ITP Indian Travel Places: Food, Travel, Tourism Business Events and Trade Shows
Phone: 020 24252880 / +91 8007382004
Address: 120, 14A, Devgiri Apartment, A Wing, Ganeshmala, Sinhgad Road, Pune, Maharashtra, India
Time: 11 AM – 11 PM
Meals for two: Rs. 800
Cuisines: North Indian, Chinese, Street Food, Fast Food
Facilities: Home Delivery, Vegetarian Only, No Alcohol Available, Outdoor Seating, Table Reservation Not Required, Indoor Seating
Located on the busy Sinhagad Road, Sawai Veg has been serving delectable vegetarian food for almost a decade now.
Sawai Veg, Sinhgad Road, Pune: Decor
The décor is beautifully done and at many places resembles a spacious and lavish wada. The seating in the large outdoor space is comfortable and the constant breeze makes it very refreshing. Every evening there is a flute player who plays soothing classical tunes for the diners. The indoor section is a great mix of traditional and contemporary. The seating, lamps and light fixtures are contemporary with some traditional embellishments on the walls. A wall has been dedicated to a large canvas painting of a Maratha royal inspired by M F Hussain’s work.
Sawai Veg, Sinhgad Road, Pune: Food
Sawai Veg was started almost a decade back by foodie and entrepreneur Amit Shinde. A glimpse at the menu and you would find the usual suspects – Indian, Chinese and Continental. But going beyond the run-off-the-mill dishes, the menu also features some fusion dishes which have been invented by the team in the Sawai kitchen. We decided to try some of the popular, some uncommon and some chef recommended dishes on the menu.
We started with spinach Malaysian which was spiced palak tikkis stirred fried with a honey glazed cashew sauce.Though nothing Malaysian about it, this one was one tasty dish. We could have easily polished off another portion happily. Another unique invention of the team is the cheese soneri kebab. A cheese and paneer mix is stuffed inside a potato covering, rolled in sev, deep fried and served with tangy mint-coriander chutney. The combination and the process might not sound appealing, but the kebabs looked great and tasted even better. We also ordered the classic mushroom tandoori tikka which was a bit disappointing as the masala marinade as well as the mushrooms were not cooked through.
The team at Sawai mentioned that all the masalas used in the dishes are made in-house which I felt was quite impressive. We ordered the pav bhaaji which was generously doused with butter. The intense flavour in the bhaaji was definitely due to the home-made masala used. In main course, our server recommended the Sawai special kofta curry and we asked for the spicy variant. The spicy gravy was delicious and was reminiscent of a spicy chicken curry made using kala masala. The koftas, stuffed with paneer were the perfect addition to the curry. We paired this with roomali roti which were buttered to our surprise and delight.
We ended our meal with the always dependable and refreshing sweet lassi served generously in large beer tumblers. Sawai is also famous for the aamras thali that is served from mid-March and I will be going back soon to try it.
Sawai Veg, Sinhgad Road, Pune: Plus & Minus
In the area, Sawai Veg is known for its warm hospitality, prompt service and vegetarian food. The menu has a mix of cuisines, but does not feature Maharashtrian dishes. Keeping in tune with the name, concept and decor, I would definitely like to see some popular and some unknown Maharashtrian dishes on the menu.
