Frequently Asked Questions

We are open every day from 12 noon to 1 AM, including weekends and public holidays. Ramadan timings differ.

Haleem is the one exception: it is served 2 PM to 9 PM, a shorter window than the kitchen’s. If haleem is what you are coming for, come inside those hours.

We are in the Madina Building on Pathergatti Road, in Ghansi Bazaar, Hyderabad’s Old City — a short walk north of the Charminar.

The full address is H.No. 21-1-1040, 1045, Madina Building, 1072 to 1078, Pathergatti Road, Ghansi Bazaar, Charminar, Hyderabad, Telangana 500002. The Google plus code is 9F9G+C6 Hyderabad.

Full directions, landmarks and transport options.

About 800 metres — roughly a ten-minute walk. Pathergatti Road runs north from the Charminar, and we are on it, inside the Madina Building.

Walking is genuinely the fastest way to cover that stretch at most hours of the day. It also takes you straight through Ghansi Bazaar, which is worth seeing in its own right.

Honestly, parking here is difficult. The lanes around the Charminar are narrow and congested through most of the day, and there is effectively no dedicated parking on Pathergatti Road itself.

Two things work well: use the paid parking areas near the Charminar and walk the short distance, or simply take an auto-rickshaw to the door. The second is what most regulars do.

We are open from 12 noon to 1 AM every day. Evenings are our busiest stretch; the early afternoon, just after we open, is the calmest.

Haleem is served 2 PM to 9 PM, so come inside those hours if that is what you are here for.

During Ramadan the restaurant is extremely busy for haleem, particularly around iftar. Come early or expect to wait.

No. Madina is a walk-in restaurant — come in whenever you like and we will seat you.

We do take bookings, though, and they are worth making in two cases: a large group, or the evening, which is our busiest stretch. A phone call in advance is all it takes.

Yes to both. We have a dedicated family seating area that also works well for larger groups, and families with children have eaten here for three generations.

The restaurant suits solo diners equally well — a great many of our regulars come in alone for chai.

We have wheelchair-accessible seating inside the restaurant.

Be aware that the approach is harder than the restaurant itself: Pathergatti Road and the lanes of Ghansi Bazaar are narrow, crowded and often uneven. If you are arriving by wheelchair, call us on +91 90520 63454 before you set out and we will help you plan the last stretch.

In 1947, the year of independence, in the Madina Building on Pathergatti Road — where we still are today.

Read the full history.

It is the building we are in — and it is waqf property, an Islamic charitable endowment, built by Mir Osman Ali Khan, the seventh Nizam of Hyderabad, to serve pilgrims travelling for Hajj. The rent from its shops and flats was distributed among the residents of Madina Munawwara, in the Hejaz.

It holds around 200 shops and 100 flats, and it stands on Pathergatti, the stone-arcaded stretch running north from the Charminar that dates to 1911. Madina Hotel opened inside it in 1947. The sourced history, with references, is on our legacy page.

This one is our own account rather than a documented one, and we would rather say so than let it pass as history. Madina’s record is that the seventh Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan, inaugurated the restaurant in person when it opened in 1947, and that it was established as a charitable source of income — to help fund the Madina Education and Welfare Society and to support Hajj pilgrims.

Published sources record that the Madina Building is waqf property built by the same Nizam to serve Hajj pilgrims, and that Madina Hotel opened in it in 1947. They say nothing either way about the inauguration. We set the two out separately on our legacy page.

Three things: our Hyderabadi mutton dum biryani, our haleem, and our Irani chai.

We are also widely credited with bringing haleem onto an everyday commercial menu in Hyderabad in 1956, when it was still largely a dish of palace kitchens. More on that story.

Yes. Haleem is on the menu every day of the year — you do not need to wait for Ramadan to eat it here.

It is served 2 PM to 9 PM. We open at 12 noon and close at 1 AM, so haleem runs a shorter window than the kitchen — worth knowing if it is what you are making the trip for.

Demand does peak enormously during Ramadan, particularly around iftar, when the queues are at their longest. Outside that month it is quieter, and arguably a better time to sit down with a bowl of it properly.

Most guests spend around ₹200 to ₹400 per person.

Individual dish prices are listed on our menu page. They are taken from the menu board in our air-conditioned hall and are shown before 5% GST. Prices move with the market, so the rates displayed at the counter are always the current ones.

Yes, a proper selection — not an afterthought. There is veg biryani, a run of paneer curries, dal, aloo gobi, mixed vegetable curry, veg fried rice and noodles, and the full range of breads. See the menu.

Madina is a meat-forward kitchen and always has been, so if you are eating vegan rather than vegetarian, ask at the counter — ghee, butter and cream are used freely in this style of cooking, and the kitchen will tell you which dishes are made without them.

Yes. All the meat we serve is halal, and our certification is displayed on the premises.

Both. You can take food away from the counter, and we deliver — including no-contact delivery if you prefer it.

Biryani and haleem travel well and are what most people order to take home. For delivery you can order from us on Zomato.

Yes — you can order online on Zomato for delivery across the Old City and beyond. You can also call us on +91 90520 63454 and collect from the counter.

Please note that the prices shown on delivery platforms include their own charges, so they will not match the rates at our counter.

Yes. We accept cash, credit and debit cards, Google Pay and other UPI apps, and contactless (NFC) payments.

Yes to both. We cater, and we have a private dining room for groups who want a quieter table than the main hall.

Both need arranging in advance — call us on +91 90520 63454 and tell us the date, the numbers and what you would like cooked.

You can call us on +91 90520 63454, or find us on Google Maps.

Full contact and location details.