Once Upon A Time: Hotel GreenPark, Begumpet, Hyderabad

Restaurant Name: Once Upon A Time: Hotel GreenPark, Begumpet, Hyderabad
Phone: +91 9704567888
Address: Hotel Green Park, Begumpet, Hyderabad, Telangana, India
Time: 12:30 pm – 3:30 pm, 7:30 pm – 11:30 pm
Meals for two: Rs. 1,800
Cuisines: North Indian, South Indian, Hyderabadi
Facilities: Full Bar Available, Buffet, Indoor Seating

Green Park Hotels has re-launched its popular restaurant “Once Upon A Time”, headed by Chef Vignesh Ramachandran, who has working experience at the Indian Accent Restaurant in Delhi.

Once Upon A Time: Hotel GreenPark, Begumpet, Hyderabad: Decor

Interiors are attractive and strikes a balance between urban and ethnic decor. There’s a graffiti of a plantain tree with parrots and mounted bull horns on the wall, and quite a few knickknacks are showcased in an interesting way, depicting the richness of rural India. The ambience strikes a fine balance — it’s elegant yet relaxed. Comfortable seating with ample elbow room and soothing background music gives a great feel to the place.

Once Upon A Time: Hotel GreenPark, Begumpet, Hyderabad: Food

This restaurant is well-known for its Indian food which is served with a modern twist. Apart from their ala carte menu, they also have a special 8-course meal that is served in three versions — green fables (Veg), Indian epics and Deccan tales — that are crafted to perfection. Chef preps a first-rate small-plates menu that will please both vegetarians and carnivores.

Some of the notable dishes I tried from these three set menus include paya shorba — inspired from the North East Indian classic soup the “mokthuk”. The paya shorba is slow cooked for several hours till the paya meat falls off the bones.This meat is pulled and stuffed inside mini dumplings and is served along with the rich spiced paya broth. The tradition of eating sheermal along with the paya is represented with buttered sheermal croutons that are added to the soup for texture.

Another must try is the chicken donut makhni, which the chef’s interpretation of the classic combo of coffee and doughnuts. Butter Chicken is condensed into a patty shaped like a doughnut and covered with a butter flavored powder to mimic the icing sugar on a doughnut. It is served along with a makhni cappucino which is the rich butter chicken sauce topped with milk foam and garnished with a sprinkling of an aromatic garam masala.

Finally, there is Shahi Tukda, a crossover of two of the chef’s favorite desserts — the classic Shahi Tukda and an ice cream sandwich. For this dish, homemade saffron rabdi ice cream is sandwiched between crispy bread soaked in saffron syrup.

Overall, it was an exhilarating experience and is doesn’t look anything like it did “Once Upon a Time”. Will the fresh makeover be able to retain the restaurant’s old charm? Only time will tell.