Hyderabadi Cuisine · Est. Austin, 2018

The royal table
of the Nizams,
set in Austin.

Sealed-pot dum biryani, slow-cooked goat curry, and the full spread of South Indian breakfast — cooked the way it was meant to be, for your table or your wedding.

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4.6★

415 reviews

2,800+

Orders served

500+

Events catered

25 mi

Delivery radius

Open now

5:00 – 10:00 PM

Tonight on the dum:

Mutton dum biryani · finished 6:40 PM · trays ready for pickup until 9:00 PM

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★ ★ ★ ★ ★"Easily the best biryani in Austin."— Yelp · Sravani R.★ ★ ★ ★ ★"Tasted exactly like Hyderabad."— Google · Venkat R.★ ★ ★ ★ ★"120 guests. Talk of the night."— Catering · Engagement★ ★ ★ ★ ★"Better than places in any other Indian spot we have tried."— Yelp · Michael R.★ ★ ★ ★ ★"Only place in Austin that does Gongura Mutton right."— Yelp · Kiran B.★ ★ ★ ★ ★"Easily the best biryani in Austin."— Yelp · Sravani R.★ ★ ★ ★ ★"Tasted exactly like Hyderabad."— Google · Venkat R.★ ★ ★ ★ ★"120 guests. Talk of the night."— Catering · Engagement★ ★ ★ ★ ★"Better than places in any other Indian spot we have tried."— Yelp · Michael R.★ ★ ★ ★ ★"Only place in Austin that does Gongura Mutton right."— Yelp · Kiran B.

Live data · updated updating

What Austin is ordering,
right now.

Five orbits of live data, straight from our Toast POS. Outer rings track catering, middle ring is the dine-in floor, inner rings are to-go. Each ring carries this week and all-time favorites.

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Live POS

One kitchen.
Five ways to taste it.

Walk into the dining room. Order a tray for next Saturday. Pick a delivery on the way home. Whichever way you arrive, the food comes from the same kitchen, by the same hands, with the same rule book.

The story

We started with a buffet.
The ambition was bigger.

Sitara opened in 2018 with a small dining room, a daily buffet, and a quiet promise to ourselves — to cook Hyderabadi food the way it is cooked at home, and to never cut a corner doing it.

We did not have an investor or a recipe book. We had whole spices, a dum pot, and a long Saturday. Eight years on, that buffet still runs every weekend — and it is still the heart of the kitchen.

“

Lower the price. Raise the standard. Cook everything the long way. That has been the rule since day one.

— The Sitara Kitchen

2018
A buffet, every day of the week.
A small dining room on Wells Branch and a long ambition: serve real Hyderabadi food, cooked the way it is cooked at home. We opened with a buffet running seven days, lunch and dinner — low prices, high standards, no shortcuts. A family-run room with a single rule: cook everything the long way.
2020
Covid. The shutters came down.
Like every restaurant in Texas, we paused. The buffet closed. The dum pots went cold. We took the time to think hard about what came next — not how to survive, but how to come back better. Same taste, same hands, more care.
2023
The thali — a quieter return.
We reopened with a daily thali service — a single-plate, multi-course meal that let us focus on each dish without the volume of the buffet. Weekdays and weekends, lunch and dinner. The regulars came back. So did the standards.
2024
The buffet returns. New room. Same taste.
We brought back the grand weekend buffet — refreshed dining room, same kitchen, same recipes. The same crowd showed up. And then more. Word travelled. The Saturday queue is now longer than it was in 2019.
Today
Thali on weekdays. Buffet on weekends.
Weekday afternoons run the thali — a focused, plate-by-plate service. Weekends, the buffet is back at full sweep. Catering operates seven days. Eight years in, the ambition has not moved an inch.

On the pass

Eighty dishes,
plated every week.

Hyderabadi, Andhra, South Indian, tandoor. Hover any plate to hold it still.

See the full menu

The Menu

A short list,
cooked the long way.

Forty dishes on the printed menu — but every week, only a handful of them carry most of the orders. Here's what's on the pass right now, and what Austin keeps coming back for.

01 / 08

Signature · Best seller

Hyderabadi Dum Biryani

Long-grain basmati layered with marinated meat, sealed in a heavy pot with dough, and cooked over slow fire for three hours. Served with mirchi ka salan and raita.

$14à la carte

$120 / tray (serves 12)

02 / 08

Andhra · Bone-in

Goat Sukkah

Bone-in goat simmered Andhra-style in tamarind, ginger, and Guntur chili — a three-hour reduction that holds its richness without cream or yogurt.

$16à la carte

$130 / tray (serves 10)

03 / 08

Andhra · House

Kadai Chicken

Bone-in chicken cooked in a heavy iron wok with fresh-ground spices, dried Kashmiri chilies, curry leaves, and a slow-reduced tomato-coconut base. A Hyderabadi kitchen staple.

$16à la carte

$120 / tray (serves 10)

04 / 08

Vegetarian · House

Paneer Tikka Masala

Char-grilled cottage cheese in a slow-reduced tomato and cashew gravy. The cashew is ground in-house — not blended from paste.

$13à la carte

$95 / tray (serves 10)

05 / 08

Andhra · Telangana classic

Kodi Vepudu

Bone-in chicken dry-fried Andhra-style with curry leaves, green chili, and crushed black pepper. The Madras-belt snack reinvented as a Hyderabadi small plate.

$15à la carte

$110 / tray (serves 10)

06 / 08

Coastal · Andhra

Nellore Fish Curry

A tamarind-and-fenugreek curry from the Bay-of-Bengal coast — sharp, sour, and chili-forward. Best with steamed rice or sheermal.

$18à la carte

$150 / tray (serves 8)

07 / 08

Telangana · Mughlai

Rogan Josh

Slow-cooked lamb shoulder in a Kashmiri-chili and fennel gravy, finished with a touch of saffron milk and a single bay leaf for perfume.

$17à la carte

$140 / tray (serves 10)

08 / 08

Sweets · House

Double Ka Meetha

The classic Hyderabadi bread pudding — milk-soaked, saffron-glazed, and finished with toasted cashew and a single cardamom pod.

$6à la carte

$55 / tray (serves 12)

Live · Top to-go

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By the numbers

Eight years of biryani,
measured.

We pulled these from our POS and our catering coordinator's spreadsheet. They are the real numbers — not the marketing ones.

Orders served

Across dine-in, takeout, and delivery in the last twelve months.

Catering events

Weddings, corporate, baby showers, pujas, graduations. 2018 – 2026.

Calls handled

Quotes, takeout calls, special requests. Answered, on average, in 14 seconds.

Avg rating

0^★

Across 415 verified reviews on Yelp, Google, and our own feedback channel.

In their words

What Austin writes
after they eat.

4.6 stars across 415 verified reviews — but a number is just a number. Here's what people actually say.

The Mutton Dum Biryani is rich and perfectly cooked — you can taste every layer of spice. Easily the best biryani in Austin. We order for every family gathering.

Sravani R.

Yelp · 5★ · Family customer since 2020

Rohit M. ★★★★★

Yelp

"Ordered catering for my daughter's engagement — 120 guests. The goat curry and pesarattu were the talk of the night."

Engagement · 120 guests

Venkat R. ★★★★★

Google

"My mother visited from Hyderabad and said the sambar and rasam tasted exactly like the food she grew up eating."

Family dinner

Michael R. ★★★★★

Yelp

"First time here on a friend's recommendation. The chicken tikka and naan were better than the other places we have tried in town."

First visit

The week ahead

Open six days.
Buffet on two.

The weekend buffet is our favorite shift — fifty-plus dishes, a Sunday haleem that runs out by 1 PM, and a dessert table that's worth saving room for.

Mon

Closed

Resting day

Closed

Tue

Lunch & Dinner

11–2:30 · 5–10

Wed

Lunch & Dinner

11–2:30 · 5–10

Thu

Lunch & Dinner

11–2:30 · 5–10

Fri

Lunch & Late Dinner

11–2:30 · 5–10:30

Buffet menu posts today

Sat

Grand Lunch Buffet

11:30–3:30 · 5–10:30

50+ dishes · Adult $24.99

Sun

Grand Lunch Buffet

11:30–3:30 · 5–10

50+ dishes · Adult $24.99

The grand buffet

Fifty dishes,
every weekend.

The Saturday and Sunday lunch buffet is the dish that built the restaurant. A full sweep of Hyderabadi, Andhra, and South Indian cooking — biryani, kebabs, dosa station, regional curries, a chaat counter, and a dessert table. The menu changes weekly; we post it to Facebook every Friday.

This weekend

Sat & Sun · 11:30 AM – 3:30 PM

Adult$24.99

Kids$14.99

Toddler$6.99

Biryani & dum

Hyderabadi mutton, chicken & vegetable dum biryani

Andhra curries

Gongura mutton, chepala pulusu, kodi vepudu

Tandoor & kebabs

Seekh, malai tikka, tandoori roti & naan

Live counters

Dosa, chaat & a kachori station made-to-order

South Indian classics

Idli, vada, sambar, rasam, lemon rice

Dessert table

Gulab jamun, kheer, double-ka-meetha, fresh-cut fruit

See this week’s menu on Facebook Order to take home

Live from Facebook

@sitarainaustin · weekly menu posts on Fridays

Visit page →

The royal table
of the Nizams,
set in Austin.

What Austin is ordering,
right now.

One kitchen.
Five ways to taste it.

Catering

Dine-In

Weekend Buffet

Private Events

Delivery

Five ways to order.
Direct is the cheapest.

We started with a buffet.
The ambition was bigger.

A buffet, every day of the week.

Covid. The shutters came down.

The thali — a quieter return.

The buffet returns. New room. Same taste.

Thali on weekdays. Buffet on weekends.

Eighty dishes,
plated every week.

A short list,
cooked the long way.

Hyderabadi Dum Biryani

Goat Sukkah

Kadai Chicken

Paneer Tikka Masala

Kodi Vepudu

Nellore Fish Curry

Rogan Josh

Double Ka Meetha

Eight years of biryani,
measured.

What Austin writes
after they eat.

Rated everywhere. Same number.

Open six days.
Buffet on two.

Fifty dishes,
every weekend.

Tell us about
your table.

The royal tableof the Nizams,set in Austin.

What Austin is ordering,right now.

One kitchen.Five ways to taste it.

Catering

Dine-In

Weekend Buffet

Private Events

Delivery

Five ways to order.Direct is the cheapest.

We started with a buffet.The ambition was bigger.

A buffet, every day of the week.

Covid. The shutters came down.

The thali — a quieter return.

The buffet returns. New room. Same taste.

Thali on weekdays. Buffet on weekends.

Eighty dishes,plated every week.

A short list,cooked the long way.

Hyderabadi Dum Biryani

Goat Sukkah

Kadai Chicken

Paneer Tikka Masala

Kodi Vepudu

Nellore Fish Curry

Rogan Josh

Double Ka Meetha

Eight years of biryani,measured.

What Austin writesafter they eat.

Rated everywhere. Same number.

Open six days.Buffet on two.

Fifty dishes,every weekend.

Tell us aboutyour table.

The royal table
of the Nizams,
set in Austin.

What Austin is ordering,
right now.

One kitchen.
Five ways to taste it.

Five ways to order.
Direct is the cheapest.

We started with a buffet.
The ambition was bigger.

Eighty dishes,
plated every week.

A short list,
cooked the long way.

Eight years of biryani,
measured.

What Austin writes
after they eat.

Open six days.
Buffet on two.

Fifty dishes,
every weekend.

Tell us about
your table.