Yana, FC Road, Pune

Beware the Western Indian Sizzler! Beware the heaps of rice on a hot plate! Beware Yana! However if you are reading and promise to learn from this blog, please ensure that you ask that no rice be served with your order and Voila! You will actually find a decently cooked/ sizzling piece of meat at your plate. Yana’s is a past favorite with the college going crowd in Pune before the culinary scene exploded in Pune’s face giving far more options than was previously available. Chances are that you will still find a decent sprinkling of the college going Pune resident spending hostel money on some well cooked slightly pricey meat. Yana’s although primarily a sizzler joint, also does serve a stir fry where you have to choose the combinations and the sauce to watch the chef ‘wok’ up the dish right in front of you.

The décor at Yana’s is nice and bright. A primarily reddish interior allowing for decent sunlight and giving a nice casual feel to the restaurant. There are two floors of seating, with a mezzanine floor which was empty at the time we went, but to be fair we went on a weekday afternoon. Yana’s does not however get marks for service as the service was very slow and we were wondering whether they had forgotten about our order altogether! The food? Decent if you avoid the rice which makes the dish a right mess. The last time I was there I ordered the meat fillet sizzler which was Ok without being spectacular. The most interesting aspect was the filleting of the meat and there were neat slices which made the task of eating the meat very very easy and simple. Overall a rather unspectacular meal at a rather high price, not recommended unless you are yearning for a lot of sizzling meat in the middle of Pune.

A meal for two at Yana without drinks will cost you approximately Rs 1000/-

How to get there: Yana’s is at Shivaji Nagar, Pune, right on F.C. Road.

Malaka Spice, Koregaon Park, Pune

Malaka Spice prides itself on being not only one of the finest restaurants in Pune, but also across the country. With my limited food experience, I tend to whole heartedly agree. For the sheer quality, and variety on offer Malaka Spice is most definitely one of the finest restaurants in India at least when it comes to question of fine dining options in South East Asian cuisine. The most striking aspect of the restaurant apart from the absolutely brilliant food and great décor is the Menu Card. Tastefully designed, the menu card has small stories about the restaurant and tales about the lands from which they have put together their astonishing selection. They have over 250 choices not including drinks, to give you a most delightful choice of excellent mouth watering and mostly spicy dishes.

Malaka Spice has the décor of a high class fine dining restaurant. Situated in a swanky neighborhood, the restaurant takes up a pretty large area, there are indoor and outdoor sections, both of which are pretty spacious and very comfortable. The light in the evenings is stylishly dim, yet adequate, adding to the overall fine dining experience. The staff is bright, attentive and dressed in bright beach t shirts and dark trousers. They go out of the way to make you feel at home. The restaurant also has a staff card at the table introducing your attendant to you along with something about the person. Very cool and adds to the classy, yet casual feel at the restaurant.

The food? Well South East Asian is my favorite cuisine and Malaka Spice does a fabulous job of creating on spicy delight after another from the region. The last time I was there I had the prawn tom yum soup, burnt garlic and shrimp rice and chicken Penang curry. All three dishes were good in their own way, but the highlight was the tom yum, I cannot take too much spice but love the zing I get when sampling something that borders on the brilliantly tasty, which is just under the bearable spice level and the tom yum soup hit the sweet spot. Lots of ginger, lemon grass and chilli and the prawn stock created a broth for the heavens which served as the benchmark for the rest of the evening which could not be surpassed.

The main course was very good as well, the burnt garlic and shrimp rice imparted the essential garlic flavor but still left enough room for the side dish to make its mark. The Penang curry was on the sweet side and was a yellowish curry of chicken, carrots in a cinnamon and cream base. Very tasty and quite soothing after the tom yum soup, also it went excellently with the burnt garlic and shrimp rice. A fantastic meal and worthy of the restaurant. The only issue I have with Malaka spice is that they don’t seem to have a dish anymore that I used to love – the Garlicky prawns. The same is also the case in Lemon Grass as well who have done away with their Chicken in Indonesian Yellow Curry – I guess that’s the price you pay for innovation and trying to do justice to the gastronomical paradise that is South East Asia!

A meal for two at Malaka Spice without drinks will cost you approximately Rs 1200/-.

How to get there: Malaka Spice is on Lane 5 in Koregaon Park in Pune. Once you reach Koregaon Park you should be easily able to locate it with a bit of help.

Cafe Goodluck, Pune

There are not too many restaurants that have a Chowk named after them. This is one of them. The restaurant is one of the institutions of Pune and has been active since 1935. Its a particular favourite of the "filmi" crowd across the country due to the close proximity of the Film and Technology Institute of India.
Goodluck serves Irani food and does a damn good job of it. Irani food emanates from Persia, but is different from Parsi fare. The roots are Mohammedan rather than Zoroastrian, however what is great for us foodies is that the quality of the food does compare extremely favourably.
The restaurant is value for money and hence there are no frills. No AC/ No fancy decor, basic chairs, tables and from what I could gather very hygienic. We were quite a few of us at the restaurant and could sample quite a few dishes. The food was mostly non vegetarian and deliciously so, they do however have a Thali for vegetarians.
We tasted Mutton Masala and Mutton Kheema which we had with Rumali Roti. The Kheema was tasty and pretty much the regular fare you get at decently good eateries. I really liked the Mutton Masala which was a yellowish gravy, the dish was definitely spicy but not overly so.. it had a distinct tangy flavour to ease the chilli and give the dish a delightful taste.
We also sampled the Bheja fry - the dish I will remember most from Goodluck Cafe. The Bheja fry was not the regular fry that you get in Bade Miyan in Mumbai. The Goodluck Bheja Fry is a deep fried Bheja, in appearance not very different from a fish chop. It is obviously a ball of cholesterol so one is not advised to have the same everyday, but if you do go to Goodluck Cafe and are not pukish at the thought of having Bheja, do order and taste it as it is a unique offering and tastes fantastic. I did not sample the deserts but my colleagues swear by the Caramel Custard and the Fruit Funny which is a trademark multi layered fruity offering at the restaurant.
A meal for two at Goodluck Cafe will cost you approximately Rs 200/-
How to get there: Goodluck Cafe is on Goodluck Chowk :) which is at the corner of Ferguson College Road and Bhandarkar Road