In a nutshell:
Super enjoyable nihari & paya, limited seating, quick service
Address & other details: hila hotel
Meal for 2: ₹200 onwards
Cuisine type : non vegetarian
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Payment by cash. No bill.
YUMMRAJ rates all the food items & then gives 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
We have been going to Chandni Chowk & Jama Masjid area to eat street food, for little short of 20 years now. To read all about eating out in old delhi, pls click here: old delhi (chandni chowk, chawri bazar, jama masjid) (more than a hundred thousand people have read that post so far).
This year, during Ramadan 2022, our friend Ashok Mathur (a resident of nayi sadak, purani dilli & an expert on all aspects of Shahjahanabad- purani dilli), took us out for a walk. We got to explore things with him that are beyond the obvious & he took us to places that we have never been.
Hilal hotel was one of them.
The eatery started in one shop it seems. Then expanded to another property on opposite side of the lane & further to a third shop.
The main eatery has a raised platform near the entrance where a young guy was seated. He had huge handis in front of him & also on the side, all filled with different curries. The Handis were placed on low fire.
There was a passage beside the high platform , from where guests could go inside the restaurant. There were few tables & chairs in a small area for guests to sit & eat.
The second shop was specialising in rotis. They were non stop churning out rotis that were either being served at the restaurant or people were just taking them home.
The one in which we sat was a small shop with two tables & 4 chairs with each.
Service was prompt & good. The young boy who was serving us was quite cheerful & warm.
We loved the two dishes that we had here.
Detailed description – in case u hv the time to njoy reading:
Khameeri roti was huge, had good flavours of khameer, was super soft within & had a super thin crisp outer layer. Loved it & rate it 4.5/5
Buff nihari, called ‘bade ka nihari’ here was really nice. The meat pieces were super soft & tender after hours of slow cooking. Bone marrow made a huge difference to the texture & flavours).
However the show stopper was the gravy. Intense, full of meaty flavours, spices making their presence felt, a beautiful smoothness in the texture & excellent to taste. Rate it 4.5/5
Overall rating of two items averages out to 4.5/5
Look forward to revisiting again in winters to try out more dishes