Shruti, Hotel Ratnalok - Nigdi, Pune

The restaurant at Hotel Ratnalok is named Shruti, and is among the best restaurants in the Pimpri Chinchwad area. It is located on the Mumbai-Pune highway opposite Bajaj Auto near the Nigdi flyover. To reach the place, leave the main grid separator on the highway at Chinchwad and continue towards Nigdi.

 

A paradise for both vegetarian and non vegetarian food, Shruti also offers alcoholic beverages and smoking area. Having been a resident of Nigdi, I frequent this place and truly like the food. Also, the service is fast and the waitors at the restaurant remember your preference of place and food if you are a frequent visitor. I would recommend you not to pick the central tables as they are very uncomfortable and instead take the ones on the sides.

 

Let us first discuss the vegetarian menu. The soups and shorbas served at the restaurant are not one of their specialities. So, you can very well give them a miss. I often found huge alteration in the taste of soups on various occasions and hence would advise you to try them at your own risk. However, the starters are delightful. Among the vegetarian starters, I found Aloo Kajoo Rolls and Paneer Murabba Kabab the most. The delightful part about the Paneer Murabba Kabab being the ultra soft paneer that melts in your mouth. Also, among the Chinese Starters one should definitely try Paneer Hot Pan and Crispy Baby Corn. The helpings for starters are generous and a single order can easily satiate the appetiser desire of 3-4 hungry men.

 

Moving to the vegetarian main course, the restaurant offers a variety of choices which most of the other restaurants offer. What stands out in terms of exclusiveness for the restaurant is Kumbh Hara Dhaniya, which is a mushroom preparation. Also, the Paneer Bhurji served at the restaurant has a unique taste due to the slight roasting of the paneer before the preparation of bhurji. Top is up with decently sized and priced butter rotis. Among the items made of rice, the biryanis are horrible and I would never recommend you to try them unless you want to eat rice and vegetables. Instead, Khichdi Kadi is a safe option. Also, give a miss to the continental dishes served at the restaurant as they are not their speciality.

 

Moving to non vegetarian menu, the restaurant is among the few in Nigdi to offer such a wide variety of non vegetarian dishes and is a true delight for meat lovers. Murg Malai Kabab and Gosht Kakori Kabab are some of the most popular and well prepared dishes at the restaurant. If you love fishes like I do, do not ever miss the Fish Tawa Surmai at this restaurant. Prepared with just a slight tinge of spices, the preparation is a delight to savor.

 

The non vegetarian main course has huge variety and most of the preparations are decent. I would recommend going for boneless chicken dishes by paying Rs 20 extra as it making the dining experience better. The Gosht Maratha is one of the specialities of the place and if you like having mutton, especially spicy mutton, then this is the dish for you. The menu also has sea food mentioned in it, but it is best to avoid the same as it is often not very fresh. The non vegetarian biryanis are also forgettable.

 

The desserts that is most popular at Shruti is Leechi with Cream and should be tried at least once. And yes, the choice of liquor is up to you but it is advisable for non-alcoholics to give mocktails a miss.