NEBULA

It’s actually quite an old place for a review... However whenever I used to take this road (NDA-Pashan Road) this place used to catch my eye. Mainly because of it’s name. The entire building is a restaurant as the name suggests. Despite the heat we chose not to dine in A/C comfort but on the rooftop simply for the cool, cool breeze. The well stocked bar is situated right in the centre giving open air dining the right appeal. To add to it was the screening of IPL match! The menu is more of Indian along with Chinese. Here I would say upgraded Chinese. The reason for this is that gone are the days when a Chinese menu used to be dotted with fried rices with names of Chinese cities, like Hong Kong Fried Rice, Singapore Fried Rice, etc. Now-adays, we find good aut h e n t i c Chinese food with lots of options. The credit goes to the procurement of different varieties of sauces available in the market, which actually adds to the taste. Now that does not mean the Indian food is not good. It was good indeed! Especially the Fish Rara Masala prepared with Basa fish which comes from Vietnam seas tasted good. Paneer Malai Kabab and Noodle Bhel were good too. The dessert section made me happy. The choclate mud cake and the sizzling chocolate brownie with vanilla ice-cream are must haves here. The service needs attention: We had to actually wave out to the staff for orders. That can be slightly irritating sometimes. Also I found the ratio of cost to quantity to be slightly unbalanced, when the bill finally came in. Otherwise it is a good place to dine-in and recommended to couples who want to spend a quiet evening starwatching.

MY OVERALL RATING : 5.5/10

NEBULA,

NDA-Pashan road,

Bavdhan

22952073

GRUBSHUP

If I can possibly find out in advance, I try to find out the details of the place I’m going to visit. So, when I browsed through the menu on the website of Grubshup, I was impressed with their concept and the content of the menu. The place, a youth hangout, goes an extra mile to provide quality food at affordable prices. The ambience is like a semi-lounge, with wooden box-like seaters instead of cushy chairs or sofas, best suited for collegegoers, but could prove to be a pain in the wrong place to people of other age groups. My first impression was that the menu was very contemporarily compiled, which it actually is, the only drawback is actually understanding the mix and match of the food items. It serves mocktails, breakfast, set lunch, ala carte mains, snacks, finger foods, ‘pitawiches’ (sandwiches made with pita bread) and desserts. All served strictly by the clock! I ordered by matching the available timings in which they are served. A unique method is adapted here to make your own meals, from the given choices. It was confusing, initially, to get the right stuff. I failed to understand the category of “stuffings” served separately in a bowl, and why kathi roll was mentioned in the same section. There was a Vegetable Manchurian on the list but noodles were no where to be found. Neither were the desserts, as only a couple were available. I won’t comment too much about the service, as annoyingly, I was denied a table for four, when the entire hangout had merely three tables out of twenty occupied. As for the taste, Lemon Iced Tea, Paneer Kathi Roll and Chicken Saiboo were disappointing, as the description clearly mentioned dumplings, while we got shreds of chicken. The Kathi Roll was over doused with filling and a flavour of ajwain remained in the after taste. The Po Boy Chicken Pita was good, as it is a normal chicken mayo filling while the Mint Caiprioska was fantastic! And so was the Brownie. One particular element which is mandatory for a hangout place, a glass of chai, was next to perfect!

MY OVERALL RATING: 4.5/10

GRUBSHUP

Law College Road – Canal Road

Pune. 9552510426

SAHYADRI

Meals come in different forms, taste and prices. It is usually depends on what the need of the location or demand. In our leisure we go for something tried and tested. Out of curiosity, we check out new places and if we are hungry, we simply munch on fast food. But when it comes to everyday meals, we stick on to the conventional dal-roti stuff. Today’s place is exactly for this. The restaurant serves Maharashtrian specialties with some new entrants like Ravan Pithla or Sev Bhaji. These preparations are normally served in the eastern part of Maharashtra. The uniqueness of this place is that you get a variety in preparation styles in one thali, which costs you only Rs 45. In that you get Puneri style amti, one cerealbased gravy which is cooked the Khandeshi way, dosa bhaji which is a Mumbai preparation as well as the usual roti or bhakari and raita. The range of bhajis are also good with ample quantity too. Palak bhaji was one of them. And the sitaphal rabdi as desert was amazing, with actual pieces of sitaphal in it rather than essence. The menu is short with breakfast items, grilled sandwiches, veg main course namely vangi bharta, etc. There’s an option of limited thali and unlimited thali. This meal packs a punch and doesn’t let it pinch on pocket. That is why it drew huge crowd resulting in the only drawback of this economically tasty place — the seating capacity. A few tables occupied and you have to wait for as long as 20 mins to get an empty table. Having opened merely a month ago, it was seen that it is quite popular with female students. Recommended to all those who want to try a varied thali on a minimum budget!

MY OVERALL RATING: 6.5/10

Sahyadri

Opposite to

Omkareshwar

Temple

Shaniwar Peth

R BHAGAT TARRACHAND - LAXMI ROAD

After much adulation from colleagues, I revisited this place, but in a new location. R Bhagat Tarrachand isn’t new to me - I’ve visited this very old, pure vegetarian restaurant in the highly congested area in Mumbai’s Zaveri Bazaar and even the one that was situated near the Talegaon toll on the Expressway. The thalis here are more famous than anything else. In spite of that a visit to this place on Laxmi Road was a new experience for me. The interiors of the restaurant are the same as the previous one at that location. However, don’t confuse the interior with the name or the theme. The main purpose visiting this place must strictly be for the food and the taste. The menu is typical, but there is the catch — the preparations have a huge difference. The taste, quantity and preparation served at the prices they offer would mortify others who give away same named preparations using additives such as khoya or thick pastes. I always crib about this ‘typical’ taste which is served all over town. For instance, if you don’t have a tinge of tomato in your Paneer Kadhai, you’ll probably be eating that thick paste which only fills your stomach but doesn’t satisfy your palate. Here, you will find more paneer pieces perfectly coated with enough gravy to give out lip-smacking taste. They also have Chinese preparations of which the Manchow Soup and Paneer Chilli was really good. Paneer Tikka, Vegetable Korma, Sarson ka Saag and Veg Pulao is almost better than what you’d consider the best! The staff is efficient and courteous. Don’t miss another signature dish of theirs – a beer bottle filled with creamy and delicious chach (butter milk). Situated on the busiest street of Pune, I spotted more of a student crowd compared to family and couples enjoying the treat.

R Bhagat Tarrachand

City Jewel, 2 nd floor, Opp Om Market

Laxmi Road (Monday Closed)

020-24457799

THE BREAK

In spite of an inflation in food prices, new places keep cropping up. Today’s restaurant is a massive 350 seater with spacious ambience and a name plate too! But I didn’t understand why the “AK” from the name Break is hugely stretched out. There are new concepts that can be seen here. For instance, a postersize cutout of a crumpled cigarette is pasted on the walls to notify the message instead of writing it usually. A pure vegetarian restaurant, the style in which the food items are presented on the menu card is different. Using different permutations and combinations of ingredients, the menu is a massive one with over 500 preparations. That’s why I found 19 varieties of pav bhaji here. Some items fascinated me merely because of their names - Tex Mex Pizza, Desi No. 1 Pizza, Jade Corn Soup, Duke Salad, Rocket and Mango salad, Brinjal Hot Garlic, Veg Ganesh, Veg Dragon, Paneer Chocolate Masala... I don’t know how they taste, but full marks for imagination. The juice section had some interesting varients too - Kohinoor (orange + anar) and Taal (strawberry + lichee). I was left wondering what ingredients could be in the Honeymoon Special in the dessert section! The taste of the food here is typical. Authentic preparations are out of the question. The quantity is very good considering the price. Their Chinese variations are also good — I liked the Veg Hot Pan the best. As The all time fav paneer tikka masala too was good. It also has Chinese desserts too namely honey noodles, date pan cake or fried ice-cream. Visiting this place is like watching a typical comedy movie which has no connection with reality, but does satisfy your funny bones.

MY OVERALL RATING: 6.5/10

THE BREAK (veg restaurant)

Comet House, Next to Big Bazaar,

Satara Road, 020-24211111

MALGUDI DAYS

What’s in a name,” Shakespeare asked. Well, after visiting this place, I’d have to say there is definitely something to it. Naming a restaurant in a certain fashion may make a certain type of foodie client naturally gravitate towards it, which makes people go out of the way to use whacky names. There is a strong possibility that eventually the customer could get disappointed, since there is also that important aspect — taste. Even if eating patterns have changed and new themes have been introduced over time, a large chunk of customers still crave that onegravy- in-different-combinations type standard taste. It’s really not their fault either, as when you travel in or out of Pune within Maharashtra, this particular dominance on the palate is witnessed in restaurants across the board. You have no option left but to dig into these ‘typical’ dish names and their preparations. I was one such customer who got pulled in by the name of the establishment in this case. My visit had great expectations… and one knows what generally happens to them. The menu here is predictable, with one ingredient in different combinations. It is touted as more than just a seafood place — the fact is that seafood is 15 per cent of the menu. The rest is replete with the aforementioned ‘typical’ preparations. The Bombay duck roasted in rawa, and deep fried wasn’t too exceptional but for its absolute freshness. If this particular variety of fish is not served absolutely fresh, it falls apart when you take a hold of the piece. Mutton could probably be avoided in the starter options — the Boti Kebab was clearly not a thigh piece as it should have been. The Makai Kebab looked bright green (with probable colour enhancement), but also tasted pretty good. The curries (dominated by fish preparations) come in about five gravies – Tawa, Masala, Goan, Koliwada and Hara Masala, names that more or less suggest exactly what is going to arrive on your platter. We chose the Goan Curry. There was complete absence of coconut and the gravy was tangy but not from the small amla like fruit — bimla — which is usually used in original Goan recipes, but by an excess of tomato. The inflation in onion prices was visible in the gravies as well. The biryani was more like a tawa pulao in terms of taste and preparation. The ambience of the place had not much to do with the name, or theme or the menu — even if the wonderful fictional town created by R K Narayan is immortal, the preparations here aren’t exactly so. If you like that familiar ‘typical’ taste and do not wish to have a pinched pocket, do visit!

Opp Shivaji

Statue and

Thorat Udyan,

Kothrud Circle

WOODS

The stretch from Chandni Chowk to Mulshi is a very famous area among couples, ‘spirit’ ual friends and corporate people.There was aboom around 10 years ago on this stretch. Saturday nights used to be a hot spot for every hotel on this road. Unfortunately and eventually the quality of the food, service and ambience started to decline in the past few years, making it difficult for couples and female friends to dine in safely till 11.30 pm or so.However,now, after visiting this place, I feel that it has crated a benchmark for other fellow hoteliersto follow some decent guidelines, improve the quality of service and food and most importantly, include global variety in their food preparations. After visiting Woods, which is exactly opposite of octroi post on Paud- Mulshi road, I could hardly believe its existence in that area.The ambience itself is represented in its name.With a pool table in the centre and three other sitting areas, tells you how ample the space is. Even the dim lit tents have a cozy feeling, with no sketchy or shady undertones.And the food factor isn’t lacking either. An amazing wide spread, this place has almost everything including sizzlers, Indian, Chinese, oriental,Thai, pastas and Arabic food.The taste, too, is great.Apart from food, hookahs are also served. Drinking buddies might through back an extra peg or two as the rates are very reasonable. But what I would love to talk about most this week, is the ambience and the fact that you can bring along a date and truly enjoy the evening below an open sky. I also noticed different genres of customers here, all having their good time.There was a couple, a family with kids, pool playing youngsters and only-girls groups.The service is good, polite and on their toes. The owner being around, helped to maintain that standard and also I think keep away unwanted disturbances. One thing to keep in mind though, is to make sure, you have your feet covered when you visit as you might have crawly friends giving you company.After all, you are going to dine in the Woods!

MY OVERALL RATING: 8/10

Woods, Opposite Octroi Post, Paud Road, 9890222230