Hyderabad goes to Knowledge City and Knowledge Park and Nallagandla to eat

RMZ Nexity
| Photo Credit: Serish Nanishetti

Hyderabad’s F&B scene is always lit. Biryani rules of course; that will never change. Yet, Hyderabadis are ever ready to experiment and try new places for their coffees, chaats and any new cuisine. Of late most of the visits were headed to one area, Shilpagram. Most new food addresses in the area are divided between three towers — Loft in Salarpuria Sattva Knowledge City, RMZ Nexity and Knowledge Park.  Word has it that Salarpuria Sattva Knowledge City — whose first tower Loft houses the most popular joints — has another tower, dedicated to F&B spaces, coming up.

These metal and glass high-rises currently house more than 40 eateries within a radius of four kilometres. By the end of 2025, the number is expected to double.

Business projection

Hyderabad’s food industry was anticipated to grow by 8.1% in 2024, significantly outpacing the GDP growth rate. The National Restaurants Association of India (NRAI) projected Hyderabad’s F&B sector to generate ₹5,69,487 crore in business by 2024. The city is home to 74,807 restaurants and an organised food services market valued at ₹10,161 crore. One visit to the Shilpa Gram area could corroborate these projections.

One reason for the concentration of eateries in this area is that it is home to several MNCs. Bulk bookings of corporates on weekends happen during the day and at night, the area simply turns into a hangout hotspot. This Shilpa Gram area sports a Manhattan-style vibe, say those who have been to the US. If you have yet to check out these places, here’s what to expect: from chaat and pure vegetarian to Italian, Indian, Burmese, and Asian, all within walking distance. The average expenditure per person here is between ₹1200 and ₹3000.

You can cover all these places — from breakfast to dinner — in a day, provided you decide to pick a meal of snacks/starters, drinks, soup, coffee, main course, and dessert among all these places. The question is, can one do this and cover over 30 places in a day?

Chef Chalapathi Rao of Simply South elaborates: “There is every reason to be here. We cannot get this kind of space elsewhere. With so many offices and so much happening around, footfalls are guaranteed.”

Designated entry gates and ample parking areas are major advantages. These places come with a bigger seating capacity and when you have to wait, you simply have to walk around to find ways to better utilise the time.

Salarpuria Knowledge City has an open atrium with enormous LED display screens which play live cricket matches and other major sports highlights on a loop. This takes care of the ‘wait time’ when restaurants are running at full capacity. The attractive landscaping offers plenty of gram-worthy selfies or photoshoot spots for social media posts. 

The next big hub?

A few kilometres away from Shilpa Gram is the route from Nanakramguda to Nallagandla in Serilingampally, which is seeing a steady growth of eateries, especially of those looking to set up branches. Fresh entrants into the F&B market prefer these areas because of lower commercial rentals in comparison to business hubs like HITEC City, Gachibowli and Knowledge City.  

Rohan Reddy, a second-generation restaurateur, and owner of Trick resto bar says, “After other areas in the city get saturated, the focus will shift here. Nallagandla has a large concentration of residential properties. Since most residents go out during the weekend and still avoid the traffic, the proximity of malls, supermarkets, hospitals and eateries makes Nallagandla an attractive destination. More eateries are on their way to the area. This is also the new residential high-rise spot. Close to 10,000 apartments will be coming up in the next couple of years, so there will be a need for more places to wine and dine”.

Hyderabad’s first speciality coffee brand, Roastery Coffee House, opened a new outlet that spans 5000 square feet at Kokapet, to establish itself in the happening hubs. Founder Nishant explains, “Kokapet’s good infrastructure, wide roads and promising residential communities will see a lot of food businesses opening up soon. We don’t want anyone to miss out on our coffee and food, so we quickly decided to open our second outlet in the city. Opening at Kokapet further strengthens our ‘neighbourhood cafe’ tag. It is always a pleasure to be in Hyderabad.”

On what Hyderabad can expect in future, Rohan says, “A couple of microbreweries and brands from other states will make an entry. Existing brands too will branch out to Nallagandla, Nanakramguda and Kokapet.“