Nimrah to don heritage looks

A favourite with tourists and locals alike, the bakery is set to 

get a makeover complimenting Charminar. 

Photo PV Sivakumar

An oasis near a monument. That’s what it is. A perfect place for a tourist to unwind after a tiring day. Nimrah Cafe and Bakery is where most tourists visiting Charminar would like to sip the authentic Irani chai along with crunchy Osmania biscuits.

Now this culinary experience is set to double with the tea shop going in for a makeover. Very soon it will have a heritage look , matching the bygone aura of the iconic monument. Customers will get a traditional farshi salam from waiters dressed in period costumes – complete with sherwani and Rumi topi. This is not all. Visitors can look forward to relishing their favourite chai-biscuit seated on decorated wooden furniture.


Nimrah plans to recreate an ambience which will transport one to the Asaf Jahi period. “We want to be in sync with the prevailing ambience all around,” says Abood Aslam, the dynamic proprietor of Nimrah.

Photo : PV Sivakumar

Hotels are dime a dozen in and around Charminar. But Nimrah remains a big draw with locals as also tourists although there is nothing glitzy or attractive about it. In fact the place is too crowded and one has to jostle for space. What draws people here is the unique brand of Irani chai and biscuits – the piece de resistance of Nimrah. The footfalls have increased over the years and this small cafe has become so popular that it now forms part of the tourist itinerary – Charminar, Chowmohalla, Makkah Masjid and Nimrah.

Heritage brands have a growing cachet with tourists, particularly the foreigners. And it is this appeal that Aslam wants to encash. Plans are afoot to redo the tone and decor of the interiors in tune with the pale yellow colour of Charminar so that those having tea and snacks here can have the feeling of doing so in the monument itself.

Not a business management student nor even properly educated, yet Aslam knows how to be a flamingo in a flock of pigeons. He ensures that his hotel exudes a warm hospitality. He chats with utter strangers and makes them feel at home. The same cordiality is extended to the employees. He regards them as ‘team members’ and not workers. “Nimrah is my school. I learnt to speak English, Telugu and the art of making friends here”, he says proudly.

No wonder the US Consul General, Katherine Hadda, found Nimrah a warm and welcome place when she dropped in here on April 13. “These are the best biscuits I have had in Hyderabad. The Charminar is outside, but you are a landmark too!”, she wrote in the visitor’s book.

Irani chai and biscuits is a speciality of Nimrah. So is the case with the other three hotels managed by the family – Awami Hotel and Al Quba in Sultan Shahi and the famous Niloufer hotel in Red Hills. Interestingly, the biscuits are not cooked over gas or electric stove. They are baked the traditional way over firewood. “This is the secret of the lip-smacking taste”, remarks Aslam admitting that the process is slow and time consuming. Another unique thing about Nimrah is that all food items made here are vegetarian.

As he is busy fine tuning plans for giving heritage look to Nimrah, he has also set eyes on opening its branches in other metros like Mumbai and Bangalore.

Hospitality is love in action. You can have dollops of it at Nimrah.

J.S.Ifthekhar,

Hyderabad based journalist.

Article published in Telangana Today

Dated November 26,2017