*4.5/5 Between the NYT Top 100 feature and high praise from my own network, Hyderabadi has sat on my hit list for quite some time. Space: Small! Three tables and a bar. We came at 11:45am on a Saturday afternoon, sat immediately, and left the restaurant with maybe 15 folks waiting. Be prepared for a wait or come early. Service: Friendly! No complaints. Food: Ummm so good? Disappointed we didn't order a biryani but just means we need to run it back. Tomato pepper soup - A tangy take on tomato soup. Would be perfect for a cold winter day. However, why tf did we order a veggie soup at an Indian restaurant? I blame myself for listening to an uhhh non-ethnic girl on Tiktok give this rec. Gobi manchurian - So crispy and flavorful. I want all my cauliflower prepared this way. I would like to try the other gobi iterations that are more "traditional" in their seasoning. Goat bhuna - The best dish. So rich and the goat chunks were delightfully tender (beware of a few bones). They said this was dairy-free even though it's just so creamy. Would re-order. Well, that's that! I'll be back.

Really delicious biryani and amazing appetizers! Taking off one star because this place is quite hectic if you choose to dine in but take out is definitely the best option. We had to wait about an hour to get seated for dinner even though the server told us the wait would be 15-20 minutes. They don't have an efficient way to service everyone but it truly is worth the wait once you get seated. We ordered the boneless chicken biryani and chicken vepudu. So delicious and some of the best desi food NYC has to offer hands down! I also got a mango lassi which was a little thick but really good as well. If you get a chance to eat here or takeout, definitely try this place!

I enjoyed the paneer briyani (4/5 stars), the plain naan (4/5 stars), and the mango lassi (4/5 stars) just for $25. I am eager to go back because I'm not a huge biryani fan so if I enjoyed all these dishes I'm sure the curries are amazing!! I found them on: $$ Manhattan https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/dining/best-nyc-restaurants.html

This is a tiny restaurant, as all other reviews have mentioned. There's about 3 tables and a bar along the wall for seating, maybe about 16 total seats in the spot. Seems like a lot of people order takeout from here as well, which makes sense given the tight space. Came here with a friend around 7:30, and we waited about 30 minutes for a table to open up. Service isn't slow, but isn't fast either. I got the Gobi Manchurian and the Chicken 65 Biriyani, and both were excellent. The gobi was nice and crispy, even with the sauce, and it definitely hit the spot for me. The biriyani here was also great, with lots of flavor and fluffy rice, and the chicken was tender, flavorful, and well cooked. Overall, a great meal well worth the price. There's hype around this spot, and I fully understand it.

Excellent food - you have to like simple if you dine in but I do. The vegetable biryani was delicious with just the perfect blend of spices and cinnamon. The Dahl Makhani was some of the best I have had and the bitter chicken was beautifully sweet. Just right

This place is located down a few steps from the street level and is unassuming, super small with limited seating. The interior has a warm feeling with bright yellow walls, lovely Biryani Map of India (which was strangely blurry to the eye, but completely clear looking in photos), and plenty of artwork / photographs of different parts of India. For my drink, I decided to try the Sweet Lassi, which came already made from the fridge. I wasn't sure I would be a fan, but I absolutely LOOOVVVEEED it! The drink was a fragrant blend of curd, sugar, and green cardamom, along with a slightly nutty taste. It was velvety smooth, thick, and sweet. My friend I shared the Garlic Naan, which was quite good, as there was actual bits of garlic and yummy seasoning on top. The Naan was also slightly crisp and buttery Since the restaurant is known for their Biryani, I ordered the Fish Biryani (which is unique). The rice was perfectly cooked and full of flavor. The fish was incredibly well seasoned, delightfully tender, and flaky. Service was solid. Our waiter was welcoming and knowledgeable about the menu. Prices were very reasonable. One issue was the lack of restroom - that's how tiny the space was! I might return at some point to try the Lamb Korma or Shrimp Pepper Fry, but it won't be for awhile.

This is a hole in the wall restaurant that is jammed packed with people sharing one thing in common and that is eating some good Indian food. I ordered the classic Butter Chicken which was the ideal chicken to sauce ratio with a small kick of spice. The Malabaar Curry has a similar texture to the Butter Chicken but stood out with great spice level and plump shrimps mixed in with the sauce. And you can't go wrong with the rice pairing for both dishes. Also I appreciated how they accommodated with serving me hot water since I was feeling a bit cold when arriving at the restaurant. This is a small restaurant that fills to the brim with large parties and guests who want to order and share a lot. I noticed that when entering and leaving so this is a place to come and try many dishes from their menu. Overall great place to order and share with friends or come by yourself to enjoy a meal. Just keep in mind what time you arrive to get a seat and how packed it gets during certain times of the day

I loved everything about this meal. It is a small, unassuming basement restaurant. You walk down a few steps to get in, and it is honestly nothing very special to look at with its pixelated map of India on the wall, and the basic wooden tables. However, the service is kind and attentive, the place settings are surprisingly classy (real silverware, tin cups for water, beautiful metal dishes), and of course, the food is fantastic. We shared the Chicken Vepudu (perhaps my favorite dish), Shrimp Pepper Fry (excellent), Butter Chicken (predictable crowd pleaser, but excellent), HZ Special Biryani (outstanding), Aloo Papdi Chaat (the perfect starter, with plenty of flavor and texture), a fish dish that's name escapes me (delicious), and some garlic naan (perfect, but slightly late because I assume it was being baked fresh). It is rare that I share seven or eight different dishes with people, and they are all so very, very tasty. Not anything close to a loser in the bunch. Each item was distinctly different from the others, extremely fragrant, quite delicious, and something I would happily eat again. This is the best Indian food I've had in quite some time, and some of the best food I've had this year. And although I don't usually frequent midtown, I plan to come back. Soon.