this a try. Amazing flavors!! We love mangoes and we eat a lot of them, and the mango lassi was a thick mango smoothie type drink, again the flavors were soo good, but it was more of a dessert than a drink to go with the meal. All in all, this experience was so fun and we will for sure return! I highly recommend Hyderabad House, especially if you're looking to try...

My wife and I ate out here. I suggest you read the review finished to get the full picture. At first it was great and the server (who I believe was the manager) was very knowledgeable. My wife and I love Indian food and always eat at Indian restaurants wherever we can. He suggested a few meals that are “REAL” Indian dishes before the “European influence”. I got the fish and curry and it was DELICIOUS. Probably right up there with my favorite Indian dishes.

The only problem I have, is that I asked him if the fish has any bones before placing the order - to which he emphatically replied “There is no bones at all, it’s boneless”.

Since it’s a big dish, I took half the meal home. I found a small bone in the dish while eating at the restaurant and when I came home and ate the leftovers I found a pretty big bone.

Out of all bones fish is the most dangerous and can cause you to choke and have surgery. I don’t care about bones in fish. My problem is the fact that he said there was no bones in the fish. If he had told me there might be some bones it means I would have eaten with more precaution or perhaps ordered another dish. I mean how do you know and recommend one of their favorite and original Indian dishes and not know there are bones involved?

When we were finished, he asked us multiple times to leave a review - so now I feel that obliged to.

I loved the food, make no mistake about it, but they need to warn people or be more knowledgeable about what they recommend.

All in all, it’s fantastic food, though the beer and alcohol are lacking, and the atmosphere isn’t the best. If you’re solely looking for wonderful and amazing food - then this is the place for you, but just be careful of bones involved the fish.

No hard feelings and again. The...