A courteous evening spent at Rude Lounge !

Rating – 4.5/5

All these years as I went to Phoenix Market City, Viman Nagar I was always intrigued by this Lounge by the side with an interesting name as Rude Lounge. I used to wonder if it would be a rude place or what but never got the chance to visit them until a food tasting invite came my way recently. Although their main rooftop area was closed due to rains which in itself was a big dampener still their delicious food and courteous service made the evening fantastic.

Location & Parking –  Rude Lounge is located near a famous landmark called as Viman Nagar Corner next to Maruti showroom which in itself is such a busy junction and there’s always traffic no matter what time of the day you go ! The good news is they have a dedicated valet parking to forget all the parking troubles and you could head straight on to the fifth floor through a rather outdated lift of sorts 🙂 However the ensuing experience wasn’t outdated at all.

Ambience & Service – On the day of this tasting invite, rains played spoilsport which resulted in the closure of their nicely spaced out rooftop seating area and consequently we were confined to their indoor area. As we entered we also noticed that there was a corporate party group going on about their business and for a moment the evening looked a little uncertain to me in terms of atmosphere, service level etc. However I must say they managed the private group, their regular customers and us (on a tasting invite) pretty well. The Ambience in the indoor area was quite workable, if loud blasting music with a bar and the hullabaloo of some drunk guests is something you don’t mind a lot then you will do well here else the rooftop seating should be the preferred destination. We were taken good care of by their Manager Mr.Prafful and their Captain Mr.Koushik was quite spot on with his recommendations and he knows how to treat his guests well with a smile all the time.

The Soups – The Chicken Manchow Soup is among my favorites when I am dining out and this one was pretty decent.  The Lemon & Coriander Chicken Soup gave me another option to look forward to when dining out. Both the soups were pretty good and I had a good time sipping on the piping hot soups and it indeed was a great start to the meal.

The Starters – These were some of the best starters I have had in a while and more specifically – “Bhatti da Murgh” was the best Chicken Tikka I have had in a long time. It was juicy, creamy, succulent and what not. It was served in a makeshift Bhatti with charcoal right at the bottom of the utensil which kept the preparation warm even after being served on the Table. The Mutton Angara was pretty good in it’s own right and the mutton chunks were again soft, spicy and devoid of any pungent smell that sometimes gets associated with mutton preparations. Both the preparations are #highlyrecommended

The Drinks – I am a teetotaler so at times I do get frustrated with the Mocktails quality or lack there of in these usually booze-centric places, c’mon people for folks like me who don’t drink  alcohol you have a moral responsibility to prepare decent non alcoholic drinks and Rude Lounge certainly didn’t disappoint on this count, read on about the specifics.

Among the Mocktails all were fairly good but the Fruit Punch stood with the goodness of fruits and a flavor similar to Pina Colada. The Chocotini is an able accompaniment in drinks if you have young children in your group but you better like the taste of peanut butter which is present in abundance in this preparation. As the name suggests the Ginger Twist mocktail comes with more than a hint of ginger but it tasted pretty decent and something unique from the usual fruity and chocolatey mocktails

The Mains – The mains were at best pretty decent but after the sumptuous starters, soups and lovely drinks the bar was definitely raised which was met somewhat by the mains. The Chicken Mastana was like a usual chicken gravy preparation and was pretty decent, this really came out in a huge quantity and is enough for three people with a good diet. The Cheese Garlic Naan went really well with the chicken preparation and each Naan comes with four pieces.

The Mutton Biryani – I am always on the lookout for new Biryani places in Pune as I am the BiryaniMaster and the list of places I like for a mouth watering biryani is not exhaustive. I always have great expectations from Biryanis and this one I would say was only partially met. For starters this one was not the Dum Biryani variant, even if I keep that aside the masala part of the Biryani got over after the half way mark and what was left was a combination of Meat and somewhat bland rice. I liked the preparation till the proportions of rice and masala was intact and the mutton pieces were very tender as well. Overall it was a decent preparation that could have been so better !

The Sizzling Brownie – This was one perfect Brownie and the combination of cold vanilla scoop with a warm chocolatey brownie topped with sizzling hot chocolate sauce worked wonders. This is something you should definitely try while you’re at it at Rude Lounge.

The Verdict – Overall it’s a nice happening lounge for all kind of clienteles and it would be fair to say that they’re family friendly as well with a dedicated smoking area appropriately called as the Cancer Lounge. So if you’re with kids and still want to relive your Lounge experiences this is a place where you wouldn’t be discriminated against ! Go for it folks and I am sure you wouldn’t be disappointed with their quality of food and service alike.