GRAPPA GARDEN

Grappa Garden could best be described in my book as a bistro, which usually is a small restaurant serving continental food accompanied by wine and coffee. It definitely serves the typical bistro cuisine. The table set-up encourages you to try an interesting mix of their domestic and international brand selection, in an open yet classy ambience. The mood here, is perfect for a chilly afternoon brunch or even a cozy evening dinner. The food menu here is seasonal and as mentioned, changes accordingly. Also going by the theme, the preparations are made from fresh, local produce — that’s why you’ll find lots of winter vegetables used inpreparations around this time of the year. Typical to bistro cuisine, there are quite a few interesting preparations on the list. Apart from the soups, salads, pizzas and pastas, some preparations that caught my eye include the Devils on Horseback (prunes wrapped in bacon) and the Brazilian Rib Eye Steak to name a few. Also, as a diehard whiskey man, I always wondered why it’s not used regularly in restaurants for culinary sauces, as it tends to give an excellent flavour and zing to the dish, especially with meat. Here, you can get several such items, such as their Whiskey Pork Ribs, Orange Whiskey Ham and Chicken Bit-o-Whiskey. This season’s menu is quite flavourful. The Roasted Vegetables and Pasta soup, Barbecue Chicken Wings, Homemade Cannelloni stuffed with Garden Fresh Veggies are all musttries. The stuff here breaks the myth related to continental preparations — that the use of herbs, coloured peppers and thick sauces qualifies as a ‘continental preparation’, which is sadly, yet unintentionally practised and copied just about everywhere. It is good to know that here, they differentiate themselves as soon as you take the first bite. The roasted vegetables have that balanced smoky taste with the optimum use of herbs. The Barbecue Chicken Wings have this extra meaty chunk over the bone and the Homemade Cannelloni promises a wholesome meal. The Tiramisu or the Black Forest Bavarios are both equally delicious to top it all. This place breaks another myth as well — that every restaurant in that vicinity (Koregaon Park) can be assumed to be exorbitant.A four-course, shared, filling meal for two, would be less than Rs 1,000, something that is worth every penny for the quality of ingredients used, service, ambience and rather satisfying taste. Of course the wine list per bottle starts from the mentioned amount and it does not encourage wine served by glass. Nevertheless, this bistro’s food is absolutely fantastic!

Grappa Garden

Above Post 91,

Lane No 7,

Koregaon Park, Pune

FIRANGI PAANI - Koregaon park

I tend to find most pubs similar to each other. Each place has good music, flowing liquor, finger food and of course, dancing! However, after visiting Firangi Paani, my prejudice no longer exists. The ambience and atmosphere scored! Fortwo things I’ll remember this place a while - the interiors and the variety of spirits served. Firangi Paani is a replica of an English pub. A large oil painting of a typical English party, antique arms and accessories are fitted onto velvet walls, leather upholstered chairs, lots of polished wood and a turning model ship is part of the ambience. An extensively stylish bar is packed with Scotch, wines and other imported liquor along with Indian made-foreign liqueurs. Bartenders serve an ecletic mix of cocktails, including a variety of maritinis, daiquiris and margaritas. The dancing floor is next to the bar, wellequipped with a DJ console playing great retro music (when I visited). The seating area is huge and spacious. Though the tables are kept fairly close to each other, privacy is maintained. There’s also a large variety of food to go with your drink. Among the list offering American, Lebenese, Mexican, Italian, Oriental spread, the Fish ‘n’ Chips are a house favorite. The Stuffed Crust Pizzas kept up to their name. Californian Potato Wedges are innovative. Instead of the regular frozen, ready-tofry wedges, potatoes cut in wedges along with the jackets are gratinated with cheese and served with a dip. I found the raddish and mayonnaise dip most appealing. The Pastas and Barbecued Chicken and Jalapeno Burger is filling and tasty. Normally the food takes a back seat in pubs; it’s an afterthought to our main motivation to go there - spirits. Here you are surely not let down. By the way, while glancing through the bar menu I found that the options for whisky-based cocktails offered here are more than any other place. Also, there is a huge variety of glassware used to pour out the cocktails! Well, whatever the occasion, the mood, the company, this maybe a best place to unwind. Couples, friends, families, executives heading straight from their offices and even individual patrons looked satisfied with their share of experience at this English spirited pub.

FIRANGI PAANI

3 rd floor, Jewel Square Mall,

Koregaon Park,

Pune

020-41224890

INDIJOE

The name suggests a blend of fusion of western influenced cuisine with Indian touch. It’s an all day dining destination with lots of variety to choose from. You can feel the weight of the menu card and simply get confused what to order today as you bound to re-visit back to try the full array of delicacies offered. I did not get the hint of the Indian touch as most of the content of the menu is American influenced and partly serves a variety of Thai, American, Mexican, Italian and Lebanese fare. Over 20 percent of my time spent at the restaurant was reading – yes – ‘reading’ the menu. The extensive menu lets you feel exhausted which comprises of fondues, soups, salads, appetizers, main meals, pizzas, pastas, risotto, sizzlers, sandwiches, hot dogs, burgers, desserts, shakes and coolers and whole kids menu. I guess that’s the idea to ignite your hunger. Having read for so long time, we had to make discussions across the table resulting in debates, conflicts only over what to order, my eyes fell over one of their writings ‘tired of choosing go for our combos’. Vegetarian combo was the ceasefire. I was happy to go for combo for two reasons. One good one that we got to taste 4-5 different varieties and the bad one was all of them wore battered, coated and deep fried! I guess American cuisine sails on oil!

The Texas favorite chicken wings wore succulent, glazy and tasted well with blue cheese dip and barbecue sauce. Ahead on the global gourmet journey the pizza bombed while chicken chimichanga (supposed to be Mexican) created fireworks! Pizza for its base and chimichanga for its unique creamy chicken filled tortilla with tomato fused Spanish rice. The desserts have interestingly striking similarity with one also served at another famous hangout. The chocolate kill avalanche is more than enough for two persons with around 7 different forms of chocolate almost killing you.

Well the ambience complements the food perfectly. The vibrant orange walls, graceful seating and open kitchen give you the American deli dining feel. Be ready to spend in dollar style to, as it’s fairly expensive. I suggest a one visit is must. For its exiting menu and global fare served under one roof and that to desi style!

IndiJoe

3^rd floor, jewel square hall, Koregaon park, Pune, 020-41224888/9

LE KEBABIERE

This week’s restaurant is for those who had thought about Indian food being monotonously served wherever they dined. Who so ever agree to this, must visit Le Kebabiere. Initially heading to this place, I was assuming to take yet another kebabful ride as the name suggested. The interiors are contemporarily styled. So is the tableware. When I dig into the menu, it was more than just kebabs which happened to surprise me. The content of the food preparation seemed to be very carefully selected, that is why there is no repetition in terms of ingredient or flavor. While there are lots of appetizers in form of kebabs, there is a long list of seen and unseen wine labels too. The preparation is exotic, traditional and sticking to the roots with infusion of some trendy compilations. As I evidently say after having tried mushroom galouti – which was commendable for if any vegetarian have not tried the original meat galouti, should go for this. So was the tandoori mushroom – two mushrooms stuffed in between mixed vegetables emitting perfectly balanced smoky taste. Then there is murgh parcha kebab – a traditional nawabi preparation having shahi jeera, almond paste marination with a touch of saffron and Dakshin year – prawns cooked over the tandoor giving out best taste of lemon and curry leaves. The curries too have divergence in flavors, still we sticked on to the shahi paneer makhani – which again satisfied the taste buds with its silky smooth curry. Having feasted on the kebab and curries it was time for biryani to make way. The sofiyani biryani – the only white biryani packed the punch. The final blow was the desserts - badaam chennay ki kheer and house made gulkand ice cream. With meekly service, the dining experience takes you through a path which is apart from the norm still heading you towards fulfilling and appealing Indian cuisine. Do try the specialty house made cocktail section. I relished the shot of pan flavored vodka and realized; Indian cuisine in any which way is still the best and ever evolving!

Le Kebabiere

Pyramid Complex 81/82 North Main Road Koregaon Park Pune- 411036

Ph: 95521 34400(020) 4103 0333

SICILIA

The place I visited this week is known as Sicilia, and I assumed it is an Italian restaurant. Well, though the food prepared here is Italian, it has a huge backdrop of Mediterranean cuisine! Sicilian food has influences from the Arabs, Greeks and Spanish, and this does make it Mediterranean in nature. The preface at the start of the menu is informative and tells you about the history of Sicilian cuisine and its origins. The menu (since we’ve established it is Mediterranean), has antipasti, homemade pastas, rissottos, shawarma, falafels, babagounush, etc. They also have a well stocked wine menu to make your dining more appealing. For starters, we had the soup of the day which was Minestrone. It happened to be a great choice to start the meal with. It was a generous portion, with ample vegetables and a perfect spiked flavour. We also ordered Funghi Ripeno al Forno (mushroom tossed in garlic) and Roasted Prawns and Cherry Tomato, both tasty and with generous portions. The prawns were especially good — succulent and blended well with the sauce. Basically, if the base sauce is well prepared, its derivatives are bound to be tasty. In this case the tomato concasse (French for ‘crushed’ and a term that can mean ‘sauce’) was so well balanced, that the Mediterranean Pizza we ordered next also turned out to be pleasurable. Here too, the toppings were generous. Usually, we get to see more sauce and less toppings; here it was exactly the opposite. For the main course we had Kingfish Steak with Polenta and Asparagus and once again, I was surprised with the portions! Polenta (yellow corn meal) was well prepared; and the fish steaks had a cheese filling making it more tender. Having been served and attended to very well by the staff, I performed an almost ritual by ordering the alltime favourite Italian dessert — tiramsu. I feel incomplete not trying out the tiramisu at any Italian joint. This time (again!) I was impressed by their portion and the presentation. Every single preparation brought to the table had two or three garnishes. And even more admirable, not even one garnish was repeated. The Tiramisu went down well with a hot shot of the classic cappuchino served on the house with the dessert. Overall, a fabulous place to visit once and being treated not only to Italian cuisine, but Mediterranean as well. This five course dinner for two with generously served portions, great presentation will cost around Rs 1500. Bon Apetite!

MY OVERALL RATING:7/10

SICILIA, City Point, Dhole Patil Road, 020-26168555

PREGO ITALIANO!!

A new day of a new year and a very new restaurant’s review to start it off with! What more could we ask for? The place reviewed today has definitely raised the bar, when it comes to Italian cuisine in Pune. Whenever I think of Italian cuisine, select ingredients, preparations and serving techniques come to mind. Where those thoughts stop; this particular menu kicks off! I was astounded after going through the menu available in both Italian and English. Apart from the wood-fired pizzas, the homemade pastas rule here. There is a wide variety of homemade pastas which I consider imperative to an Italian kitchen. Of them, the Cannelloni was what I tried. And it was the best I’ve ever eaten! I was unlucky that day because I couldn’t try the pizza. For some technical reasons with the oven, the pizza was not available, but I’m sure that a pizza will also be the right choice here, as they have a wide variety of sauces to choose from. For the main course, the Mix Seafood Risotto also turned out to be a good option. It had generous servings of prawns, clams and shell fish. The ambience is spectacular, spacious and lively. The service is classy and polite. The only reason to avoid this place would be if you have a particularly Indianised palate. For those who have one, will not agree with me, that it’s an experience to dine at such a place. Most of the food served here — olive oil, fresh herbs, lots of cheeses, truffle oil, homemade pastas, wine sauces and al dente ingredients — could be acquired tastes. However, don’t expect such a classy experience — with the use of these ingredients — to be light on the pocket. There is a price to pay! With the food and ambience of this place, a visit is an experience in itself. With the opening of Prego, Italians have surely arrived and in style!

MY OVERALL RATING: 7/10

The Westin Pune

36/3-B Koregaon Park Annexe

Mundhawa Road, Pune 1.

Contact: 67210000

POST 91

Sunday is the most sought after day in the whole week. Plans are made for days in advance. So what happens when there are no plans, or if like the best-laid ones, your’s go downhill too? Simple! Get yourself pampered by indulging in a Sunday brunch. To experience the most unique and mouthwatering delicacies and unlimited drinks late on a Sunday afternoon seems like a dream come true. Many of the restaurants, that you can visit foe a Sunday brunch, also offer you a free dip in the pool. So what makes a Sunday brunch so special? Well apart from the fact that food and the drinks are unlimited, your kids can enjoy the afternoon in the company of cartoons or mimics, and the wives can look in on some or the other exhibition or fair, which is going on. All this while you soak up the sun,chill and relax till late afternoon! To indulge in at his experience first hand, we visited this place which offered food and unlimited wine @599 all inclusive. Well it was surely a steal. The starters were abundant and tasty - be it chicken nuggets, crispy vegetables, cheese balls, sheek kabab, paneer tikka or oriental fish. The food seems like it was just pouring in along with the wine for the first half-an-hour. Deciding to take a break, we checked out a jewellery exhibition, which was on at the hotel. After a few more intervals, we again dug into live counters of chaat and pastas. Though the chaat was not the better option, the pastas surely won hands down. Having asked the chef to prepare a customised pasta, we sat and enjoyed the live band. Our few suggestions were readily honoured too! And when it came, it was worth the wait. To give full justice to the plethora of food options available, we kept taking breaks in our gourmet journey. The array of main courses baffled us so and left us guessing as to which one to try out first. After having dealt with the main course, it was time to indulge the sweet tooth. The display of the desserts was so tempting and inviting, it was a ‘bitter’ choice to make indeed, as we decided on the ones to sample. After the whole experience was over, we thought that three hours were in fact less to embark on such an amazing culinary journey. The service was attentive, though there was a lot of running around the table to satisfy the wishes of those present. The ambience and weather were also good. Only thing to note - be sure to call and reserve a table as soon as you get up in the morning. With the hordes of people trying to get in on the Sunday brunch experience, be sure you are not left out. After all, Sunday comes only once in a week!

MY OVERALL RATING: 8.5/10

Post 91, Lane 6,

Koregaon Park

THE HIDDEN PLACE

This week we hunted down a place that is typically not included as a restaurants or a food outlet. It’s more of a hangout joint and despite it’s name, the place is not exactly hidden. When I entered, it reminded me of the many places that have sprouted up in Mumbai’s western suburbs. Then gradually, I got convinced the Hidden Place is different and much better. There are cricket matches playing on big LCD TVs, chartbuster songs on in minimal volume which means you don’t have to scream for your order, and the bottle keepers and coasters all bear hit Bollywood dialogues. Imported spirits, including beers, rule the bar menu. Also superb are the cocktails, martinis and muddlers. Their chocolate frappe was good too. So, after trying some of these, I was waiting for the main event – the tasting of the food.

When I was told about this place, I wondered what I could possibly write about. But now, after tasting the food over here, I planned (in vain) to write about the food only. The starters are very good. Especially the Lucknowi Galouti Kebab,Malai Kabab and Tandoori Hariyali Prawns. Even the Tacos with Tomato Salsa and Garlic Bread were fine!

But still, what is a review if there’s no criticism at all. For instance, the Fish Biryani we had was not as nice as the rest (with uncooked rice and a slight lack of flavour), the normal bread used in the garlic bread or extra béchamel sauce in the cheese dip. But who’s complaining? I hadn’t expected the quality of food to be so high! Even the service is splendid and super fast. Well, I don’t want to fail to mention other reasons to recommend the place. There’s no entry charge, however, on the weekends you might have to arrive early to secure a good place where you can relax, enjoy a drink and the starters too!

Even lone patrons can enjoy the place just by looking around and reading the stuff put up on the walls. And now, as to why I said this place is good for Pune, is because we get good quality, a variety of food at more than just ‘reasonable’ prices.

MY OVERALL RATING: 9/10

The Hidden Place

Near German Bakery

North Main Road

Koregaon Park