Hyderabad’s cafe culture, now bursting with themed interiors, aesthetic lattes and fusion menus, was not always this vibrant. A decade ago, cafes were few and far between, with most young people relying on bakeries, chai spots and hookah parlours for casual hangouts.
The idea of a cafe as a place to eat, lounge and make memories was still new, and that is exactly when Graffiti Cafe quietly stepped in. Touted as one of the first cafes in Hyderabad, Graffiti Cafe unknowingly laid the foundation for what would soon become a booming trend across the city.
Located on Road No. 13 in Banjara Hills, Cafe Graffiti was once a buzzing hangout spots for college students. Known for its lively vibe and affordable menu, it drew crowds from nearby areas like Mehdipatnam, Somajiguda, Khairatabad, Tolichowki, and Banjara Hills itself, making it a go-to place for casual meetups and college catch-ups.
Back in 2015, if you asked any college student or a young foodie where to get a proper zinger burger in Hyderabad, you would definitely be pointed to Graffiti Cafe. Such was the craze of their burgers. “Back then, I couldn’t find a decent zinger burger anywhere in Hyderabad,” says Ikramah, founder of the cafe. “That is when I decided to create the kind of food I missed, starting with a single zinger burger on the menu.”
Born and raised in Saudi Arabia, Ikramah brought with him a taste for fast food that wasn’t yet common in the city. His vision was not to start a trend but to fill a gap, and the response they got was huge.
As customers kept coming back, they began asking for more. Soon, Alfredo pasta made its way to the menu, followed by pizzas and the most-loved mocktails. “I won’t claim it officially, but as far as I remember, we were the first to bring zinger burgers and pasta to everyday diners in the city. Even mocktails were something only seen in hookah parlours back then. Graffiti Cafe bought them to the regular dining scene, and every eatery in Hyderabad followed suit,” Ikramah tells Siasat.com.
The post-COVID era shifted the focus from taste to aesthetics, and Hyderabad’s cafe scene became increasingly competitive. “Earlier, people valued quality food above all. Now, everything is about how it looks on social media,” he says, “We too had to upgrade our menu and space to keep up.”
Many of the cafes that started during the same period as Graffiti Cafe have since shuttered. However, this cafe has held on. The secret? Ikramah says that being one of the first in the cafe scene has given Graffiti an upper hand, as they did not spend a lot on marketing. The new concept of cafes was interesting, which drew the crowd. The consistent quality made the crowd come back for more. “Our service may have faltered at times, but never the food. In the past 10 years, we have never compromised on that. In fact, even now, people come up to me and say that Graffiti made their college life memorable.”
Nearly a decade since it first opened, Graffiti Cafe remains a quiet but important chapter in Hyderabad’s evolving culinary story. While the cafe landscape around it has changed dramatically, Graffiti’s legacy lies in its simplicity. Here, it is all about good food, nostalgia and a head start that helped shape the way the city dines today.
