In a NUtshell:

A popular eatery near the university campus that serves cheap local food that is good to taste.

Address & other details: kanakaiah

Meal for 2: ₹140 onwards

Cuisine type : vegetarian & non vegetarian

Disclaimer: All restaurants / eateries reviewed by YUMMRAJ were visited by YUMMRAJ himself & he has paid for the full Bill & tips also. http://www.yummraj.com does not have even one featured / sponsored reviews. YUMMRAJ believes in going to a restaurant in anonymity, as a normal guest, experience everything & give a honest account of the same to you.

Paid in cash – no bill

I rate all the food items & then give a final overall rating which is a simple average of the individual item ratings. What the ratings stand for: 5 = Excellent, 4 = Very Good, 3 = Good, 2 = Fair, 1 = Disaster

Short description- in case u r in a hurry

When we decided to go to warangal to see the 800 year old temples of kakatiya dynasty, we also started a small research on the net about best places to eat in warangal. One name that came up in several posts was that of kanakaiah and we decided to go there to taste local food. Some posts also mentioned it as ‘legendary’ kanakaiah mess’.

We had an idea that it would be a low priced basic set up. The facade board has worn out and almost nothing cud be read.

At the entrance, on the left there was a cash desk with a menu card on the wall.

On the right there was a wash basin and hand wash.

The eating area had a temporary cloth cover thatched ceiling (like a large tent).

There were large wooden tables on the floor that cud seat 6 people at a time. Obviously table had to be shared with strangers. Usually we do not mind but as luck Wud hv it, we got a super talkative and interfering co-diner in the table and that was a bit of piss off.

On the tables there were small aluminium baltis that were kept, with curries in them.

Due to language challenges it took us a while to understand the concept here – people order a veg thali and non veg extras (if they want).

As the table of 6 filled up, server came and gave us metal plates with some kind of a banana leaf look shiny paper on top. The co-diners who seemed to be regulars here, poured some water on the plate and washed it.

The server then poured hot rice into everyone’s plate. We did not know what was happening – so kept on looking at the seasoned guys.

People poured daal and curries on their plate and also big quantity of a thick chutney.

Service guys kept coming back for extra portion of rice.

Food was good in terms of taste but each and every dish had above optimal salt. So it was not fun to have the curries as it is. However when had with the thick grained local rice, the salt was right. All food served here was hot (chilly).

Detailed description- in case u hv the time to njoy reading:

We started with the Veg meal.

Thick , solid Daal (that does not flow when poured on a flat surface) was very good to taste. The taste of the daal and flavors expressed themselves very well. The grains of the daal could be felt and it was an enjoyable texture. Rate the dish 4/5

Mixed vegetables curry was very good again. All veggies retained their individual textures, thus forming a nice medley of textures in the mouth. Good to taste. Rate it 3.5/5

Chutney was thick, had a string sour tinge, was a bit astringent and quite interesting. Rate it 3/5

Mutton curry had small pieces of mutton that were cooked well. The gravy was hot n spicy and very good to taste. Rate it 4/5

Kheema curry seemed to be made from hand made kheema and not machine made, which made the curry intense. Loved the strong flavors of spices. Meaty flavor was quite overpowered by that of spices. Taste was very good. Rate the kheema curry 3.5/5

Overall rating of food at kanakaiah hotel averages out to 3.6/5

I Wud unlikely go Bk here and try some other eateries when in warangal again. Surely worth a first visit to experience the local flavors.