The newest kid on the block, Hyderabad Social, is where everyone wants to be. When you find it crowded in the middle of the day, on a weekday, you know that it is the current star attraction. Right after we entered the sunny 4th floor terrace, we were greeted by their welcoming staff with a big pot of Social Handi, their signature drink. With a towering mountain of blue ice, the drink is supposed to last you at least two hours. And I don’t think we managed to finish it even then! Food was yummy too! I can’t speak for the non-veg there, but my favorites in veg was broccoli in white sauce. Every corner of the place has a story to tell. Like the ‘Bullet Raja’ who stands guard just outside the main entrance door, who was ‘put together’ from parts of an old bullet. The headlight which acts as his face, lights up when you turn on a switch, which I thought was a really cool addition to the place.
Door handles made of spades & rakes, tables which look like carts, and colorful chairs make the place unique and quirky. It’s become a trend right now to have decor that’s almost rusty and ‘deconstructed’. So much so that sometimes it feels repetitive. Like drinks served in mason jars with chalkboard paint, which is what you would find in every pinterest decor board. Nevertheless the kind of thought they put into making the menu (they have some really interesting wordplay going on there) and certain sentimental corners like the bike which is kept inside in a corner, which belonged to the grandfather (of one of the founders of the place) who had used in WWII, is commendable. They’ve tried and put to use even the scrap that got left behind. The platter on which they serve their food, was made up from all the discarded cardboard boxes, a bunch of leftover ropes became an interesting sort of doorway to a corridor that led to the washrooms, and discarded old table top fans served as interesting ‘chandeliers’ to hold the ‘lights’. Talking to Aditya and Gaurav (two of the founders) about the place, makes you realize how they’ve tried their best to put a bit of their personality into every corner of it.
They greet almost everyone who comes through, joining a few of them at their table for a chat. It has its regulars, and once the crowd starts to thin out at around 5, and all the founders take their place at the back (its their time for relaxing with a hookah) next to a huge glass window with a panoramic view of the entire city, it’s not hard to see why!
Jeans: Levis | Shirt: H&M | T-shirt: Buy here | Shoes: Buy here
Photography by: Divya Medikonda
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