\\Spice and Ice//

Where does an Arabic food lover go in the land of vada-pav and bhajiya?

When we sought out to seek such an eatery joint, we stumbled upon this still unknown hidden place – much undervalued and underestimated – considering the brilliant food they serve!!

Welcome to Spice and Ice!

Well, even we though the name is kinda cheesy..or cliche. But the fact remains that their name has nothing to do with their food.  Like they say, don’t judge a book by its cover.

Located in Pimpri Chinchwad, Pune, India – near Big Cinemas, under Mc D and beside a huge shopping complex – this place doesn’t get much attention mainly because of the bigger brands’ locations nearby!

The place is very small, but they can accommodate 10-20 people indoors+outdoors. With their limitation in space, they try and make up with the food offering. For an Arabic food lover- this is a must go-to!

Take a look at their menu!

Pretty impressive na?

The food looks fresh, it tastes yum and it is completely worth your money! Their wait time is pretty low, mainly because there aren’t more than 3-4 tables to be served at a time. (We never found more than 3 tables occupied-and we’ve gone here thrice).

There is so much on the menu, you would want to order more than your capacity to eat in one sitting. And don’t forget – Arabic food is much more filling than it looks. The deliciously cooked Humus, Falafel rolls, pita bread just makes you wanna have more and more – even though your tummy says, that’s enough! 😀

We rate them high on customer satisfaction.Just Eat, Zomato, Zoot Out vouch for this place as well.

Do visit it some time folks!

P.S: We found this cool thing there. 😉

A veggie @ Mainland China

Challenges. We all love them. Don’t we?

So when I was told I CANNOT enjoy a meal at Mainland China because it is a place for non-vegetarians only, I said – CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.

Mainland China. A place you would expect the chefs to bring down the culture of China to our plates. And so they did.

Located in Hinjewadi, this outlet is a mini-china on Indian soil. Okay- that may be an exaggeration, but we were swept off by the food, decor, ambiance, music, colors, service, booze – basically everything!!

As we were seated waiting for menu, these bowls with salad appeared. They clearly understand customers are really hungry – and this gesture compensates for any delay in main course.

We ordered. It came. We clicked. We ate. We loved.

The food was master-chef level, the service was impeccable, the quantity was suffice and the vegetarian in me was happy.

CHALLENGE COMPLETED 😀

To celebrate this we ordered two desserts, and both were to die for. Seriously, I would kill my friends for a dozen of these 😉

All-in-all, it is only a myth that Mainland China is for non-veggies only. Veggies in town – DO VISIT. You’re in for a surprise.

See what Zomato, Zootout and Burrp have to say.

(.)Polka Dots(.)

A while back we got a chance to visit Polka Dots. Located in Aundh, Pune, India – this is a heaven for foodies.

We ordered both veg and non-veg dishes and I don’t want to say anything about it – have a look !!

From the look of the menu, we felt the dishes will be exotic – since the names were pretty fancy. And when these dishes arrived, we had to force ourselves to wait for a while – to take pictures of the splendid serving.

Sophisticated, stylish, professional looking food – we were happy even before we ate.

And then it all felt just. The hype, the price, the wait. For these yummiliciously delicious dishes!!!!

The ambiance is cozy, you can find friends, families, dates, youngsters everyone having a good time here. Considering the area isn’t much large – they have done good for themselves.

As you would expect, we were much full after the main course to have dessert, but we could not resist clicking a picture.

All in all, it’s a wonderful place to check out. For those who haven’t done yet, we strongly suggest you drop by here SOON!!

See what they have to say to us – Here.

See what other have to say: Zomato. Times City. Trip Advisor. Burrp. Evening Flavors.

~Irish House~

Irish House is one of the eateries in Phoenix Mall, Pune. It may go unnoticed to many as the food court in the mall is huge, but Irish House has its own loyal customers.

 

It has an indoor and outdoor seating area. The bartender was talented, the service although slow, was worth the wait – cuz the food was finger licking good..!!

We found the food and drinks a bit expensive, but then it is one of those places you can go once a month. We have to say, food is top class – like the one in a five star hotel 😉 

The ambiance is superb, there are witty posters hung around about beer, drinking and Irish things. The seating is comfortable and there is a possibility of reservation before hand.

Read more on The Tossed Salad, their Facebook page, Times City and Zomato.

Talk About a.k.a. Biz Tamanna

Located in the heart of Rajiv Gandhi Infotech Park, Talk About a.k.a. Biz Tamanna is a delight to visit. We went there recently and were surprised, in a good way. 🙂

Its roof top ambiance is just splendid and the rates on the menu don’t leave a dent in your pockets.

We ordered 3 starters with some drinks. The quantity of food was good and pretty filling. Time for service was low and all the waiters were on their feet.

Drinks were delicious and were served in larger quantities than we saw in other places.

Overall, we loved our experience!!

Read about the place on Evening Flavors, Trip Advisor and Zomato.

“Rolla Costa”

Rolla Costa is located amidst the renowned Subway, Peter’s Pan, Hyderabadi Biryani and Chaitanya’s Parathas on the famous F.C.Road, Pune.

This place has actually won a user’s choice award by Zomato. Isn’t that great?

We were enthralled by the menu. They had such a variety of pastas, we made a tough call. Actually, we just chose the ones with known contents and fancy name 😉

When the first pasta came, we were happy. The taste was good, the texture was amazing and the price was just apt.

But when the second one came, we were kinda surprised because it was sort of mediocre in taste. Well, this maybe for the reason that we had two pastas back to back, or maybe cuz they tasted similar. Well, not similar, kinda like just-another-pasta.

So, we ordered drinks. A lime juice and cold coffee. An again, the satisfaction level went down a bit.

What we feel is, the place is good to hang-out, you can order dis-similar items, taste a bit of each and just don’t judge much. Prices will not hurt your pocket and you’ll leave with a full stomach. 😀

We liked that you can see what was being prepared, it is all fresh, made right in front of your eyes. The service is fast and you won’t have to wait much for hogging.

Munch along people!! Let us know your reviews.

Read more on Zomato, Times City and their own website.

‘Brikks Pizza’

Located in Hinjewadi, Pune, India

Things we liked :

• Well, Let me first write what we did not like
• Maybe the infrastructure and interior design

Things we did not like:

• Insects – many of them
• Not actually traditionally made – at least we did not think so
• No serving plates – we ate in boxes
• Hardly any customers
• Super-expensive
• Small portion to eat

Read more about this place on:

Zomato, TimesCity, PuneBurrp

Let us know if you have visited the place. Tell us your views.

121 Kitchen and Bar BQ

A place around 7-10 mins from Hinjewadi Chowk, Pune, India.

Things we liked :

• Live music (the guy sings well..!! and songs can be requested)
• Facility of indoor (AC) and outdoor (non-AC)
• Wide variety of food
• Fast service
• Food tastes impeccable
• Privacy available, if wanted
• Interesting way of lighting up the place

Things we did not like much:

• Costs around INR 800 for two people – might be costly for some people.

Read more on:

Their own website, Zomato, Times City and Evening Flavors.

Let us know what you like and dislike. Do visit.!!

’11 East Street Cafe’

MG Road is the hot-spot of every city in India. Almost every happening metro or tier-2 city has a MG Road. So is the hype of MG Road, Pune.

With  a plethora of local and international brands on the street, this place hosts a footfall of hundreds everyday. Not everyone comes to shop, obviously. 😀

One of the attractions around MG Road is the variety of eatery joints and 11 East Street Cafe is a classy option.  From the small shady entry and the outside looks of it, the place doesn’t look THAT classy. But we beg you to not judge the book by its cover.

Once you enter, you are bound to be impressed.

With a menu spanning over a dozen pages, this cafe offers you authentic multinational cuisines under one roof. And the key word here is AUTHENTIC.

We had Mexican Nachos with Avocado Sauce and Italian Four-cheese Pizza. And we were impressed.

Although it did leave a dent in our pockets, it was worth every penny. And the best thing was yet to come. The dessert.  We finally settled for half a dozen liquor chocolates and red velvet cake.

What we liked :

+ EVERYTHING

Only if it was a bit cheaper. *SIGH*

Do visit 11 East Street Cafe and let us know what to you think of it.

Some interesting Links:

Facebook Page of 11 East Street Cafe – https://www.facebook.com/pages/11-East-Street-Cafe/94871278677

Zomato Review – http://www.zomato.com/pune/11-east-street-cafe-east-street

Pune Burp Review – http://pune.burrp.com/listing/11-east-street-cafe_camp-cantonment_pune_bars-pubs-restaurants/186799623__AB__overview

Times City Review – http://timescity.com/pune/camp/multi-cuisine-restaurant-11-east-street-cafe/57159

Trip Advisor Review – http://www.tripadvisor.in/Restaurant_Review-g297654-d1071304-Reviews-11_east_street_cafe-Pune_Maharashtra.html

“Out of the Blue”

After relocating to Pune, for most of us students, E square Mall at the University Road is a usual place for hangout.

And why not? The place had a multiplex, a food court, shopping facility and a nice cheerful ambiance.

Connectivity to University Road to any place in Pune is easy. But at E square itself, not many noticed this outlet “Out of the Blue” initially. It was after a few weeks and a few interesting banners later that we thought of trying this, out of the blue. Cliche, we know. 😀What we liked :

+ Ambiance

+ Availability of music

+ Happy hours

+ Special 4 to 7 menu

+ Good option for vegetarians

+ Good decor

+ Well known for sizzlers

+ Large seating area

+ Option for AC/non AC seating (indoor/outdoor)

+ Variety of drinks

+ Sexy looking menu with fancy names 😀

What we did not like *much* :

– Bar did not have/ran out of Martini

– Found a fly in the drink (was immediately replaced though)

– Disturbance from people moving in and out of the building

– Got us a bill without we asking for it (felt like kicking us out – and it was not even 10pm)

Neutral points :

* Not much crowded (although we went on a weekday, so .. )

* Lighting was apt (no dim lighting / or candle lighting)

* The “DJ” put on an Enrique CD and forgot about it for good 20 minutes. 

That’s all from our side.

Let us know if you have a different review than this. 

Interesting Links :

Website of Out of the Blue.

Zomato reviews.

Burp.com reviews.

TimesCity review.

TripAdvisor review.