Soul Curry, Pune
Opposite Indra Institute of Management, Near Wakad Police Station, Wakad, Pune. Phone No : 0+91 9764666066
1330 hours, 22nd August 2014, Friday:
This is a typical highway restaurant. Located on the Bombay Pune expressway, this is the only decent eatery available near Wakad. The area is dotted with many other dhabas, wada pav outlets, juice shops and other smaller joints, but this place stands out as a decent one.
The ambiance is fair. Nice colorful chairs. White egg shaped stones within a glass separation. Potted plants. Airy space. An airconditioned room on the first floor. Clean washrooms.
They have some speciality South Indian food like Paniyarams, Banana Flower wada, Pallipalyam Paneer Varual, Aviyal, Chettinad preparations, etc. They also serve a lavish South Indian Thali on weekends. Unfortunately for today I had to settle for a Punjabi thali (INR 150).
It started with a Tomato soup with exactly two bread croutons. The soup was a wee bit too sweet, a li'l bit less tangy and displayed a couple of tiny black particles. But I took it with a pinch of salt, pun intended.
Then arrived my thali in a large leaf shaped steel platter. The first line of order was aloo chaat. Boiled potato cubes sprinkled with some chaat masala and yellow sev. No excitement here. The next was a bowl of salad - cubes of carrots and cucumber. Then there was koshimbir, rich in onion and cucumber slivers. The main course was a paneer preparation in thick gravy and one mix veg gravy. The nicest thing about these was that there was evidently no artificial colouring agent used. The paneer was soft and not rubbery, and the vegetables were boiled to perfection. You also had one bowl of thick yellow dal and one bowl of veg biryani, both well done. This was served with one papad and two thick wheat rotis. The sweet was one small Gulab jamun, which surprisingly, was not all just plain dough, it had sufficient proportion of mawa inside.
I also called for a Jaljeera soda (INR 40) to go along with it, and in hindsight, it was an intelligent decision.
The Verdict: This eatery can only be faulted upon its lazy, unhurried service and lack of personalised attention. Its just that you place an order, you are served the same and then you exit quietly once you have finished having it. A little courtesy, a hint of a smile or an occassional caring query can work wonders. The crux, the food here is good and ample value for money, and you realise that beyond bits of mild nonsense and odd affectation are real merit and considerable merriment.
The ratings, they go like this.:
The Food Quotient : Food Quality 3.5 / 5, Food Choices 4 / 5, Food Portion 3.5 / 5, Food Presentation 3.5 / 5
The Other Determinants : Location 3.5 / 5, Cleanliness 3.5 / 5, Warmth 2.5 / 5
The Hygiene Factors : Ambiance 3 / 5, Space quotient 3 / 5, Delivery time 2.5 / 5
The Conclusives : Food Price 3 / 5, Honesty 5 / 5, Overall Experience 3.5 / 5, Will I Visit again 3.5 / 5
PS: Bouquets / brickbats on the review can be addressed to [email protected] or submitted below.
The ratings, they go like this.:
The Food Quotient : Food Quality 3.5 / 5, Food Choices 4 / 5, Food Portion 3.5 / 5, Food Presentation 3.5 / 5
The Other Determinants : Location 3.5 / 5, Cleanliness 3.5 / 5, Warmth 2.5 / 5
The Hygiene Factors : Ambiance 3 / 5, Space quotient 3 / 5, Delivery time 2.5 / 5
The Conclusives : Food Price 3 / 5, Honesty 5 / 5, Overall Experience 3.5 / 5, Will I Visit again 3.5 / 5
PS: Bouquets / brickbats on the review can be addressed to [email protected] or submitted below.
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