Royal Hyderabad brings authentic Indian cuisine to the West Side

A popular local restaurant serving up authentic flavors of India has set up shop on the West Side.

Royal Hyderabad, an Indian restaurant inspired by cuisine from Hyderabad, India, opened its second location inside a freshly customized 4,000-square-foot space at 5760 McMahon NW a little over a week ago.

Co-owner Khan Mohammed and a partner opened Royal Hyderabad’s first location at 3305 Juan Tabo NE in 2022. Born in India but an Albuquerque resident for 13 years now, Mohammed gained inspiration for the restaurant through a struggle to find flavors that he found authentic to his home country.

“I saw the flavors missing here so I just thought I’d bring those flavors back from India to here,” Mohammed said.

The restaurant makes its dum biryano — a pot-steamed rice and meat meal — curries and vegan and vegetarian dishes using authentic ingredients sourced from India, Mohammed said.

“So it can deliver authentic taste,” Mohammed said, adding meals at Royal Hyderabad typically cost a customer between $15 and $20.

Quickly after opening three years ago, patrons who lived on the West Side began asking Mohammed to open a location in the area. Mohammed spent the last year exploring spaces, gearing his search toward spaces along Unser Boulevard.

“The population here is growing and I saw potential here,” Mohammed said.

The new location, which opened Nov. 21, joins two other restaurants that have or will soon open at McMahon Marketplace, a rustic-style shopping center on the corner of Unser and McMahon NW. Home to businesses like Fuego 505 and ChocGlitz & Cream, the center recently welcomed Mexican restaurant Dose Amigos and will welcome sushi restaurant Ohana Hut in the coming months.

Mohammed signed a 10-year lease for Royal Hyderabad’s unit and invested roughly $400,000 into renovating, customizing and opening the restaurant, he said.

Mohammed said he’s also invested time into training the restaurant’s chefs to cook the food using recipes and methods he saw his father use in his restaurant in India.

“I need to maintain that authentic taste every time, so I closely watch everything while it’s preparing inside the kitchen,” Mohammed said.

The challenges that come with maintaining consistent training and sourcing authentic ingredients balance out with the reward of seeing customers enjoy the food, Mohammed said.

“When they are liking the taste, that makes me very happy,” Mohammed said.

Mohammed said he also plans to bring locations to Santa Fe and Los Lunas in the coming years.