ITP Indian Travel Places: Food, Travel, Tourism Business Events and Trade Shows
The Urban Foundry, Balewadi, Pune: Restaurant Name
Phone: 080 47483221
Address: 1, Balewadi High St, next to Cummins India Office, Laxman Nagar, Balewadi, Pune, Maharashtra 411045 India
Time: 11:30 AM – 01:30 AM
Meals for two: ₹ 2,500
Cuisines: North Indian, Fast Food, Pizza, Desserts, Beverages
Facilities: Home Delivery, Takeaway Available, Full Bar Available, DJ, Live Sports Screening, Live Music, LGBTQIA Friendly, Smoking Area, Desserts and Bakes, Live Entertainment, Outdoor Seating, Indoor Seating, Table booking recommended, Happy Hours, Wifi
When The Urban Foundry launched in 2016, it instantly became the talk of the town thanks to the unique grunge decor, quirky modern Indian food and innovative cocktails. Seven years on, it still enjoys unmatched popularity among Punekars and the tag of being one of the most happening places in the city.
The Urban Foundry, Balewadi, Pune: Decor
As the name suggests, the space is modelled upon a foundry or a metal casting factory. The industrial theme runs through the décor, light fixtures, and even the cutlery. There are exposed bricks and half-plastered walls, metal mesh, wooden tables suspended from the ceiling with metal chains and bar and reception counters made from upcycled containers, drums and even an old tractor. The Edison bulbs used as hanging lamps and old switches add to the charm. The ambience is rustic, raw, and minimalistic but very comfortable.
Food:
Both the bar and food menus are creatively designed and it’s always fun to peruse the quirky menu to find some interesting dish names. From the cocktail mashup section, we started with knuckle up (vodka, pomegranate, lime and lemongrass) which was served in a tumbler with a knuckle duster as a holder. The smoked New York sour (whiskey, orange juice and red wine) was served under a glass cloche smoked with apple wood. Probably my favourite was amrud (white rum, guava jam, fresh lime). We got my favourite bar snack with our drinks, cheese cherry pineapple along with the delicious chicken pakora served with a garlic beer mayo from the ‘chakna’ section. We ordered a wide variety of dishes from the appetisers section which is named chhote gear on the menu. Among the vegetarian appetizers, the soya chaap was probably the best. Skewered chaaps were grilled perfectly and the marinade was delicious. The intense and flavourful mutton sukkha came next which was served on an egg parotta. Another cracking dish was the kheema ghotala dumpling. Perfectly crafted dumplings with a spicy and delicious kheema filling.
There is a section called khau galli which is inspired by the streets of India. We tried and loved the chicken vada pao which was served as a slider. The paneer khurchan thepla tacos was innovative and creative. The thepla tacos were quite tasty and the paneer khurchan with mint and vegetable raita elevated this dish. As we were a large group, we could try a lot of dishes. The pizza section is called the foundry epic 11” and we picked the spicy Chettinad chicken pizza. This was a rectangle-shaped thin-crust pizza with a crispy base and it was topped with Chettinad chicken and cheese. Our group was split on this one. Some loved it, some didn’t care for it. From the large foundry thermodynamics (the name for the mains section) we picked the Amritsari dhabe da paneer which was quite tasty. As it is served as a combo, we picked tandoori rotis. The nostalgic and street food staple, chicken triple schezwan was our table’s top pick, but my go-to dish here is the chelo kebab with sumac rice. Two large and flavorful mince meat kebabs served with sumac rice along with some garlic toum and grilled veggies. There are some dishes on the menu which have been constant since they launched seven years ago. The boozy and sinful chocolate cookie dough with Baileys shot is one of them. We ended up ordering multiple rounds of this without any guilt.
