ITP Indian Travel Places: Food, Travel, Tourism Business Events and Trade Shows
Address: 465, Ganesh Khand Road, Next to Central Mall, Mall 2, Shivaji Nagar, Pune, Maharashtra India
Time: 2 Noon to 3:30 PM, 6:30 PM to 11:30 PM
Meals for two: Rs. 1,500
Cuisines: Modern Indian, North Indian
Facilities: Home Delivery, Vegetarian Only
A pure vegetarian restaurant that plays with molecular gastronomy, this one joins the roster of Mumbai imports in the city.
Spiceklub, Shivaji Nagar, Pune: DECOR
Easy-to-spot on the main Shivaji Nagar Road next to Central Mall, the brightly lit restaurant is spacious. Exposed brick walls, spice jars on walls, the interiors are straight-forward and ideal for a meal with family.
Spiceklub, Shivaji Nagar, Pune: FOOD
SpiceKlub, when they started a few years ago in Mumbai was a good option that married Indian flavors with molecular twists. Unfortunately, they are a wee bit late to the Pune party. Most of their showstoppers already have multiple renditions at numerous eateries in the city. Case in point: the Pav Bhaji Fondue. Though the one served here is good, it lacks any novelty. However, the Vada Pav is still a good bet for those who don’t mind paying to relish the ubiquitous street snack. Deconstructed, you get eight mini pavs with boondi (the outer layer of the vada), a potato mousse (the vada), green and tamarind chutneys and an explosively delicious garlic-peanut chutney wrapped in edible plastic.
The Coconut Water with assorted caviar is awe-inducing, in terms of presentation and taste. Flash frozen tender coconut water with rose caviar on top, the sorbet-like drink (?) is refreshing and perfect for the current scorching weather. On the other hand, the Fruit Lassi, spherified yogurt with different fruits completely missed the mark in terms of taste (insipid with a synthetic after-taste of the fruit flavors), texture (the sphere had a gel-like casing that you had to chew through) and temperature (it was room temperature rather than slightly chilled).
There are a few dishes without any molecular gimmicks that do the trick like the comforting Dal Kabila made with three types of lentils and the unputdownable papads on the Papad Platter served with six different types of sauces and relish.
While not completely lost, most of the dishes hardly passed the muster like the lacklustre Ganderi Kebab, which had dough-like paneer mince wrapped around sugar-cane skewers. The Tandoori Bhindi Shaslik had a lip-smacking onion-tomato gravy but was marred by almost raw, slimy okra. The dessert didn’t do us any favours either. The Rabdi Pannacotta was just a brick of solid, unpenetrable rabri and not pannacotta.
Spiceklub, Shivaji Nagar, Pune: PLUS AND MINUS
The service is really good and the place welcoming. The food, while not disappointing can feel gimmicky and not value for money.
