Hi, I thought of writing something about the restaurants which I have visited in Pune. Pune, as it is called the city of foodies...no doubt it has some great food serving restaurants... here i go describing my experiences at some of these...:)
Oh Calcutta : In one word, I would call this as a very "Classy" place.Right from the lighting, decor, the music..they have taken great pains in making the ambience in tune with the bengali style and culture. Beautiful instrumental music of hindi songs is played in the background...which if one listens carefully ..all the evergreen classic songs which have been music directed by Bengali music legends are played.
There are pictures on the wall of scenes of calcutta...
We ordered fish, rice and a potato subzi.. and yes a mocktail by the name of some "Seventh heaven"..and of course ended the dinner with heavenlish "Malpua"..it was too good.
Marjorin :) One word which comes to my mind at the thought of Marjorin is 'Sandwiches'..:) awsome sandwiches..and some great fresh pastries along with them..yummy... The restuarant is set in a beautiful old style bunglow... I particularly like the old world charm the place has got... tall ceilings, tall huge wooden doors,winding elaborately ornated wooden staircase....One could spend hours together ..sitting on the first floor, nibbling the heavenlish sandwich and looking at the traffic and the hustling bustling crowd down below on the road..
Its cool..:)
Rajwada: As the name suggests....I felt that the place has got a palace like feel to it...I mean I felt it that way. It has an impressive entrance. We went there in the winter season. Winters in Pune are quite cold...there were these bonfires lit at various places in the huge garden around which tables were laid out for people to eat and enjoy in the warmth of the lit fire in the cold night.We preferred to sit inside. I remember enjoying delicious assorted pakoras made of chillies, gobhi, potato, onion ....
I remember looking at huge paintings put up on the walls of the inside of the hotel depicting palace scenes..royal scenes etc....
It was a nice cozy warm experience at Rajwada on that cold january day.. :)
Vaishali Hotel: I think I will always associate Pune with Tekdi and Vaishali hotel.
Vaishali hotel on the FC road… I can eat its SPDP countless number of times. I have never eaten SPDP anywhere else like that the one made at Vaishali. I think the manager knows us by our faces now…considering the number of times we have visited the place ..SPDPs, idli sambar, chai or chickoo shakes is usually what we order everytime. They have this water fountain in the middle of the place…which gives a very soothing effect to the whole area.One can often see children playing with the water. The entire place is covered under a canopy of trees and there are also many plants planted around… It gives a very green , cool effect. In summers they use those mist blowers which keep the restaurant cool.. Its kinda nice to eat while surrounded by mist. :)
You go any day of the week, this place is always crowded… Waiting for average 20 minutes is quite normal… I used to wonder ....how come people have the patience to wait for so long.. but slowly… as they say.. the city grows on u ….this place grew on me Now I actually enjoy waiting there… You wont believe it.. but it feels quite nice to be a part of the lively, chit chatting crowd.. . Letting those positive vibes of the place have a calming effect on u. Standing there and listening to the water flowing in the fountain…dreaming about the soft idli dipped in the awesome sambar…. The chatpati SPDP…oh..out of this world ..:)
Roll House: Amazing sizzlers Not very spicy…and of course delicious manchurian soup…. we really enjoyed having dinner there. The service was superb. The place is dimly lit which gives it a cozy effect… I remember they had hung very beautiful lampshades.. The place has this long sofa arrangement.. so that u know.. lots of people can sit together facing each other… very good seating arrangement.. I particularly remember people coming in big groups and ordering right away.. without wasting any time…It seemed the restaurant is very popular with the people living nearby..
Kehwa cafĂ©: Have you heard of Paan shake? Yes, the beetle paan … They had this Paan shake which we ordered. It was real good. They had topped the shake with real beetle leaf etc.. it was innovative..:)
There were newspaper cuttings hung on the walls of the restaurant.. which described about the restaurant and the specialities it offers. There was a corner for people to enjoy flavoured hookah.
I liked the smiling brown face made on the top of the cream of the coffee which was given in large mugs. I liked their creativity.
There are many more to write about.. will continue tomorrow.. Bye for now.. :)
Wow what to say....you have described really good hangout areas for foodies :D ...and let me start with .....especially the most populated Vaishali Hotel....located at the most youngest area in Pune - Fergusson College Road!!! One day might come when waiter might just ask..politely - Do you have reservation ? ......every restaurant needs a seller and Pan shake...thats an amazing native creativity....flavored hookah! as the 3 idiots wud have saluted....pants off to Kehwa cafe!!! now coming to the normal stuff but sizzling and hot sizzlers!! Hot work, Roll house!!!! And lastly.....me being from land of of subhash chandra bose....ask for the native bengali cuisines - sarse bata hilsa, posto, papta, dum biryani, and street food of kolkata....oof nothing beats my city food, really one might exclaim after a hearty meal - Oh Calcutta!!!!
ReplyDeleteMeenal....a true capri....or shall I say Miss Mean Mohan Meenal Tamhankar Tension :) (short for M4T2)...has really described the best of food joint in Pune ......thanks :) I really liked your lively nature of writing.....refreshing as a new born flower....