LEGACY

LEGACY - By Nawab International
LUNKAD SKY STATION,
Next to HDFC,Viman Nagar, Pune 14. 020-66401401

Many restaurants claim to serve authentic food which is almost as good as the region it comes
from. The trend is very old and authentic or not, everyone has their own version. And even then, the place can carve its own niche. Legacy by Nawab International in Viman Nagar – which has been in business for 19 years with branches in Dubai, Uganda, Malaysia and Toronto —serves authentic Indian cuisine.And as you will notice, their niche is the menu card. Almost 80 per cent of food items listed on the menu are accompanied by actual photos of the preparation. So,
what you see is what you get. Very unique! We tasted Prawn Soup, Assorted Vegetable Platter,
Fish Tikka, Chilli Garlic Paneer, Mutton Biryani and Gajar Ka Halwa. Starting with the plus points, the Prawn Soup had a perfect blend of spices with an extra dose of black pepper. The Chilli Garlic Paneer was a nice change from a typical paneer and vegetable preparation.
The Gajar Ka Halwa was as good as home cooked! On the flip side, the rawas in the Fish Tikka was succulent, but the marination needed spice. It was the same with the Paneer Tikka, babycorn and cauliflower in the Assorted Vegetable Platter. The three had the same marinade, but the stuffed vegetable in the platter was good. I had high hopes of the Mutton Biryani, but neither the rice nor the mutton were tender enough. Although a moderately expensive place, it is a good fine dining option in the area. The ambience, décor and service are excellent, but the food, I thought, was not close enough to the ‘authentic’. However, the taste is surely unique and at the end, that is what matters to customers. For me, who closely dissects the ingredients and the preparation, the hunt for authenticity is still on!

MY OVERALL RATING: 5.5/10

HIGH SPIRITS

The High Spirits, 35A/1 North main
road, Koregaon park, Pune

Till now, we have reviewed restaurants serving speciality, themebased or contemporary menu.
This time we thought of visiting a place which is not one of the above. It’s a well-known party place. High Spirits is already known for its amazing flares in spirits and cocktails. So a perfect sample to try out their food. The place has an ample amount of options from Chinese and Indian to continental. A new menu introduced in continental seems fascinating. We tried Buffalo Style Chicken Wings, Tempura Shrimps, and Multani Mushrooms. Buffalo Style Chicken Wings were very soft, juicy and the covering tasted well. Mushrooms, filled with cheese and cooked in tandoor, was also delcious. But, their mention in the menu about Tempura Shrimps – Japanese crisp secret batter - did not support what we were served. But the amount, quality and size
of shrimps are worth mentioning. For mains we tried out Vegan Pizza and Hunters Rustic Chicken. Pizza didn’t turn out to be well. The vegetables were raw, the amount of cheese and the base sauce were little. The sauce and the mashed potato in the chicken tasted well, the chicken though was rubbery. It should have been seared and braised so that the meat retains the juice and prevents it from becoming rubbery The ambience is at its best, along with the service. Visiting High Spirits and not ordering any spirits amounts to doing injustice to the place. Jacks Love was my choice and I loved it a lot! All in all no need to take a look at the mains, as the
bar snacks are very well planned out. The portions are good and pricing average. After all, very few guests go for the main dishes, otherwise spirits, music and thumps is all that matters here. For me, food still remains on the top spot!

MY OVERALL RATING: 5/10