Tuesday, April 07, 2009

Pune Dining: New Updates

Indus Kitchen PuneLast month, I had mentioned Indus Kitchen. This restaurant opened recently in the ICC Towers with much fanfare. They have a lunch buffet during weekdays. While the decor in Indus Kitchen is minimalist and spartan, the adjoining open-air lounge probably has a wonderful view during the evenings. As for the buffet itself, it was a good mix of Indian and western staples, and one that I can recommend to anyone who is in this part of town. The restaurant is on the rooftop of the ICC Towers (same complex as the Crossword bookstore); note that parking can be an issue here. Ph: 9860796963

Indus Kitchen Pune
Indus Kitchen Pune
Indus Kitchen Pune
Indus Kitchen Pune
Indus Kitchen PuneI also had an opportunity to try the rooftop alfresco restaurant, Addah, in the O Hotel. Funky lights, contemporary decor and a fantastic ambiance are the highlights of this restaurant. Colored lights shimmer over the swimming pool and water-bodies all around (some of the seats are in pools of water too!). We tried a variety of Indian kababs and curries. While the kababs were barely passable (too dry), the curries were pretty good. This is a place where you would come to relax over drinks and some food. But not a place for the serious foodie.

O Hotel TerraceABC Farms recently organized a BBQ cook-off during a weekend. It turned out to a sponsored event with chicken from Venky Farms, beer by Kingfisher and wine by Zampa, a new entrant to the Indian wine scene. Zampa is aiming to make wine a little simpler for Indians by keeping their brand and advertising simple and youth-oriented. However, we what we enjoyed most were the barbequed tiger prawns by Cambay and even went back for seconds. It was fun: live music, bottles of chilled Kingfisher beer, skewers of tiger prawns, and a cool breeze blowing in from the river.

BBQ at ABC Farms
BBQ at ABC FarmsAmong restaurant updates, Malaka Spice has moved to a much larger space in Lane 5 (where Karen Anand had earlier opened Merlot). Koregaon Park's Great Punjab restaurant now has a second branch right on Baner Road.

Seasons Hotel Bar
Seasons Hotel BarFinally, I discovered the Sports bar hidden within the Seasons hotel in Aundh. This is a pretty good place for a quick meeting or a quiet conversation over drinks. The drinks and the bar menu is good too.

Other Posts on Pune's Dining Scene:



16 comments:

Vijayendra Darode said...

Great post as always.

Suggestion: Please provide captions under pictures. I know a picture speaks a thousand words, but thousand and one is better if you add a single line caption. It is difficult to know which picture belongs to which place.

Query: Where can I buy the tiger prawns by Cambay in Pune?

Lakshmi said...

amazed at yr regular updates...looks like there is no recession when it comes to eating out..

Anonymous said...

@Vijayendra: Hover your cursor over the pictures and you will see the captions. Re: Cambay prawns, you can buy them in the frozen meats section of most large grocery stores (Dorabjee's, etc.).

@Lakshmi: What better way to forget about all that is depressing around us. :)

Ashish said...

I admire the discipline and thoroughness with which you update your blog. I think it has become the most updated resource on net for Pune dining and a lot more !

It makes me feel guilty about my own blog that has been languishing untouched for quite a while now.

Interesting that you mention the Sports bar at Seasons. What is your take on Flavors, the restaurant downstairs? I personally consider their dinner buffet to be one of my favorites at Pune.

Kingfisher World said...

Glad to read that you had a good time at the BBQ cook-off.

Did you taste Kingfisher Blue? And have you tried Kingfisher Bohemia wine?

Anonymous said...

@Ashish: Thank you for visiting regularly and leaving your comments. You are right - the buffets at Flavors is pretty good to (but I have only tried the lunch buffet).

@kingfisher: Oh yes, that's a bottle of KF Blue on the table. I haven't come across your wines yet.

Anonymous said...

The bread looks very French!

kyh said...

I love the jams/spread that accompanied the bread. Look interesting and I suppose delicious too.

The al fresco environment looks so chic! I love it...

Vijayendra Darode said...

@Shantanu: There might some browser setting issues. The captions appear in IE but not in Firefox. Thank you for letting me know.

Anonymous said...

@Zhu: I am sure the real ones taste better; I will soon find out!

@kyh: Yeah, those were herbed butter...actually quite good.

@Vijayendra: Hmm...didn't realize that. Thanks.

RennyBA said...

What an excellent tour - you really are a great restaurant guide!

Happy Easter :-)

Vamsee Modugula said...

As usual - great post. Wish I lived in Pune!

Anonymous said...

@RennyBA: Thank you and hope you had a great Easter weekend with the family.

@Vamsee: Thank you!

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

Over the last few months i have read your posts with increasing interest and amazement at how you can be at it and keep things up to date. Well done. I also recently came across a site http://www.puneonaplate.com that also turned out to be very informative. You should check it out. Keep them coming.

Shantanu said...

@Anon: Thanks! I love the website; if you are one of the authors, congratulations.