Tara Bakery, located on a steep stretch at Taramandal Complex, Saifabad is surrounded by diverse structures ranging from three-star, four-star hotels, to the Birla Mandir, banks and government offices. When it was first established in 1994 by brothers Abul Kasim Dashtee and Mahmood Dashtee, a significant customer base for Tara Bakery included government employees and politicians heading from the state Assembly for its Irani chai. Times have changed and now during the lunch hour on a weekday, you spot students in their late teens from the nearby FIITJEE Junior college, who order a handful of rice options, noodles followed by chai for their lunch. You spot the manager Zaki asking the teenager ordering a dish to be louder, ‘ zor se boliye, jawaan ho na !’
Tara was named after the complex it’s a part of. Over the years, the variety of chai options has ensured regular customer flow. While Irani chai is still their USP, there’s coffee and badam milk for a change or the more health-conscious soul can pick from lemon tea, green tea and sugarless tea, minimalist in taste yet passable on flavour. Their pricing of ₹10 for their chai and ₹30 for vegetarian fried rice is proof for their affordability and quality in one stroke. “It’s a place for the aam aadmi more than anything; hamare rate bandiwale se bhi kam hai ,” asserts Zaki.
Among other specials in Tara are chicken 65, chicken manchuria , while the balushahi and khajoor are often in demand. Lunch hours, evening times and the weekends are when Tara bakery is most crowded. Unlike other Irani cafes, women come here often, sometimes they even outnumber the men. Most customers prefer to have their chai in the lane adjacent to the bakery, where there’s calm amidst the hustle bustle on the road.
Nights are the best time to savour Tara Bakery’s food. A few years ago, their chaat section enjoyed wide popularity before it made way for the fast food section. Nearing its silver jubilee year, its tag of a bakery is a misleading one, nonetheless the place has firmly cemented its identity among Saifabad residents, so that doesn’t matter any more. Tara’s ability to stay true to its identity over the years even as it caters to a modern Hyderabadi has been the secret to its longevity.
Tara bakery
Where: Taramandal Complex, Saifabad
What: Irani chai, snacks
Price per chai: ₹ 10
