Since the day I had seen the place was under construction I had my eyes on it and when I saw the little bridge on the fence and that water fall was in making I knew I would be here for sure if it would be a public place. Then finally my long wait had paid off and u saw the banner of this place with “we are open” tag. I had visited the place on their opening Sunday. The place wasn’t opened entirely; few sections were under construction which I think has completed by now. But the only problem was place was over flown by people and we had to wait 1 hr to get a table there as we had no reservation prior. I dint mind to wait as I was in the middle of calm peaceful nature though my tummy had refused to agree with me by that time.
Ambiance:
Ambiance is definitely the key of this restaurant! The place is beautifully done with all natural items; be a little wooden bridge on swan pond, be it Buddha statue I the middle of flower garden, be it bamboo huts, the waterfall, the wishing well; every single bit of it seemed so close to the mother nature. Once you are inside you will definitely forget the chaos of outside; infact it is hard to believe that you are in the middle of one of the busiest area of Shivaji Nagar.
Food:
Sangria Sunset & Sweet Lime Soda
The Sangria cocktail is a fruity punch with red wine or sometimes pomegranate juice for non-alcoholics. It’s a sweet drink but sweetness is balanced with chopped fruits in it. The bar tender of NH 37 Dhaba did the perfect justice to the drink. The refreshing Sangria cocktail was loaded with apples, pineapples and grapes in citrus flavored red wine. The first sip in the drink made me forget the previous 1 hr waiting period completely! On the other hand the sweet lime soda was as it should be, good but nothing great (it’s just regular sweet lime soda after all, lol).
Murgh Malai Kebab
Though I’m still not sure whether I’m mentioning the name of the dish properly or not (I had visited the place around one month ago, remember?) I’m replying on my memory here. Firstly, I must mention here the way the kebab was presented on the top of the direct flame, it was quite fascinating but sadly the system wasn’t working and there was no flame show for us. Anyways back to the food, the kebab was delicious in one word. Chicken was succulent tender and juicy though bell pepper cubes were bit undercooked. A tangy salad with julienned veggies came with the kebab which tasted nice with the flavorful meat.
Alu Bhaja / Fried Potato
Being a Bengali in pune I die to get a Bengali dish here in every possible weekend. And when I saw ‘Bengali cuisine’ in their banner I knew I what I was going to eat on lunch. So without hesitation I ordered Alu Bhaja or Fried Potato to go with simple rice. But what I had never ever imagined in my wildest dream is when you can’t present a simple dish of a specific cuisine why on the earth you want to mention it on your restaurant’s banner!! Nope, I still don’t get it. Anyways probably that’s how things work there in NH 37 Dhaba. So whatever came to our table it was nothing but fried cubes potatoes which doesn’t worth to mention in any food review I believe.
Peas Pulao
Peas pulao was mildly flavored basmati rice wih julienned carrot and peas. The fragrant rice was well seasoned and veggies were cooked beautifully by keeping the crunch alive.
Fish Kalia (boneless)
We had ordered boneless version specifically and had mentioned it twice to the waiter. When the food came to our table I was bit suspicious by looking at the fish shape then again I got assurance to get what I had ordered. Sadly when it was served I realized and pointed out that the fish was with bones and I was expecting boneless one. Then the waiter looked bizarre; he had no clue that they actually serve boneless fish in their restaurant which actually got me thinking whether I was dreaming or not few minutes before!
Finally someone sensible came to the scenario and assured us to serve the right one within next 10 mins. They took a while and finally served us the Boneless Fish Kalia. Taste wise mildly flavored gravy was yogurt/cream based and tasted we balanced though it was not actual Bengali Fish Kalia. It was less spicy and flavorful, not rich like traditional one. Anyways as long as the food is tasty I don’t want to portray a mean profile.
Service:
Service was the worst thing of this beautiful restaurant. The expectations they had built by their ambiance, all dropped down to the well by their service. But again it was their opening weekend, so I think by the time they must have pulled themselves up by now.
Pros:
The ambiance undoubtedly,
Quality of food,
Value for money.
Cons:
Bad service with inexperience waiters,
Doesn’t serve authentic recipes,
.
Cost:
Cost for two people 650-700 INR.
Verdict:
For the great ambiance I would like to visit the place again but no this time I will throw away my regional expectation from my mind and soul before I step in there and this time I’ll definitely try their Indian or Chinese cuisine.
Rating: 3.5 /5
Visit me at https://www.zomato.com/rimlid for more pictures and suggestions.
Eat, Love, Enjoy and Repeat!
This is my favorite combination curry and rice. Looking so tasty that I am not able to stop myself eating this.