The Spice Box
Overall
4.5/5
Ambiance
4.0/5
Food
4.5/5
Service
4.5/5
The Spice Box is a simple but yet complicated attempt by a bunch of passionate people who love food and loved to bring in something authentic to foodies of Hyderabad - THE CELEBRTION OF TELUGU Flavors. Mr. Shiva, Mrs. Kavitha, Uma, Mr. Mahesh, Mrs. Pooja, Mr. Balaji Palavuri & Mrs.Suguna aunty have made authentic ernest attempt to bring in the best of flavours from andhra and telangana to the taste buds of hyderabad at more affordable but yet authentic mode. Boutique Take away and Dine in is the apt tag line for this newbie in the city. Mr. Balaji Palavuri has been so kind enough to share the thought process of this place which attempts to deliver Authentic telugu flavors that are POCKET FRIENDLY and TUMMY-FRIENDLY :)
Visit Scenario:
Mr. Balaji invited a bunch of passionate foodies to taste their exhaustive menu and share the dining experience of their authentic telugu flavours and provide them improvements/feedbacks if any. So I invited few of my fellow foodies around the place whom I know would be interested to savor this cuisine as they are from differents cultural backgrounds and most of them dont normally taste such spicey dishes :).
Note: This review is based on a tasting session hosted by Mr. Balaji and food was on the house. Menu was exclusively set for us to savor most of their signature dishes and enjoy an amazing dining experience.
Ambiance (Decor & Interiors):
The place is as such a fine tuned take away spot and so there is a small dining area which is cute and set in the corner to serve around say 15 pax maximum. We as a group were served as a small group and the place was apt for a aweosme foodies meet up. The place is extremely spick and span. The bright white LED lighting in the front with Red Chilli screaming spiciness in the word SPICE was an added attraction to me. The picke jars in the side was also an attractive art decor with strong orange background. The overall feel was something slick and neat. I liked it.
The Owners had arranged for a exhaustive menu specially for us to try out their signature dishes and we got to try out a wide range of dishes and Finale was a SHOW STOPPER. Read below for more.
Starters:
BoneLess Mutton Fry - Soft n Succulent - 4.5/5
Kona Seema Kodi Vepudu (Coastal Chicken Fry) - Rich in spices and strong flavors - 4/5
Natu Kodi Vepudu (country Chicken Fry) - Flavor was good but pieces were big and chewey - 3.5/5
Iguru Fry (prawns Fry) - Tad Sweeter for my palate. More onions but as such the small prawns were lovely - 3.5/5
Kheema Fry - Nicely minced met perfectly cooked but spoiled by the urud dal for me - 3/5
Corn Kernels & Crispy Babycorn Fry - Served the purpose and both were crispy - 4.5/5
Main Course : Curries:
Andhra Kodi Kura - Aptly spiced and chicken was superbly cooked - 4.5/5
Gongura Mutton - Strong n tangy just like the way I wanted and mutton was soft n juicy - 4/5
Ulavacharu (Cream- Nice and rich and had the authentic flavors - 3.5/5
Nellore Chepalu Pulusu - KILLER DISH and I loved the strong tanigness in it. Fish was BRILLIANCE - 4.5/5
Mushroom Masala - Surprisingly A veg curry scored my max - Not spicy and so elegantly made - 5/5
Main Course : Rice:
Kobburi Annam (Coconut Rice) - Absolutely Amazing. Everybody said WOW on aroma in the air - 5/5
TSB Pachi Mirchi Veg Pulao - Another Veg Hitter for me. Pulao was OK but curry was DAMN GOOD - 4/5
TSB Pachi Mirchi Kodi Pulao - This was an good dish but felt chicken was not going well with green chilli - 3.5/5
TSB Special Chicken Pulao - Signature dish but was OKish for me nothing UNIQUE - 3/5
Chicken Fry PieceBiryani - Fried Coriander and amazingly made chicken fry pieces made this WINNER - 5/5.
Dessert:
Thought we were above capcity and absolutely stuffed with love and lovely food from the owners, they brought the surprise of the day - their dessert "Heavenly Apricot" . The dish was huge for 100 INR price tag. AS we opened owners Mrs. Uma and Mrs. pooja explained their thought process and surprised us that they hand made this for us :) with so much love behind the making, we took a first scoop and everybody synchronizedly said WOW...YUMM.....WOW.... This was right away knocking out the other variants we have tried. Spice Village has the best till date for me as its creamy and rich. This one was no different - Amazingly flavored cream, soft sponge cake and amazingly made custard all married together by amazing Qubani Cream. Everybody thought stuff JUST GULPED into it and I finished it like a KID seing an icecream.. For that price, THIS IS A MUST TRY in this place and fellow foodies DO NOT MISS IT!!!!!
Service & Hospitality:
The whole Management Crew took amazing care and serve themselves to all of us with so much love and care as if we felt were visting our family members and having a homely meal. Such was the comfort level and they took care of each and every small thing for us . Their Operations Ctew - Store Manager Mr. Shrikanth , Head Chef Mr. Rama Rao did an amazing job as well as they didnt even tinch a lag in service in making the dishes come in so harmony for such a big group of foodies who were tasting the yumm dishes back to back. HATS OFF Team.
Verdict:
Owners were so friendly and passionate about what they do and definitely heard all our feedbacks and comments for improvement(s). Not that we could find many but then shared whatever indidivual of us felt about the not so WOW dishes from their taste bud perspective. Overall The place which had not so HIGH expectations ensured each foodie who are not big fans of TELUGU Cuisine and had different flavor profiles all agree and go gaga over the food served though being spicy to many made them slrupp for most of the dishes. There were few misses but hey every place has some hiccups. This place has got the right tools again and if they do the MAGIC WORD - CONSISTENCY , they would have an ardent fan following including me and definitely make a mark for themselves.
