A Lounge that serves pretty decent food !

Rating – 4/5

The penning of this experience has been due for quite some time but good memories of that outing still lingers on which helps in writing about something which happened roughly three weeks ago. It all started when one blogger buddy invited me for a tasting at Hashtag the lounge and being a teetotaler the immediate thought that came to mind “yet another tasting filled with awesome booze which I am not going to drink anyway coupled with mediocre food”. As they say appearances can be deceptive and this one definitely surprised me, there were a lots of hits and a few misses but overall the experience was such that I can go out with my family and pay for it ! Let’s get directly to the experience now.

The Ambience & Location – Located in the happening Koregaon Park, they do have an underground parking within the building which was largely unassisted and also parts of the parking (-2 level) were submerged with water, though it’s an issue with the building maintenance but it should be an equal responsibility of the establishment and this came across odd and I had a difficult time while parking my SUV. I hope this is one aspect which could be improved and taken care of asap.

On the Ambience front, the place offers an indoor lounge like setting with dim lights and space for dance etc with a full stocked bar. At the terrace they have a pleasant and made for Monsoon outdoor yet covered setting which is where I sat with co-bloggers to cover this tasting invite. Overall I was pretty satisfied with these two types of setting and one can choose as per their convenience.

The Drinks – Among the Mocktails served on the day what I really liked were the Orange and Watermelon based drinks.

The Watermelon Mocktail in particular was refreshing and breezy and it went absolutely well with the starters that were served in parallel.

The Food – Well this was one tasting where the bloggers were surprised by the number of food items that were served and by the time we were done by the last dessert I am sure each one of us were literally bloated with food and we carried on since most of the stuff that was served was delicious and encouraged us to carry on and on. It would become a sort of book if I cover each and every item therefore I would talk about the ones that really impressed me during the meal.

Cheesy Jalapeno Cigars & Broccoli Cheese Balls – These two were easily the best veg starters of the meal and for cheese lovers these items were something that just cannot be missed at all. #definitelyrecommended

Paneer Tikka & Bharwan Achari Kumbh – These two were pretty good as well with the Stuffed Achari Mushroom winning the contest for me, the mushrooms were grilled in the right proportion and had that tasty yet subtle achari taste going for it. #yummy

Cafreal Chicken Tikka & Peri Peri Chicken – Chicken Cafreal Tikka is the first time I have had chicken cafreal preparation in a Tikka format and it didn’t disappoint at all, it’s a nice starter to go if you’re craving for some goan style chicken starter preparation. The Peri Peri chicken on the other hand was the star of the Starters for me but the only slight issue I had with this preparation was the chilly level which resulted in many bloggers having to rush for something sweet after having a bite (yeah it was that spicy but I loved it). #definitelyrecommended however do check the spice level before placing your order 😉

Cheesy Garlic Prawns & Zaytooni Chicken Kebab – The Cheese garlic prawns presentation was refreshingly different from the mundane ones where this one was presented on skewers served with cheesy garlic sauce that complemented the minimally dressed prawns. The Zaytooni Chicken Kebab was the perfect follow through after the rather spicy hot Peri peri chicken preparation and can be ordered if you’re looking for a mild chicken tikka preparation.

I had my Mains with Srilakan Chicken Curry, Kumbh Hara dhaniya & Sea Food Mix Pizza and these would be recommendation in Mains in their respective segments, surprisingly the Kumbh hara dhaniya was the best item among these three mains and was the most liked by almost everyone else as well !

The Desserts – The Blueberry cheese cake was the best of the lot, served in a cup this was quite smooth and had a good consistency and taste going for it. The Karari jalebis could have been better but weren’t bad at all, the basil rabdi was something I wasn’t able to gauge properly as it had confusing flavors while the assorted fruit tarts were crumbly and weren’t something that I would queue up for the next time I am here.

The Verdict – It turned out a good place for food and I loved their starters and main course while desserts is one area which definitely is an area of improvement especially the ones we were served except the blueberry cheese cake. Overall I liked the place and is good for buddy meetups as well as family dinners, just go for it 🙂