This cafe, located on the shores of Hussain Sagar, has been established by the Telangana government with a budget of Rs. 20 crores. The aim of the cafe is to bring the delicious and healthy drink Neera to the city dwellers and take it to the industry level. The foundation stone was laid on 23 July 2020 at Necklace Road, and after two and a half years, the construction was completed. Neera Cafe has seven stalls and can accommodate around 500 people.
Neera Cafe boasts a food court on the ground floor, along with sweet Neera and other mouth-watering food items. Neera, which is a sweet and healthy drink collected from palm trees, is available for consumption on the first floor or for takeaway. The cafe is designed like a restaurant, and the shape of palm trees around the cafe and the roof is designed to give the feeling of sitting in the countryside between ropes and edu. Additionally, there is a boating facility available from Neera Cafe to the Buddha statue in Tankbund.
Many people may confuse Neera with Kallu(toddy), but they are very different. Toddy is sour and intoxicating, while Neera is sweet in taste and is considered very healthy. Ministers Srinivas Goud and Thalasani Srinivas Yadav, who inaugurated Neera Cafe, praised the drink, calling it Veda Amrutam. Neera is a multi-nutrient drink and is not available in any other cafe in the country. This is seen as a symbol of Telangana’s self-respect.
The government has created a capacity to provide 1000 liters of Neera per day through this cafe. It has made an agreement with two villages, Mudwin and Cherikonda, 50 km away from Hyderabad, to supply Neera in such a huge quantity. The Neera so brought is kept in special boxes with a maintained temperature of 0 degrees Celsius, ensuring it does not spoil. Neera Cafe offers Neera for Rs. 300 per liter, while a 300ml bottle costs Rs. 90.
However, there are some disagreements among toddy workers, who have been in this profession for decades, about the method of collecting Neera. They claim that the Neera collected from trees does not take much time to turn into toddy, and sometimes the water brought down from the tree is sour, which can spoil the taste of Neera if put in bottles and sold. Despite this, Neera Cafe is a great addition to the food and drink scene in Hyderabad, and we highly recommend giving it a try!
