Restaurant Review | The Zodiac | Baner | Pune

Another beautiful cafe in my neighbourhood. This place is right on the busy Baner road and they serve some awesome burgers and sides to keep you motivated to visit the place repeatedly. But the best thing is they keep your food ready while you are on your way there to pick it up (yes, they don’t do home-delivery) which suits me so well on weeknights. In case if you are late they will ring you up right on time. I’m visiting this place for more than six months I guess and if I don’t pen down a review for them, it will be a shame for me. I’ve tried many things from their menu so far and here is a compilation of them. 

Ambiance:
This is a small cafe on Baner road but they’ve utilized the space very well. First floor has very cozy seating arrangement while the ground floor is for kitchen and reception. They have outdoor seating too in front of the shop which is actually a nice place to sit in the evening.

Food:
Crispy Fried Fish Finger

Bread crumbed deep fried Fish fingers are always crunchy and tastes delicious. Best thing is whenever I order this, I get similar taste every time; neither less nor more. They’ve never ever disappoint me.

Spicy Southern Styled Fried Chicken

Fried chicken should be super crispy and crunchy on outside and moist and delicate inside. Zodiac’s chicken was moist and delicate but not crunchy and sometimes I found it bit blunt too. It was bit disappointing to me.

Chicken Fajitas
Fajitas taste good. Sauce is tangy and spicy while tender chicken strips were wrapped in warm tortillas.

Home Fries
Fries or finger chips are my best friend with coffee on winter evening. Zodiac’s fries has good crunch and well seasoned but I think they should be little thinner in size.

Roasted Chicken Sandwich

This sandwich has roasted Chicken, tossed in mayo sauce, stuffed in bread slices and grilled. Tastes good to have on regular basis, especially on breakfast/brunch or on quick bite. They also serve potato wedges with sandwiches.

Jack the Ripper

This is a legendary burger itself and Zodiac’s version is so damn good on it. All melted cheese with jalapeno and onion on chicken patty under the soft burger bun will not allow you to put it down. Just Yum! They serve those potato wedges with burgers too.

Bacon Swiss

This is my personal favorite and it’s a must have for me whenever I’m ordering for dinner. It has all goodies like grilled chicken patty, grilled mushroom, grilled onion, Swiss cheese with the mother of goodness Pork Bacon. Even the name makes me drool. They serve those potato wedges with burgers too.

Penne Arabiatta (Chicken)

This is pre-cooked penne pasta tossed in tomato based Italian sauce. Pasta is always al-dente, sauce taste equally good all the time, well seasoned and mildly spicy with less cheese.

Farfalle Bechamel (Chicken)
Classic bechamel sauce, diced cooked chicken and farfalle (limited) pasta can’t go wrong anyways, unless you don’t know how to cook pasta. Sauce is always silky smooth and creamy, and pasta are cooked and well seasoned.

Hazelnut Cappuccino

I personally prefer the flavor of hazelnut with the coffee so I keep trying this combo in every possible cafe. In Zodiac I couldn’t find the hazelnut flavor strong enough in the coffee though the coffee itself was good.

Sticky Toffee Pudding

I’m not a dessert person and I only try dessert when I’m in love with something. Sticky Toffee Pudding is something which is very close to my heart but I hardly find it here in Pune. So when I saw it for first time in Zodiac I knew I had to try this one and no regret for that, till date. Date cake is soft, chewy with less sweet; well caramelized sticky toffee sauce is just yummy. This date pudding is served with mild custard tastes so good with the flavors.

Service:

Couldn’t stop myself from clicking a snap of this beautiful stairs with the game of ‘Light & shadow’

Service is another thing in Zodiac which keeps me visiting the place. Staffs are courteous enough to listen to the order carefully and get confirmation from you in which order you would like your food and drinks.As I’m lactose intolerant I often face typical problems with my food/drinks. In many good restaurants I’ve found cheese in my food or regular milk in the coffee even after informing them while placing the order. But this is the thing I love about Zodiac. It has been almost half a year I’m visiting this place and for not a single time I had faced this issue with them; even in take away too.

Pros:
Large range of burgers,
Prompt and neat service,
Professional attitude.

Cons:
Bit pricey for a cafe in neighbourhood,
Only few options in sandwiches,
Doesn’t provide home delivery,

Cost:
INR 600-700 for two people.

Verdict:
I’m one of their many regular customers.

Rating: 4/5

Eat, Love & Enjoy! Repeat!!!