Pune

Shukriya provides the perfect family ambience and delicious Maharashtrian food, especially homemade Kolhapuri non-veg. Chicken curry, mutton fry, mutton handi, pandhra rassa and tambada rassa come with bhakari or chapati, spicy hot thecha, fresh curd and onion. For veggies, there’s matki usal and pithala.

The live cooking section outside Silk Route really draws the crowds. The restaurant offers Chinese, Thai, Indonesian, Korean and Vietnamese fare, but the biggest draw is the Teppanyaki section.

A new restaurant and bar, Ola promises cosy dinner, great music and splendid drinks. While here, do sample Fughi Impanati, polpettes, ratatouille, pork chops pesto, pasta arabiata and spaghetti aglio olio, among others.

For that distinctly Peshwai ambience, Pune has the Mystic Masala at the Taj Blue Diamond and food to go with its wide range of wine.

And while the city’s night spots may lack the edge of their rich Mumbai cousins, they pulsate with life nonetheless. One of the most popular, Boomerang at the Hotel Sun ’N Sand, is a lobby watering hole equipped with a dance floor. For those who must mix drinking and driving, Pune has Formula One and Raceday, with auto-racing themed decor and great food to go with the beer.

Ivo’s, the nightclub, is named after its owner Ivo Trojic, a Dutch entrepreneur of Croatian descent, who metamorphosed the erstwhile Elbow Room into a bar and nightclub rich with a chrome-and-neon look. In a floating glass structure comprising a lounge with wooden decks, there’s a long trough-bar at one end, an illuminated ramp down the centre and poles—a great centre-stage for exhibitionists and exotic performers.

Bars

• Boomerang: Pub/disco (renovating), Hotel Sun ‘n Sand, Bund Garden Road
• Formula One: For auto freaks, Hotel Sagar Plaza, Off MG Road
• Ivo’s: Pole dancing anyone? Koregaon Park Annex, Mundhwa
• Ola: Pub attached to Mediterranean restaurant, ABC Farms, Koregaon Park
• Raceday: Bar with snacks, Ghole Road, Shivaji Nagar

Restaurants

• Ivy Bar and Kitchen: Farshid’s Mediterranean successor, Akshay Complex, D. Patil Road
• Mystic Masala: Indian, esp. Maharashtrian, Hotel Taj Blue Diamond, Koregaon Road
• Ola: Mediterranean, ABC Farms, Koregaon Park

• Shukriya: Maharashtrian (in particular Kolhapuri), Aundh
• Silk Route: South East Asian, Koregaon Park