Thursday, April 26, 2007

Pune- Times Food Guide 2007

Just purchased 2007 Pune Times Food Guide. Their claim of 'over 600' reviews does not mean anything. I can tell about the area I live in. There is no mention of Baner, Pashan, Bavdhan, Chandani Chowk or even Pune Banglore Highway. As if, Pune does not exist beyond boundaries of Aundh in Pune, at least on this side.
So, Sadanand Resorts, Rajwada and Mahabaleshwar in Baner which are major crowd pulling eating joints do not find a place and neither does Club CPR- Grand Maratha on Pashan Rd. The whole bunch of Chandni Chowk area is missing like Banjara Hills, Up and Above and more. Not sure of Wakad and Hinjewadi area but good eating joints must exist there as well.
They mentioned Imperial China but conveniently forgot Rajwada, although former is a branch of latter.

This guide just concentrates on the usual suspects :- Koregaon Park, MG Road -Camp,FC and JM Road. Although, I do believe the density of eating places is higher in these areas, but there are many places out there, beyond these areas.

I am sure if we consider the other corners of Pune, similar cases would be there. And if we go by the foodie blogs of punekars, especially Mr. Vikram Karve, its a disappointment as well.
And, surprisingly, seedy joints like Chandrama in Aundh find a mention and purely bachelor joints like Delhi Kitchen( food is ok, of course), too.

In all, for Rs. 100, a good reference material for addresses and location and gives a general idea of dent on the wallet. E.g. it confirms pricing for Flavors in Aundh( Rs 800 for 2)and Galaxy Grill( Rs 1000 for 2 !!). Although, there are some mistakes in pricing area as well. They mention, the buffet at Bombay Brassiere at Rs. 140 per person, although its closer to Rs. 300 per person.
BTW, it has some discount coupons for some restaurants. Probably I will use it while sampling some of these restaurants.

My suggestion : dont just rely on this guide alone. There are many more nice joints out there, not mentioned over here. Keep searching the net, and if not, create a blog of your own, just like me. Word of mouth from actual users is any day better than any commerical venture. And, I think a new joint opens every week in Pune. So, gotta keep running harder to stay at the same place.

3 comments:

rts said...

hey!

i quite agree with you, there are some really good places to eat beyond aundh. I recently happened to go to the MoMo Cafe at the new Courtyard by Marriott @ Hinjewadi, and its quite a steal deal. They have a lavish buffet spread which is a good mix of indian,conti,oriental, soups,salads and amazing desserts- all this priced at Rs. 399/-.
Apart from this they have a-la-carte options as well. My favourite are the paper-thin pizzas, and the tiramisu is just divine.

If you are in search of good food, this place is it, and its definatly worth the drive from the city. its a 10/10 for me!!!

Anonymous said...

nice restaurants are opening across pune too. visited copacabana restaurant in wakad recently. lovely restaurant and great food. has a beautiful bar too bongo. enjoyed eating.

Thea Restaurant said...

HI, I would like you to come by our restaurant Thea at Kalyaninagar and post your reviews! :)
Thea Restaurant
Cerebrum B-3, 1st flr.
Ahead of Mariegold, Kalyaninagar
#65000444.