I’m Lion – strictly non-veg

I’m lion – strictly Non-veg, Bavdhan
For the longest time I’ve been hearing this restaurant being named amongst the best seafood restaurants in Pune. Today this belief has been confirmed.

Pomphret Fry. The best pomphret fry I have ever had. This is all I can say. A fresh, fat pomphret, fried with a coating of rava (semolina) and mild spices, with fried garlic and chopped coriander sprinkled on top. A squeeze of lemon and i was in seafood heaven. It tasted better than it looks.

Pomphret Fry

Bangda fry. 2 medium sized bangda fish fried to perfection similar to the pomphret.

Bangda Fry

Prawns curry. Lovely coconut based curry, cooked in a Mangalorean style. Goes well with neer dosa or steamed rice (complimentary)

Mutton sukkha. Mildly spicy, tasted beautiful with the neer dosa

Mutton Sukkha

Mutton Sukkha

Madosa Fish curry. The curry was similar to the prawns curry. Turns out, I’m not a fan of the madosa fish, as it was slightly tough. The curry tastes top-notch, so choose the fish wisely.

Mutton Mangalorean curry. Another superb Mangalorean preparation, this time with tender chunks of mutton

And the neer dosa. We ate about 25 neer dosas! Soft, tender and perfect for soaking up the beautiful curry, this is an essential part of Mangalorean cuisine

Neer Dosa

Ended the meal with their signature mud pie. Warm gooey sinful goodness. Sealed our heavy tummies with chocolate brilliance.

The restaurant it self is small and cozy – the feel matches the warm service. The recipes are all by the owner, Ameya’s mom. Authentic Malabar flavors run through the dishes. Most of the dishes are Mangalorean, Goan and Gomantak.

Fantastic food. Top notch service. Bliss.

#baconbaba khush hua!

Dravida’s Bistro, Dhole Patil Road, Pune

Dravida’s Bistro is a quaint looking organic south Indian specialty restaurant located at Dhole Patil Road, Pune.

While their A la carte menu is quite interesting, we decided to go in for the “Grand Saatvik Thali” which is a 5 course meal containing 27 different items. And it was a revelation.

Dravida’s Bistro is all about clean, organic cooking. And the 5 course meal takes you through a culinary journey that will cleanse your entire system, and leave you satisfied. The whole meal is served on a banana leaf, taking the experience to a whole different level.

Course 1: Juices – there were 5 different types of juices, including a mixed vegetable, a kaju coconut, and a brown rice one. “Cleansing” was what it did.

Course 1 – Cleansers

Course 2: Salads: Very tasty, small servings which meant that even a salad hater like me wiped it all up. The salads included a Mix veg pickle, Puffed rice, coconut jaggery, vegetable Salad and banana stem

Course 3: This was served along with course 2 and mainly consisted of small servings of vegetables called ‘thoran’. Yellow pumpkin khichdi, Banana flower porier, Beet root pachadi, White pumpkin olan. 4 different sabjis on the plate. Each one had a unique flavor, and tasted excellent when eaten with the salads.

Row 1 – Salads: Puffed rice, vegetable Salad, banana stem, beetroot. Row 2 – Yellow pumpkin khichdi, Banana flower porier, Beet root pachadi, White pumpkin olan

Course 4: This was the ‘Rice’ course. Red rice, white rice, dal paste, kadhi, butter milk, Spinach porier, cabbage thoran, avial, coconut chutney, and of course, Sambhar and Rasam. Again, small quantities, but delightfully flavorful. Mom and Sangeeta couldn’t even finish the rice, that’s how full they already were. The red rice is extremely filling, and wholesome. Sambhar was nice and thick, with no traces of oil. Rasam… We drank the rasam till the last drop.

Course 4 – Rice

Course 5: Dessert: was a Red Rice Payasam. There were distinct flavors of coconut, gud (jaggery) and ghee. This reminded me of mom’s coconut laddoos!

Dessert – Red Rice Payasam

The bonus course was a Paan, with a spoon full of honey! Paan serves as a digestive, while a spoonful of honey is an excellent way to clean our digestive system after the meal.

Paan with a spoonful of honey

The meal is designed to be extremely healthy, filling, and full of nutrition. The  cooking style used is organic and pure. That’s how we felt after the meal. Clean, beautiful, purified.
HUGE Thumbs up to Dravida’s Bistro. This place is beautiful.

Note: The Grand Sadhya Thali is available only on weekends.