Explorer of Experiences

Size Matters It is news when in a real estate-crunched city like Pune you have a restaurant that’s bagged a space that spans 15,000 sq ft. It is rare still to walk into a restaurant that is that big; a restaurant with an indoor section, a huge outdoor dining area and even an amphitheatre. Without an intention to compare, when you walk in, Classic Rock feels like High Spirits v 2.0, mature and mammoth-sized. Its sprawling premises promises to easily harbor about 1500 revelers. And where they score over lots of restaurants is their parking lot that can accommodate almost 200 vehicles. Obviously, their manning is huge with 80 people on the payroll. Cocktails & Coffee At Classic Rock, they take both their coffee and cocktails very seriously. Let’s talk Arabica first. They source their coffee beans from Kerala and even have a glistening silver roasting machine on site. Beans are roasted and grinded, so you’re guaranteed a freshly brewed Cappuccino (Rs 140). If you’re int...

Where Else promises to be unique in Viman Nagar, a neighbourhood already brimming with so many eateries.   Four young friends came together to put their love for food and travel experiences in a melting pot called ‘Where Else’. This new café and bar is the brainchild of sibling duo Ardesh and Daisy Rustomjee and best friend duo Amritha Shrikumar and Sweta Jobanputra. These Viman Nagar residents have been firsthand witnesses to the rise of new eateries in their locality. With ‘Where Else’ they aim to fill in the void of a place that offers all-day breakfast and good quality indulgent food. We drove to the outlet in its first week of opening to find out if ‘Where Else’ is the place to be.   

Food Story’s authentic Hyderabadi cuisine is delicious enough to move you… Subhash S. is a restaurateur par excellence. His resume boasts of his still-popular 20-year old restaurant ‘Eden Park’ in Bengaluru and 15-year old recently closed iconic 800 cover restaurant ‘Our Place’ in Hyderabad. He set his eyes on Pune for his next culinary venture. Enter ‘Food Story’. June has brought with it not only the monsoons but this old-world Hyderabadi restaurant for the city’s gourmands.   The restaurant name and décor does not trigger preconceived notions of the cuisine it serves or the kind of experience it will offer. This is deliberate. Subhash wants you to walk in hungry and with a clean slate. We concluded the interiors to be simple, toned-down and unassuming; the only striking elements being two 19 th century-esque chandeliers. The variety of dishes for both non-vegetarians and vegetarians is inviting and enticing. Subhash is hands-on and was rearing to serve us. We happily ...

There’s a new friendly neighborhood bistro whose food and desserts have got the town talking. I make the drive to Baner to find out what’s in store… Desserterie. Patisserie. Bistro. Minus 18 Degrees in Baner is all this and more. What catches curious eyes is the view of the top storey of Minus 18 Degrees of busy chefs with their gloved hands working on dish after dish. This 45-seater bistro is the vibrant new kid on the block. Stark navy blue and white walls could have made the place look clinical, but the smart interior designer has blended it together with subtle touches of teal - on the upholstery, the menu and the picture frames on the wall. With the chosen color palette, Minus 18 Degrees could have been the perfect naval office canteen. There is alfresco seating but you really want to sit where all the action is happening – indoors. Push open the door and you are greeted with a sweet aroma. It’s a bustling scene inside - young waiters energetically atten...

This article was published on The Punekar and can be viewed here .  I have been lucky enough to live in several cities over the past few years. Pune has been a particular favourite for me; I always feel home here. So I am always thinking about ways this city can be made more livable and more exciting!  1. Pop-up Restaurants Chef Gaggan If you’re a follower of the global food scene, you’ve probably heard of pop-up restaurants. Pop-ups are like wandering, nomadic restaurants and our neighbor, Mumbai, has seen quite a few of them over the past year. Case in point, Gaggan Anand of Gaggan fame (his eponymous Bangkok restaurant ranked 3 rd  on the World’s 50 Best Asian Restaurants list) set up a public tasting of his progressive Indian menu at Bandra-Kurla Complex. Needless to say, the city’s foodies were raving about it. Pune has a proud and flourishing food history too and we are sure there will be lots of takers of such pop-ups. 2. Dedicated Public Ope...

This article was published on Burrp . Call it a brewpub or a gastro-pub; they have got the recipe right – superbly brewed beer with some tasty grub. Independence Brewery Company located in  Mundhwa  is spacious. If not the bar stools, then choose from bench-style seating to get comfortable. Having opened its doors to beer guzzlers in January, the pub finally acquired the required licenses to brew their own beer on site. It is interesting to note that they do not serve beer in pitchers or towers here. Shailendra Bisht, owner and Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) approved member, works out the science behind the perfect mug of ale. Here, beer is served in a tall glass so you savour it at just the right temperature (4-5 Degrees Celsius). They brew four kinds of beer of which the pale yellow, translucent Belgian Wit Beer (Rs 300 for 500ml) is our pick for its easy-on-the-palate fruity notes that make it difficult to stop drinking it. The American Pale Ale (Rs 300...

This article was published on The Punekar . Butter crepe at Yogi Tree When an outsider questions you about some of the most popular places to eat in Pune, what’s your response? I bet the regulars – High Spirits, Tertullia and Malaka Spice figure in your recommendations. But, let’s see and experience beyond the usual and open up a wider window of taste and flavours! We draw up a list of some eateries in town that serve great tasting fare with or without the ambiance. Chai and Bun-Maska The city’s favourite tea snack is the  Bun-Muska . Over time, we have been conditioned to associate Chai with Vohuman Café. Yes, it is a buzzing little place popular for its owner’s eccentricities and double omelet. But, have you visited Café Yezdan yet? Born in 1964, this Irani café is an important fragment of Pune’s food heritage. A tiny open kitchen doles out Omelet, Bhurji , Chai and a lot more. And yes, they slather as much fat on bread as their other counterparts in the city do. ...

My review of Flambos Brewpub was published on Burrp! today. Here's the link to it:  http://www.burrp.com/pune/know/review-flambos-64479 For the benefit of our lazy web-surfers, I paste the review below so you don't have to go anywhere else. In a city known for its budding microbrewery culture and pub food, we find out how  Flambos  fares. A popular hangout point housing some of Pune's best restaurants and lounges, the Metropole commercial complex adjacent to Inox Cinema was once brimming with flavour. This is not the case any longer. Over the years, some restaurants have downed their shutters and the only surviving outlets are  Flag's  and  Flambos . We decided to pay this old haunt a visit on a Sunday afternoon, and walked into   Flambos   to be greeted by Flambos' beer chillers at the entrance. Its interiors are warm with bricked walls and wooden flooring and furnishing. The ambiance is lifted by substantial natural lighting during ...

How many of us have dined alone?  Eating by myself was something I never considered I would ever do.  But like they say...never say never. Before you know it you will find yourself faced with a time when you have no choice but to do so.  As a fresh university student some years ago, there were many instances when I would walk around discovering the new campus, attending lectures and touring the buzzing cafeteria, buying myself a a hot meal and finding a spot where I could sit and eat by myself. And I was not alone in eating alone. There were so many who did it. In the beginning, I used to find it odd, and felt uncomfortable eating by myself. And when I think about it now, it was mostly because of how I was worried about being judged by others. Would they think I am an introvert, that do not have any friends, or that no one enjoys my company? Would they think something terrible happened to me and I just want to eat in the company of my sadness? So I would then star...

Many times I have been recommended a restaurant that is super popular in the city, but after dining there I tend to walk out feeling disappointed...it was good, but not that good. Pune has a few restaurants that are deemed a must-visit for outsiders. My theory is that these popular outlets were good at one time, but once they gained popularity and the footprint, somewhere along the way, the prices sky-rocketed and the food quality suffered. Nonetheless with some PR machinery backing them up, they do get their desired footfalls.  Sometimes, the best restaurants turn out to be the ones very few have heard of.  One such not-much-talked-about place is Soy. My sister discovered it two years ago when severe sushi cravings drove her on a city-wide hunt for a restaurant that serves decent ones. Sheltered on the ground floor of Le Royce Hotel, the chefs at Soy dish out some remarkable Chinese and Japanese food.  Their menu has good range and better still, vegetarians will not...

   A                   Image courtesy:  iskandals.com Aubergines – I don't know too many people who will jump in the bus with me on this one. This is one vegetable I love - right from its deep purple color to its flesh. At home, we deep fry thin slices of the aubergine and then sprinkle it generously with powders of coriander, red chilli, mango and salt. Deeeevine! B Image courtesy: Lovefoodeat.com Bananas – Fatty fruit this one, but lord, 4 of them for 10 bucks is a steal. And what’s more, no annoying seeds to deal with. Simply peel, bite and relish! Not just the fruit itself but I also remember loving this particular banana wafer biscuit I used to eat when I was a kid. Banana toffee or caramelized banana is nothing short of a heavenly sweet treat after a meal. If I see it on the menu, I won’t go for anything else listed in the dessert section. My shot at the JW Marriott breakfast buffet Bread – Buns...