Sumptuous Lunch @ Masala Republic by Dadu's

Date: 01/06/2025

Meal: Lunch

No: of Pax: 03

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Masala Republic

Ambience of Masala Republic

Karari Aloo Tikki Chat w/Dahi

Lakhanpuri Tamatar ki Chaat

Lemon coriander buttermilk cappuccino

Malai Kofta, Dal Makhani and Chur Chur Naan

Cover Story

It has been almost a couple of months now that I posted anything. I was a little occupied with the year end festivities and travel that kept me away. With the New Year 2025, I am back to writing and hopefully I should get at least 1 post every 2 weeks going forward.

I was combing through Zomato and Swiggy for a good vegetarian place to visit on Monday. I live in Secunderabad and was in the mood to check out a local eatery instead of driving a longer distance. I came across Masala Republic by Dadu's which is located in Kompally. What I truly liked about the place was the menu; it looked different and had some options that varied from your usual choices. Additionally, it had a mix of chaats and main course available which suited my mood for the day.

FYI! I went to the Kompally location, however I later learned that they have multiple outlets across Hyderabad.

The Restaurant:

Dadu's has a standalone building in Kompally. Ground floor houses the ever so famous Dadu's mithai shop. Masala Republic is located on the 1st floor. The restaurant has a very chic and upscale decor with very likeable ambience. The color tones used are very nice and soothing. They have an open kitchen here which does add to attraction.

Good to Know: Masala Republic has 2 Banquet Halls that can accommodate 100 pax each. The halls are nice and could be go to place for small gatherings or parties.

The Menu:

The waiting staff got us 3-4 different types of menus. One for drinks, another for starters or a breakfast menu, another was a Season's Special menu and finally, of course, was the main menu as well. It was a cumbersome and, at times a confusing process going through so many menus.

The good part however was that the menu (all 4 combined) was not overly packed with hundreds of dishes. I commend Masala Republic for keeping only the star dishes on the menu rather than adding every dish known to them. The menu is a mix of North Indian, Oriental and Italian cuisines along with delectable selection of chaats and snacks.

The Order:

Here's what we ordered:

Sr No:	Dish	Category	Price (In Rs.)
1	Karari Aloo Tikki w/Dahi	Chaat	179
2	Lakhanpuri Tamatar ki Chaat	Chaat	199
3	Lemon Coriander Buttermilk Cappuccino	Soup	199
4	Desi Makhan Malai Kofta	Main Course	349
5	Dum ki Dal Makhani	Main Course	379
6	Amritsari Chur Chur Naan	Main Course	129

The Food Review:

Let us start with the most important aspect: The taste.

• Karari Aloo Tikki Chat w/Dahi: The Aloo Tikki was crisp and made a crunching sound as I bit into it. The chaat was fairly seasoned, however, I felt that it lacked a bit of punch as a chaat should provide. The punch aspect although is debatable and many would like the chaat as it is.

• Lakhanpuri Tamatar ki Chaat: I loved this one. It was warm, spicy and tangy. The punch was right on the mark. The portion size was good enough for 2-3 persons. Although by name, I was expecting a chaat similar to the famous Tamatar Chaat of Varanasi, but this was different. Admittedly, to a certain extent, the star of the dish, the "tamatar" was not visible enough. Yet, I completely enjoyed this dish.

• Lemon Coriander Buttermilk Cappuccino: The soup was as refreshing as the name sounded. It tasted delicious and also served as a palate cleanser for us. The buttermilk foam on top provided the added kick.

• Desi Makhan Malai Kofta: Before ordering this dish, the waiting staff had clearly told us that this item will be mildly sweet. It turned out exactly like that. This dish looked royal and tasted quite exquisite. At the onset let me tell you that this is an extremely mild dish and not spicy at all. Its a perfect selection for anyone looking for non spicy subzi. In fact, much of the food we ate here was mild and perfect for all age groups, especially the elderly.

• Dum ki Dal Makhani: Creamy, luscious dal and naan, is like the stuff of dreams, well at least for me. Not that I don't get this dream pair in Hyderabad, its just that I always crave for more of it. The Dal Makhani here was creamy for sure, but I felt it missed the mark on the taste and felt a little bland. The "saundhapan" felt missing and I was slightly disappointed. I must however commend the idea of serving the Dal in a miniature Pressure Cooker. It looked really nice. My mom literally wanted to take it home.

• Amristari Chur Chur Naan: This item was the best of the lot. Yeah it was not served like traditional Chur Chur naan is served (as the name suggests), but it was just perfect. I can eat this without any subzi as well. It was crisp and abound with flavors that were bursting through. I will definitely put this one amongst the best naans I have ever had.

  
  

Final Verdict:

It was a good day out for us and we had some really good food. The overall experience with food and the ambience was very nice and this place did not blow a hole through my wallet either. The quality of food served was quite good and I did enjoy the lunch, however Masala Republic should take a relook at the taste for certain food items like the Dal Makhani.

This place gets a thumbs up from me and I would surely recommend to all my readers. I would suggest that you all try the things I tried and go beyond. In hindsight (which is a beautiful thing), I could have had a better pairing by taking Kadhai Paneer (a spicier option) with Dal Makhani to balance things out. For dessert, we wanted to try Kulfi with Falooda, however it was not available.

Of the great image that this restaurant wants to portray, it is let down by the choice of Paper Napkins they are using on the tables. They are sub standard and really bring the standards down and I would request the establishment to get these changed.

Ratings:

Ambience: 7/10

Food: 6.5/10

Mirchi Scale: 3/10

Cost Category: Cheap | Budget Friendly | Economical | High-Priced | Exorbitant

Cost for 2 (including 1 chaat, 1 starter/soup, 1 subzi, 1 dal with rice/roti): Rs 1200 (approx)