Kalyani Nagar best vegetarian restaurants

Exceptional Vegetarian Food !

Rating 4.5/5

To begin with, I don’t usually like to spend my hard earned money on Vegetarian Food when eating outside however there are always exceptions like Gandharv which forces me to try the Veggies every now and then.

Firstly this is a very popular restaurant in Kalyani Nagar and if you’re planning to go in the evenings, make sure you’re there by 7.45pm latest if you’re my kind who doesn’t like to wait and likes to go straight to the point in a restaurant which is obviously food 🙂

God forbid if you land up on a week-end after 8.30 pm then you have to wait for more than 30 minutes to get a Table.

The food quality is very good and mostly everything tastes nice and refreshing compared to the Udupi style good for nothing “Pure Veg” restaurants in Pune. As a matter of fact I absolutely despise them but this is a place to be if you like your vegetarian food.

Some of the food items worth mentioning are Veg Angara Kebab, Paneer Tikka Masala, Dal Tadka, Paneer Tikka, Veg Biryani (my food is not complete without a Biryani) and they have an unusual sizzling dessert (ice cream scoops with sizzling chocolate syrup) which is worth trying once. Though I need to warn that it looks more sumptuous than what it really is.

Service is fast, ambience is pretty ok and all in all a very good place to eat Vegetarian Food in Kalyani Nagar.

Getting towards where you can have a “Wah” experience !

Rating – 4/5

************10th October Visit Updates*************

Today after catching up a movie and quick shopping in Kalyani Nagar we thought of having a quick lunch here.

Today’s experience was pretty good and thankfully the taste of what is being served here has remain consistent and quality of service was much better and the servers were a lot attentive.

We had the following today :

1. Tandoori platter – 3.5/5 – The Paneer Tikka and Achari tikka were good while the Malai Tikka and tandoori chaap were fair enough. This also includes Daal makhani and a Naan as accompaniments so it adds value to the meal which is good to have.

2. WahJiWah special thali – 4/5, comprised of Veg biryani, Paneer kadhai (a fairly dry/thick gravy version), Daal makhani, choice of one bread to order – we selected lachha parantha, a gravy with chaap and a gulabjamun.

Thali was good tastewise, the only downer was the chaap based gravy, didn’t quite like the taste of it.

They also have tie-ups with Mobikwik and quickwallet to offer discounts like 20% and 25% respectively which again adds to the VFM factor.

As a result of all of the above better than before experience in all departments I have reflected that in my overall review rating experience. Needless to say I’ll be back for more 🙂

This review is based on two outings so far and I can say some of the points I noted are good, some are average and others are nothing to write home about.

To start with, it’s definitely a different kind of outlet which has an All North Indian Menu, with loads of combo meals/thali options and is ofcourse a veg only place.

They have a variety of starters that are kept in the offing in an attempt to give vegetarians a taste of non vegetarian stuff with these options of vegetarian chaaps that are so readily available in the National Capital Region.

Ambience is pretty Ok with around 4-5 tables on the ground floor and further 5-6 tables on the intermediate floor as part of their mezzanine flooring layout where the ceiling could really bump your head if you’re not careful.

Coming to the parking side of things it could be a little painful if you have a four wheeler as they don’t have their own dedicated parking so apart from the space for about five cars, one has to rely parking in the bylanes of Kalyani Nagar.

Coming to the food, so far I have tasted the following as part of ordering the Veg fried platter, Veg thali, kadhai paneer and Dal Makhani combo, Special Veg thaali and ice-creams :

Dal Makhani – 4/5, it’s creamy and has got a nice texture and tastewise it’s fairly close to that authentic Dal Makhani of North Indian cuisine yet it’s not the best that I have tasted in Pune.

Kadhai Paneer – 3.5/5, slightly different taste of kadhai Paneer than what could usually be found but quite alright.

Shahi Paneer – 3/5, it’s a little too sweet for my liking as and like my Shahi Paneer with a subtle hint of sweetness.

Dal fry – 4/5, this was quite decent and it went really good with steamed rice.

Mix Veg – not applicable, it had a hint of foul taste to it which my wife noticed and they changed the dish with a serving of kadhai paneer. So wasn’t really able to review the dish.

Veg Tawa Masaala – 2.5/5, this qualified just as being edible and wouldnt be something that I would order individually apart from making the numbers in their Veg thali.

Veg Biryani – 4/5, this is pretty good and tasty for a veg Biryani and is the second best dish we tasted after dahi kebabs.

Following is what I have tasted in their starters :

Stick Seekh kebabs – 4/5, a fairly good and a unique preparation.

Kurkure mushrooms – 3/5, had a stuffing of mushrooms and was quite alright.

Gulabi Tikki – 3.5/5, would rate it slightly above the mushroom starter in terms of taste and one can order this as an individual dish apart finding it in their fried platter

Dahi kebab – 4.5/5, this is one dish that stood out in the entire food fare and we liked it very much. I have tasted better dahi kebabs in Pune only in Oye Pape and this one is a close second.

Talking about ice creams, the Giani ice creama have a bit of a different flavor to them and so far tasted Rose(4.5/5) and Vanilla (3.5) flavors and would definitely like to taste other flavors.

In terms of service there’s quite a bit to improve before customer can truly say “Wah Ji Wah” as the service is slow and servers almost always even forget to refill water on their own unless you remind them all the time which could be quite annoying.