Travelling to Pune? Dive into the food at these landmark restaurants in the city

The rains always induce a sense of nostalgia If you are driving down the gorgeous green MumbaiPune Expressway this weekend make the most of your visit to the city by stopping at these culinary gems that dish out delicious food wrapped in warm memories If you grew up in Pune or travelled to the city often in the rsquo90s these eateries are sure to give you a kick of nostalgia German Bakery The bakery opened in 1983 with the idea of serving Osho Ashramites As there were very few places serving Continental food then the cafeacute shot to fame for its bakery products and breakfast spread Pune was largely known for its colleges universities and educational institutions then and although cafeacute culture hadnrsquot really come to India in those days German Bakery became a cool hit among students and tourists In 2010 a terrorist bomb exploded at the bakery killing 17 and wounding scores of others as the place was packed with students The team at the bakery recovered from this unfortunate event and their loyal patrons came thronging back when they reopenedWHAT TO EAT Fish lsquonrsquo chips bangers and mash chicken a la Kyiv baked blueberry cheesecake apple pie spinach mushroom fluffy Spanish omelette and sachertorteCOST Rs 1200 to Rs 1500PremrsquosChicken tikkaIf you feel like a fun binge with friends over pints of beer the happy vibe at one of the cityrsquos most popular restaurants may just be what you need Over the years Premrsquos has witnessed a lot of first dates and first outings with friends While the restaurant officially opened in 1986 it was whipping up delicacies before that too ldquoThe Sharma family came from South Africa and started selling basic parathas sandwiches tea and coffee to all the lsquosanyasisrsquo who came to the Osho Ashram which was in full swing at the time as Osho had just returned from the US There was only German Bakery and Premrsquos in Koregaon Park then and a handful of other places like Chinese Room in Camp and ABC Farmsrdquo Sandy Singh of Iceberg Hospitality that now owns and runs Premrsquos tells us ldquoThe place did not have a name back then The owner was Prempal Sharma and the Ashramites would often refer to the hangout as lsquoPremrsquos placersquo thatrsquos how the eatery was namedrdquo he addsWhile new dishes have been added to the menu much has remained unchanged ldquoWe tried changing a few recipes and the regular customers told us that they wanted the old dishes back So instead of replacing dishes we have added sushi dim sums and a whole new PanAsian menurdquo WHAT TO EAT Butter chicken dal makhani chicken stroganoff chilli chicken hakka noodles and sushi The menu is a delightful mix of classic and contemporary flavours and we recently tried the chicken shashlik sizzler and the prawn tempura sushi and can vouch for bothCOST Rs 1200 to Rs 1800Arthurrsquos Theme For a classic Continental meal this place has always topped our list Arthurrsquos Theme owned and helmed by chef Navtej Sawhney opened in Pune on December 2 1997 ldquoAfter getting a degree in hotel management I trained in kitchens across a few European countries I wanted to bring different flavours to Pune Being situated close to the Osho Ashram which was at its peak at the time helped as our food was perfect for the European palette of the ashram residentsrdquo Sawhney saysWhen Sawhney started off he knew that only five per cent of diners would want to try out food which was different ldquoAnother challenge we faced was that we served preplated food This gave people the impression that the quantity was less Over the years with people being exposed to world cuisine this perception changed diners are a lot more open now So we keep changing our menu every six monthsrdquo The restaurant is named after English ruler King Arthur The deacutecor also features elements like a version of Arthurrsquos legendary sword Excalibur and shieldsLamb shanksWHAT TO EAT We recommend stuffed chicken roulade with mushroom sauce and the meltinthemouth cheese croquettes Go for cajungrilled fish herbgrilled fish tenderloin buff steak with pepper sauce braised lamb shanks spicerubbed grilled chicken and mushroom in a flavoured sauce Look out for the unusual European namesCOST Rs 1500 to Rs 2000Malaka Spice A Pandan oldfashionedHardly anything is as comforting as a bowl of hot luxuriously creamy laksa on a windy rainy day in Pune The best place to find it is at Koregaon Parkrsquos Malaka Spice The restaurant which turned 25 last month is the brainchild of Praful and the late Cheeru Chandawarkar ldquoMy parents had just moved back to Pune from Hong Kong in 1996 My father was an investment banker and my mother was an air hostess and it had been their dream to start a restaurant They were both welltravelled and decided that they would serve South East Asian foodrdquo Ilvika Chandawarkar who currently helms the restaurant told usldquoThe cuisine was very new back then and became a favourite much later Another challenge was sourcing the ingredients It was difficult to get galangal lemongrass or Thai basil unlike now pandan leaves were unheard of too But luckily we found a cousin of pandan mdash screw pine leaves mdash and we would forage for the same with tribals My parents also had some friends who owned farmlands and helped them grow vegetablesrdquo Even today Malaka Spice takes the farmtotable concept seriously and has its own farm located 45 minutes away from PuneWHAT TO EAT Pineapple fried rice by Cheeru chicken in pandan leaves lamb chops malaksa the top hat and apple pieCOST Rs 1500 to Rs 2000Also check out Kayani Bakery for shrewsbury biscuits wine biscuits and plain cakes MarzOrin for its soft chickenchutney sandwich Vaishali for sev puri and dahi puri known as SPDP Chinese Room for its chicken in hot garlic sauce Garden Vada Pav for hot crispy vada pav Jaishankar Panipuri Bhel amp Chat House for pani puris Shisha Cafe in ABC Farms for chelo kebabs