💬 Dinner at Masala Dhaba, 4 out of 5 from me

Went to Masala Dhaba last Friday with 3 friends. Four of us, one big table near the wall. It looks like a proper dhaba. Wooden tables, plain lights, nothing fancy on the walls anywhere. My friend Arif said it felt like a highway stop that somebody moved into the city. I took that as a compliment. The place is loud and nobody there minds one bit. We ordered butter chicken, chicken tikka, naan and 1 dal makhani. Then we ordered a second dal makhani. That's how good it was. Thick, slow cooked, and it didn't taste like yesterday's batch warmed up again. The naan came out soft with burnt spots on the edges, exactly how it should be. The butter chicken was fine, good but not amazing. The tikka was a little dry on one side. Nobody left hungry, which doesn't always happen when you go out with Arif and Zaheer. Those two can finish a plate of naan before the curry even reaches the table. The staff stayed out of our way. They checked on us twice and that was all. I like that. I hate when a waiter stands behind your chair waiting for the next order. Parking was easy, which for a Friday night felt like a small miracle to me. We found a spot right outside and I didn't have to circle the block even once. Splitting the bill 4 ways was no shock either, so nobody argued at the counter. I'd say 4 out of 5. The missing star is for the dry tikka. At the next table a couple was eating a mutton dish that smelled great. We couldn't see the name. I'm going back for it, probably in 2 weeks, once my friends stop teasing me about the second dal. Zaheer wants to try the starters first. I told him he can pay for those himself. If you've been there, what should I order next, apart from the mutton?

I've been twice and the food was the same both times, which is rare for me.

For family visits, I'd recommend Shah Ghouse if you're looking for good Hyderabadi food. Their biryani, mutton dishes, and kebabs are excellent and consistently good. It can get crowded, especially during peak dinner hours on weekends, but the food quality makes the wait worth it most of the time. For a more relaxed family dinner, there are also plenty of good alternative options around Banjara Hills and Jubilee Hills that offer similar quality without quite as much crowd.

Went about 2 months back with family. We ordered dry prawns and mutton rogan, plus naan and dal makhani.