There are only few places where legendary food is served. There are some places which offer best drinks of the town but there are only handful of places which are known as the legend. And Hard Rock Cafe is not a legend, it’s The Legend!
There is no need to mention about the ambiance of HRC I guess. I had the idea from before but when I entered the place the vibes were even stronger than my imagination. Live performance was going on, people were tapping their feet, few were even shaking; the best rock music were playing; staffs were serving with happy faces; what more could one ask before settling down?
Food:
Raz Rita & Azul Rita:
According to me all margaritas should be loaded with tequila and slightly sweet and sour juice or syrup. My margarita has to be strong (not diluted) and less sweet. Though I’m not a fan of sweet fruity juices I tried Hard Rock Cafe’s Raz Rita with raspberry syrup. Yes, it was a bit sweet but then combined with strong tequila it left a smooth flavor after I finished it. But still I preferred the Azul Rita bit more with orange juice and blue curacao. It was slightly tangy and very low in sweetness.
Original Hard Rock Onion Ring
The very first thing I noticed about the dish is the serving portion; it’s huge and capable to feed 3-4 people comfortably (as you can see in the attached picture). Now coming to the food, this is simple crumb coated onion rings, served with bbq sauce. As this is one of my personal favorite bar snacks, I don’t mind it to be deep fried as long as it is non greasy. HRC’s Original Onion Rings are crunchy and crisp but at the same time the batter seemed to be a bit heavy to me; it should have been little lighter. Another thing is after few mins (read, 15-20 mins) onion slices became little soggy inside which ruined the appetite for it.
Grilled Fillet Steak
Yes, again my love for steak is unconditional and I keep trying fillet steak on every possible place. Here in HRC garlic herb butter topped grilled steak was served with gravy in a well of smashed potatoes and seasonal vegetables. Presentation wise I would like to give it 5/5. Taste wise my well-seasoned steak was perfectly medium rare with bright pink color in the middle, just the way I love it. (I was in such an awe I had to click a snap of it though I know it looks gross to many.) The mashed potatoes were cheesy enough to melt in your mouth and the gravy in the middle turned it into a delicious one. The only disappointment on the palate was the veggies, there was no seasoning in it at all and few pieces were bit under cooked too. Anyways I dint mind to forget about them as I was happy enough with the rest of the.
Grilled Chicken Marsala
Simple grilled chicken, topped with marsala sauce on the bed of linguine spaghetti with parmesan cheese and exotic vegetables was the dish. As they were out of linguine, we opted for spaghetti as suggested. Let’s start from the small things on the palate; veggies were well cooked and with balanced seasoning; spaghetti was al-dente; marsala sauce was concentrated and beautifully done. But the star of the dish, the chicken was sadly a bit over cooked. It was dry and chewy; how disappointing!
Creme Brulee
Well it is the best Creme Brulee I’ve ever tasted so far in Pune. Enough said! Dense super rich sweet pastry cream is topped with gorgeous sugar brulee crust. The caramalized crust was thin and crunchy (I loved the sound while cracking it), the cream was perfectly balanced with sweetness and richness. I wanted to have more but my tummy gave me up at the end. lol.
Service:
The staffs are very polite and efficient. We reached there by 9.30pm and people were boozed with HRC’s live performance. We received our drinks and first course within 10-12 mins of order. Within 30 mins the place was packed and still we were getting our drinks and food just right on time. It is a big deal to me, especially in Pune where in many places you have to ask for your food for the second time.
Pros:
Amazing ambiance with or without live performance,
Humble staffs,
Damn good steak and creme brulee,
Awesome cocktails
Cons:
A bit on costlier side,
It’s sad that you can’t watch performances from outside seating area.
All of the food was not of excellent quality.
Cost:
INR 3000 for two.
Verdict:
Though the place will do heavy duty damage to your wallet, every rock lover should be here at least once. I bet you won’t get similar ambiance, music and fun with your friends anywhere else.
Rating:
4.5/5
Eat, Love & Enjoy! Repeat!!!
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