Biryani Place

Biryani Place is a hidden gem of an Indian eatery occupying one half of an old West End cottage and serving up delicious dishes from the Hyderabad region including house speciality biryani, which has a cult following.

Diners can take a seat in the covered courtyard with its lanterns, plants and wall of greenery or inside the cosy dining room where one VJ'ed wall is adorned with pictures of regional food and tuck into top notch chef-prepared food for budget prices.

Prior to opening Biryani Place, chef Khalid Ahmed had developed a cult following via Facebook and Whats App for his sensational dishes, especially amongst the Indian expat community and now everyone can enjoy his food as dine-in or takeaway. It's worth noting that the serving sizes are generous and the vast majority of dishes are well under $20.

House signature biryani, which is a must-try, comes in 5 varieties - lamb, chicken, vegetarian, goat or 'chicken 65' (biryani served with flour coated chicken cubes). To start with, there's an extensive range of appetizers including Paneer, Chicken Malai or Chicken BBQ Tikka; paneer, alu or veggie samosa; Tandoori drumsticks; potato fries or lamb cutlets.

The small range of curries are equally delectable including the highly recommended Hyderabad-style butter chicken; lamb or vegetarian khorma; lamb vindaloo or Biryani Place's Special Curry (diced chicken cooked in spiced curry sauce). Meanwhile other mains include Paneer or Chicken Tikka Masala, Tadka Dahl and Palak Peneer.

Another house speciality worth trying are the Mandi (an Arabic-fusion rice dish) - lamb shank, chicken or spicy filsh fillet served with basmati rice, fresh salad and signature garlic chutney. Meanwhile to accompany there's tandoori roti, a variety of naan including Sweet Khoa (stuffed with ricotta, nut meal and spices), onion salad, yoghurt raita and mint or tomato garlic chutney (made from scratch in-house).

Drinks-wise, there's a variety of soft drinks, water and mango or Special Hyderabadi Lassi available.

Need to know - On street metered parking is available nearby (mostly free after 5pm).