Aamhi Pohekar, Sadashiv Peth, Pune Street Food Restaurant

Restaurant Name: Aamhi Pohekar, Sadashiv Peth, Pune
Phone: +917385496957
Address: Shop 2, Lokhande Talim Road, Near Patrya Maruti Mandir, Sadashiv Peth, Pune, Maharashtra 411030 India
Time: 08:00 AM – 08:00 PM
Meals for two: Rs. 150
Cuisines: Street Food
Facilities: Breakfast, Home Delivery, Takeaway Available, Indoor Seating

Amhi Pohekar was founded in 2019 by a group of six friends who studied engineering together. The concept of a ‘pohe themed’ restaurant was born out of love for the humble pohe and its universal appeal and diverse appeal. The first outlet, which was started as an experiment at Narayan Peth near Laxmi Road, received tremendous response. Since then they have branched out and now have multiple quick-service and delivery outlets in Pune, PCMC and other towns of Maharashtra. Being an ardent pohe fan, this week I visited their Narayan Peth outlet with a few pohe loving friends.

Aamhi Pohekar, Sadashiv Peth, Pune: Decor

The Narayan Peth outlet is a small shop behind the famed Patrya Maruti temple. This outlet, like others, is a quick, self-service restaurant without seating. The space utilization is smart with a spotlessly clean open kitchen, a payment kiosk at the entrance with a menu display as the backdrop and wooden counters by the walls for those who wish to stand and eat. But keeping with the true Puneri spirit, most people prefer to grab their pohe plates and head out on the pavement to eat.

Aamhi Pohekar, Sadashiv Peth, Pune: Food

The idea behind Amhi Pohekar was to serve pohe, which primarily is a breakfast dish, throughout the day. To make this breakfast dish into an all-day dish, they introduced a wide range of pohe dishes suitable for different times of the day. We went around lunch and decided to try as many pohe dishes as possible. We started with the more popular and crowd favorites gharche pohe, Konkani pohe, Indori pohe and dadpe pohe. The gharche pohe (pohe made at home) or kande pohe were simple and tasty. The Konkani pohe were cooked with potatoes and generously garnished with freshly grated coconut. As my family hails from Konkan, the Konkani pohe at Amhi Pohekar were very close to what we make at home. The Indori Pohe had a peculiar taste of the signature jeeravan masala from Indore which is made in-house. The Nagpuri tarri pohe, a popular Vidarbha version, had ladles of the spicy kaala chana curry on top of the pohe. It was quite impressive to notice the distinct taste and flavour of the different pohe dishes. Even seemingly similar dishes were distinct as they use different ingredients and cooking techniques. The pohe bhel was unique and tasted really good. The special pohe misal is served with pav and mirgunda (spicy papad made from pohe). It was absolutely cracking. After the spicy tarri pohe and misal, we wanted something light so we tried the pohe dahi tadka and also the humble chaha pohe (pohe soaked in hot tea). The pohe dahi tadka was definitely one of the best versions on the menu. I have grown up with chaha pohe as an evening snack. Sadly, they were disappointing as the pohe weren’t soaked in the tea properly and the tea wasn’t sweet enough.

Plus & Minus:

Each pohe dish is distinct in taste and flavor. The place is absolute value for money. Imagine, at Rs. 60, the special pohe misal is the most expensive item on the menu. Two thumbs up for an innovative concept and an imaginative menu. Keeping the innovation going, it will be great to see dishes like kolache pohe or some sweet pohe dishes added to the menu.