Cafe Pondi

Glimpse of Pondicherry is right here in Pune!Beautifully decorated with greenery all around and artificial waterfall to make you feel in midst of nature. Comfortable seating arrangement to have leisurely and peaceful time with your loved ones or even alone with books. Yes, they do have books shelves to keep you engaged and entertained.

The indoor seating arrangement is equally beautiful with sofas and comfortable chairs to give a royal feeling. It feels like to be in some world heritage property.

The menu is huge giving you various options to choose from.

The owners, Abhijeet and Sonal Patel, post years of planning, came up with the concept of bringing something new in Pune, which promoted vegetarian food. The idea behind this place is to bring delicacies from different cuisines in an improvised version giving it a South Indian touch. Hence, came Pondicherry in Pune through ‘Café Pondi’.

We tried following dishes –

Pineapple Rasam - If only I could start all my meals with this one. Loved it to the core. Traditionally prepared tomato rasam with chunks of pineapple. It also had cut onions in it. The balanced flavors of sweet and sour and the bite of pineapple chunks overall uplifted the taste of regular rasam. Love it. #Recommended

 

 

 

 

 

Karampodi Cheese Potato Soup – A very creamy, rich and thick soup with mild flavors. Liked the mix of cheese with puree of roasted potatoes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ratatouille Podi Crostini – Talking about Pondicherry and not have anything French would make it an incomplete visit. So tried this Ratatouille Podi Crostini, which is a blend of French and Indian cuisine. Ratatouille, the mix of vegetables like onion, tomatoes, zucchini/courgettes, aubergines/brinjal are cooked with herbs and few spices. A new twist to this dish by adding podi masala gave it a nice spicy kick. Ratatouille placed over crisp French bread called crostini. A must try dish at this place.

 

 

 

 

Murukku Nachos – What an amazing fusion of Mexican and Indian dish. South Indian’s favorite savory teatime snack – Murukku (Chakli made with rice flour), loaded with cheese and Mexican salsa. A dish I would love to hog on. The fresh salsa served along was bang on with flavors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Moong Dal Chila – A savory pancake prepared with green lentils served with cucumber raita, perfectly made, crispy yet soft. Topped with whole moong green lentils, which gave a nice bite to it. Definitely, a good healthy dish, but salt was slightly on a lesser side.

 

 

 

 

 

Mixed Veg Paniyaram – Regularly prepared paniyaram made with mix of rice and urad lentil batter, tempered with mustard seeds, curry leaves and podi masala to enhance the taste. Served along with coconut chutney and mint chutney. Loved it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Southern Spiced Mushrooms Pizza – Thin crust pizza topped with pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese and podi coated mushrooms. Crust was perfectly baked, though it missed the hit of Southern Spice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appam with Mixed Veg Stew – This was my first time when I tried appam and stew and totally loved it. Soft yet crisp and fluffy appams with coconut based curry with fresh chunks of vegetables having mild flavors was perfect to go along.

 

 

 

 

 

Appam with Mushroom Balchao – A specialty of Goan cuisine, Balchoa is a method of cooking which like pickling sauce of tomato and chilli, which tastes spicy and tangy. Loaded with mushrooms which I love but too tangy for my taste.

 

 

 

 

 

Idli Waffle with Mushroom Pondi Curry – Can you imagine a savory waffle? Yes, this place serves waffle made with rice flour, which are fluffy and light. Served along with mushroom curry and two chutneys. Loved it. One must try Idli waffles at this place.

 

 

 

 

 

Dosa Sichuan – None of my weekend goes without a dosa and I like mine authentic. But, the one here I tried with fusion of Chinese cuisine, sichuan sauce mixed with potato filling for stuffing was delicious. Served with two chutneys, salsa and sambhar. #Recommended

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Desserts -

Paan Panna cotta – The Italian dessert that is most loved. Perfect in texture and creamy. Though missed the paan flavor in it.

 

 

 

 

Filter Coffee Brownie with Saffron Icecream – This one dessert is sure to give you a happy conclusion of your meal. Brownie infused with filter coffee flavor topped, with saffron ice cream. What a unique and delicious combination. The presentation was awestruck, making it difficult to damage the beauty with spoon. Only if I could eat with eyes, had to dig in to prevent our ice cream from melting. My taste buds surely thanked me for this one. Loved it.

 

Midnight Chocolate Torte – You cannot choose one when it comes to desserts. Perfectly layered chocolate ganache in between chocolate pastry layer was divine.

 

 

 

 

 

Cost – Average Cost is 750/- for two

Timings – Sunday – Monday 9AM – 11 AM

Location - Plot 64, Clover Cascade, Lane 13, Opposite Joggers Park, Kalyani Nagar, Pune

Overall Experience – A beautiful place to spend quality time with loved one over delicious and unique dishes. A personal favorite place of mine.