Shikara - Kalyani Nagar, Pune

Time for the review of Shikara, probably one of the best restaurants when it comes to the authentic North Indian taste and flavours. Move over the Punjabi flavours, the restaurant boasts of amazing lip-smacking Kashmiri cuisines. Located in Kalyani Nagar opposite Gold Adlabs (Big Cinemas), it is an ideal place for a well planned dinner.

Locating the restaurant is easy since it is the sister resturant of Cassanova, an Italian restaurant. We shall discuss more about Cassanova in some other blog. Undoubtably, Shikara is the better one when it comes to some authentic lip-smacking food. Located at the top floor, the ambience is just fine. The architecture though it quite nicely planned. The shape of a boat (Shikara is a house boat found in kashmir) is quite evident. Since some of the corners tables are damp, you need to search for a good one. The rooftop restaurant is not air conditioned, so it is suggested that you choose the right weather while planning a visit. Both summers and winters with clear weather would suit as the place is adequately comfortable. The tables are large and spacious and the cushions are a real plus.

The restaurant offers both hookah and liquor(a must with some delicious chicken and lamb). To the menu card, the dishes have been named in peculiar kashmiri and hindi, so I would suggest you to either read the discription or confirm with the waitors before you order. The staff is well informed and cordial. We went about trying moctails which were, to be frank, average. Moving to the starters, Shahi Kumbh (Mushroom Kebabs) was awesome. The mushroom had been nicely marinated and the spices had sept so nicely inside the succulent mushroom that every bite into the juicy mushrooms was a treat. The spices were authentic North-Indian combination and the dish was absolutely perfect. I could hardly think of another place where I could find such amazingly done Mushroom kebabs in Pune. The expectations were rising with an absolute mind blowing treat of mushrooms. So right at the beginning, Shahi Kumbh is highly recommended. Next in line was some chicken. Although not the best but the taste was amazing and was very well marinated like the mushrooms.

For the main course, we went for Shahi Paneer, Dal Makhani, Lamb and Rajma. It took quite some time and two reminders for the main course to arrive though. So make sure you have a lot of free time whenever you plan to visit this place. The food finally arrived, and it gave an average look. But again the expectations were high after the amazing starters as far as the taste was concerned. The Rajma was the original Kashmiri Rajma and it was such a delight to find them in Pune. The Dal Makhani was above average, since it was quite bland as compared to the other preparations. The lamb was nicely garnished and the curry was smelling of cinnamon. The high point of the main course though was the shahi paneer, done amazingly with the slight taste of mint in the preparation. The roomali roti was a trun off and is not recommended, the Kulcha however was very good. Rice is something for which Kashmiris have a great liking and there were high expectations. The rice were long and looked amazing, but lacked the essential aroma.

Not much of a choice when it came to the desserts, so we decided to give it a miss. The liquor department was left untouched as the ones being served were the regular ones like any other restaurant. Hooka was an additional plus and can be enjoyed when you have ample time to spend.

Coming to another important part, the pricing, the restaurant is priced above average. The dinner for two could cost as much as 1500 without desserts. But the food is worth the price.

To end with, the restaurant is highly recommended on a leisurely evening when you want to dig those teeth into some tasty food.

Rating:

Food - 4.5/5

Ambience - 3/5