Elephant & Co., Kalyani Nagar, Pune

Restaurant Name: Elephant & Co., Kalyani Nagar, Pune
Phone: +919766838529, +918007738725, +918793755938
Address: D-10, Central Avenue, Opp. Gaurishankar Kalyani Bungalow, Nilanjali Society, Kalyani Nagar, Pune, Maharashtra 411045 India
Time: 12:00 Noon – 12:00 Midnight
Meals for two: Rs. 1,500
Cuisines: Continental, Modern Indian, Asian, Italian, Finger Food, Beverages
Facilities: Home Delivery, Takeaway Available, Full Bar Available, Live Sports Screening, Live Music, Romantic Dining, Work Friendly, Restricted Entry, Smoking Area, Valet Parking Available, Outdoor Seating, Indoor Seating, Table booking recommended, Pet Friendly, Wifi

Elephant & Co. or Eco for short is a popular cocktail bar and all day diner with branches in Kalyani Nagar and Baner. Founders, Karan Khilnani, Anuj Solanki and Karan Kulkarni derived the name from the ideology where each and every guest visiting Eco gets a larger-than-life experience. Eco’s name always features among the best bars in the country lists. No wonder their mixologist Raunak Soni recently won the Best Mixologist award at the Times Food & Nightlife Awards for 2022. With friends in tow, I visited Eco Kalyani Nagar to witness the snazzy ambience and experience the live gigs that happen every Thursday.

Elephant & Co., Kalyani Nagar, Pune: Decor

Elephant & Co. is located on Central Avenue in Kalyani Nagar. The outdoor section is partially covered with a white marquee. The large and small hanging lamps create a magical atmosphere. The seating is an eclectic mix of wooden picnic benches, metal and wooden chairs and high chairs. Trees are used to create informal community tables throughout the space. A large island bar serves both the indoor and outdoor sections. The wicker lanterns and chalkboard drawings are a great design addition here. All the decor elements create a comfortable and relaxed vibe. No wonder it is one of the best places in the city to hang out with friends over cocktails and food.

Elephant & Co., Kalyani Nagar, Pune: Food

The cocktail menu is elaborate with some innovative and ingenious pairings. We happily munched on the freshly made popcorn served as we browsed through the menu. Our server helped us pick the best cocktails and sweetly offered to customize the drinks as per individual preferences. The addictive popcorn bowls kept coming throughout the night. All the cocktails we picked Eco in Goa (G&T with grapefruit and Himalayan pink salt),May Day (vodka,honey and orange),Wife Won’t Slap (vodka, pineapple and basil) and espresso martini Vodka, homemade coffee liqueur and hazelnut were excellent. The recently updated food menu is as elaborate as the bar menu. We picked a range of bar bites and small plates to accompany our drinks. The pork sausage fries were the best dish to start our evening with. Mildly spicy and perfectly meaty,these fries were absolutely cracking. They were served with an umami dynamite sauce which was equally good. The mushroom pate was topped with a rocket and orange salad and served with melba toast. The texture of the pate was smooth and the flavour was intense. It paired well with the crusty toast. Both the tacos we tried jack fruit tacos and chicken ghee roast tacos were delicious. With just three tacos per portion,we ordered for seconds pronto. The jack fruit tacos were probably one of the best dishes we tried here. The best dish probably was the pork fries. The super-food salad came next and it consisted of an earthy beetroot hummus topped with barley, popped quinoa and orange segments along with a fresh rocket salad tossed in a lemon vinaigrette. Our server insisted that we tried the Asian dishes which are very popular among their patrons. The beautifully crafted and brightly purple mushroom dumplings were quite delicious. The Korean chicken wings were good but paled in comparison with the other stellar appetizers. For mains, instead of the large plates, we simply ordered the flatbread. The oink-oink (pepperoni, choriz jam and fresh mozzarella) was excellent. The flavours of pepperoni, choriz jam and mozzarella complemented each other very well. On the other hand,the herbivore flatbread was a bit of a let-down. The Edamame seemed out of place with goat cheese and cherry tomatoes. We ended with the flour-less chocolate cake which was lightly sweet and perfectly gooey.

Plus & Minus:

With its stylish and contemporary ambience and relaxed vibe, Elephant & Co is one of the best hangout places in the city. The innovative cocktails and the delicious food add to its popularity. Each and every dish we tried was great and highly recommended. I am looking forward to visiting them for their famed Sunday brunch in the coming days. Some more dessert options on the menu would elevate the dining experience further, particularly for a sweet tooth like me.