Context
As the two regular readers of this blog would remember, I had described various meal trajectories and ended with the mythical 'The Meal That Soars'. The ideal meal where everything is perfect and ne'er a flaw in sight.
Well, I had just such a meal very recently for my parents wedding anniversary lunch. We were running low on fine dine options with a recent failed dinner at SWG, so I decided to 'give this place a chance and hope it, too, wasn't overhyped like other places'.
Olive Bistro of AD and Sabina Singh fame.
Where is it?
Located inside the much-sought after Pune Club, I confirmed that I didn't need to be a member of the Club to eat there. No, you're welcome here. Perfect. Reservation? Available. Perfect.
Pune Club, itself, is in a really nice hood with wide roads and at the doorstep of the cantonment area. Model Colony is green but this area, Bund Garden, just looks different.
The Space
We walked through the main gate of the Club and were directed to the Bistro, adjacent to the main gate. The entrance to OB transported me to a different land, of a distinctly Mediterranean heritage, but of a mixed parentage, namely Italian and Greek.
In other words, OB is the love child of Italian and Greek food love.
Walked into the OB compound and we thought we were walking into an abridged version of a pretty stone villa, all Santorini white and blue with shades of Tuscany, and daubs of France. Europe sparkled in ways, big and small.
The indoor space is divided into 3 sections - a sunken bar to the right, and two main eating areas divided by a stone wall. There are 3-4 tables for parties of eight or more. All bare stone, comfortable seating, high ceilings, candelabras, thoughtfully mounted posters, the indoor space has been done up by a person with good taste, and someone who has traveled around a bit. An aesthete.
Walk outdoors, and more space, on the patio and in the now-covered outdoor space. Wooden tables, cane furniture, old home stools converted into bar stools, raw marble slab walkways, marble stones crunching underfoot, the blue and white theme was continued on the outside as well.
Finally, we settled at a particular table because Ma and I took an immediate fancy to the table.
The Food
Appetizers...
They let us settle in for a bit before Laltu, our F&B server showed up to take our orders. Famished, we asked for his recommendations, and finally settled on Chermoula Spice marinated Cottage Cheese Skewers and The Bistro's Herbed Chicken Skewers for the appetizers and a drink (pineapple juice, blue curacao, cream) for me mother.
We were served up an amuse bouche -- a beautifully done cream of mushroom soup. Smooth, warm and hearty, it spoke of sophistication.
Both the dishes came plated on an inch-thick log section, by now a familiar serving plate, adding on to the rustic theme.
The chicken skewers came with a herby creamy mayonnaise. The chicken was cooked so perfectly right that Matt Preston would have to take a magnifying glass to see if it was done a mm shade too much over or under. I'd say it was done so wonderfully well that it did the dead bird (and us, the hungry folks) justice. Seasoned just right, textured right, and going really well with the dip, the chicken skewers were a giant hit and a Mildly Spiced Win!
Charmoula Spiced Cottage Cheese Skewers
As meat-lovers, we threw a sideways glance at the cottage cheese skewers and took a portion each out of a keen sense of responsibility. So what if a bird hadn't died to find its place on this skewer? A buffalo had given her milk to make this possible. It was no less a sacrifice.
The sauce for the skewer looked a bit runny but things are not always the way they look and a bite into the sauce soaked cottage cheese, and I knew it was love at first bite. The cottage cheese, again brilliantly marinated, grilled, and seasoned by an experienced and expert hand, outgunned the chicken.
This goes into the league of MS Epic Wins! Truly, one of the best things I've eaten in the last few weeks, and joins the pantheon of Paneer Greats like the Copper Chimney Paneer Shaslik.
...And The Drink
Ma and me...we quite love pineapple juice based drinks and this was a mildly flavored hit. The cream took the bite out of the pineapple juice and the blue curacao imparted both a wonderful citrus peel flavor and a beautiful summer sky blue color.
Garcon! Two more of these for me, please!
I Had My Main Planned Out But They Brought Bread
I've always had bread brought to our table as soon as we had settled, so, getting a bread basket after the appetizers were done and mains almost ordered was strange, but, oh well!
The bread looked beautiful...the stuff out of food magazines, but they were somewhat tough, but I won't hold this one against them for too long.
Margerita Snapper
I told Laltu that I wanted their Margerita Snapper but I wanted the cous cous replaced with some risotto. I think a risotto pairs so much better with fish, and the carb and fat of a risotto strikes off beautifully with good fish. Laltu came back with a pretty plate of nicely done snapper on a bed of specially made saffron risotto (they don't have this on the menu!) and with a chili garlic and butter sauce.
The fish was nicely done and went well with the risotto, and the sauce splashes were nice enough that Ma used the bread to soak them up for flavored carby bites. If she could have her way, she'd take home a bottle each of sauce from the fish, chicken, and cottage cheese dishes.
...but they have Panna Cotta, Ma!!
It's no secret that I'm a panna cotta fan...and if there is a reasonable sounding panna cotta on the menu, by Jove, I'm going to try it. I'd also heard positive press about the boozy gelato trio, so off Laltu went to place our dessert orders.
Saffron and Vanilla Panna Cotta
The Saffron and Vanilla Panna Cotta with blood orange and pink peppercorn sauce and gastrique was a dazzling sight to behold and wonderfully smooth in its texture. Many mouthfuls of joy. It would have made a Master Chef finalize proud to conceptualize and execute!
A perfect mound with gentle curves lay quivering in the center or a large sunken serving plate, covered with a burnished dark sauce of blood orange and pink peppercorns and surrounded by a ring of a gastrique of the same ingredients.
The saffron was strong but hit off beautifully with the citrus of the blood orange. Big big win.
Directly, it moves to the top two of my India panna cottas, competing with the Indigo panna cotta on its very good day.
Boozy Gelato Trio
Of the gelato trio, the pina colada was passable, the rose (with vodka) gave interesting hits every other bite, but the star was the chocolate with cointreau. Chocolate gelato, by itself, can be special but the cointreau punch made me giggle like a baby being tickled pink.
The Service
Our F&B server was well-informed, helped us make ordering decisions with confidence, and knew how to pass on our request convincingly enough for changes to be made thoughtfully. The best example was the customized change from the cous cous to saffron risotto as the carb relief on the fish dish.
The man also passed the 'water glass fill' with flying colors. Clearing out used plates and silverware, getting us fresh lime with a minute of the request being made, and being available when needed are things one expects in a fine dine but seldom sees.
All in all, a wonderful meal in all its varied aspects and a heartfelt reco to go eat here. Beware, however, that it's extremely popular and you may not always be lucky enough to get the best table in the house.
As the two regular readers of this blog would remember, I had described various meal trajectories and ended with the mythical 'The Meal That Soars'. The ideal meal where everything is perfect and ne'er a flaw in sight.
Well, I had just such a meal very recently for my parents wedding anniversary lunch. We were running low on fine dine options with a recent failed dinner at SWG, so I decided to 'give this place a chance and hope it, too, wasn't overhyped like other places'.
Olive Bistro of AD and Sabina Singh fame.
Where is it?
Located inside the much-sought after Pune Club, I confirmed that I didn't need to be a member of the Club to eat there. No, you're welcome here. Perfect. Reservation? Available. Perfect.
Pune Club, itself, is in a really nice hood with wide roads and at the doorstep of the cantonment area. Model Colony is green but this area, Bund Garden, just looks different.
The Space
We walked through the main gate of the Club and were directed to the Bistro, adjacent to the main gate. The entrance to OB transported me to a different land, of a distinctly Mediterranean heritage, but of a mixed parentage, namely Italian and Greek.
In other words, OB is the love child of Italian and Greek food love.
Walked into the OB compound and we thought we were walking into an abridged version of a pretty stone villa, all Santorini white and blue with shades of Tuscany, and daubs of France. Europe sparkled in ways, big and small.
The indoor space is divided into 3 sections - a sunken bar to the right, and two main eating areas divided by a stone wall. There are 3-4 tables for parties of eight or more. All bare stone, comfortable seating, high ceilings, candelabras, thoughtfully mounted posters, the indoor space has been done up by a person with good taste, and someone who has traveled around a bit. An aesthete.
Walk outdoors, and more space, on the patio and in the now-covered outdoor space. Wooden tables, cane furniture, old home stools converted into bar stools, raw marble slab walkways, marble stones crunching underfoot, the blue and white theme was continued on the outside as well.
Finally, we settled at a particular table because Ma and I took an immediate fancy to the table.
The Food
Appetizers...
They let us settle in for a bit before Laltu, our F&B server showed up to take our orders. Famished, we asked for his recommendations, and finally settled on Chermoula Spice marinated Cottage Cheese Skewers and The Bistro's Herbed Chicken Skewers for the appetizers and a drink (pineapple juice, blue curacao, cream) for me mother.
We were served up an amuse bouche -- a beautifully done cream of mushroom soup. Smooth, warm and hearty, it spoke of sophistication.
Both the dishes came plated on an inch-thick log section, by now a familiar serving plate, adding on to the rustic theme.
The chicken skewers came with a herby creamy mayonnaise. The chicken was cooked so perfectly right that Matt Preston would have to take a magnifying glass to see if it was done a mm shade too much over or under. I'd say it was done so wonderfully well that it did the dead bird (and us, the hungry folks) justice. Seasoned just right, textured right, and going really well with the dip, the chicken skewers were a giant hit and a Mildly Spiced Win!
Charmoula Spiced Cottage Cheese Skewers
As meat-lovers, we threw a sideways glance at the cottage cheese skewers and took a portion each out of a keen sense of responsibility. So what if a bird hadn't died to find its place on this skewer? A buffalo had given her milk to make this possible. It was no less a sacrifice.
The sauce for the skewer looked a bit runny but things are not always the way they look and a bite into the sauce soaked cottage cheese, and I knew it was love at first bite. The cottage cheese, again brilliantly marinated, grilled, and seasoned by an experienced and expert hand, outgunned the chicken.
This goes into the league of MS Epic Wins! Truly, one of the best things I've eaten in the last few weeks, and joins the pantheon of Paneer Greats like the Copper Chimney Paneer Shaslik.
...And The Drink
Ma and me...we quite love pineapple juice based drinks and this was a mildly flavored hit. The cream took the bite out of the pineapple juice and the blue curacao imparted both a wonderful citrus peel flavor and a beautiful summer sky blue color.
Garcon! Two more of these for me, please!
I Had My Main Planned Out But They Brought Bread
I've always had bread brought to our table as soon as we had settled, so, getting a bread basket after the appetizers were done and mains almost ordered was strange, but, oh well!
The bread looked beautiful...the stuff out of food magazines, but they were somewhat tough, but I won't hold this one against them for too long.
Margerita Snapper
I told Laltu that I wanted their Margerita Snapper but I wanted the cous cous replaced with some risotto. I think a risotto pairs so much better with fish, and the carb and fat of a risotto strikes off beautifully with good fish. Laltu came back with a pretty plate of nicely done snapper on a bed of specially made saffron risotto (they don't have this on the menu!) and with a chili garlic and butter sauce.
The fish was nicely done and went well with the risotto, and the sauce splashes were nice enough that Ma used the bread to soak them up for flavored carby bites. If she could have her way, she'd take home a bottle each of sauce from the fish, chicken, and cottage cheese dishes.
...but they have Panna Cotta, Ma!!
It's no secret that I'm a panna cotta fan...and if there is a reasonable sounding panna cotta on the menu, by Jove, I'm going to try it. I'd also heard positive press about the boozy gelato trio, so off Laltu went to place our dessert orders.
Saffron and Vanilla Panna Cotta
The Saffron and Vanilla Panna Cotta with blood orange and pink peppercorn sauce and gastrique was a dazzling sight to behold and wonderfully smooth in its texture. Many mouthfuls of joy. It would have made a Master Chef finalize proud to conceptualize and execute!
A perfect mound with gentle curves lay quivering in the center or a large sunken serving plate, covered with a burnished dark sauce of blood orange and pink peppercorns and surrounded by a ring of a gastrique of the same ingredients.
The saffron was strong but hit off beautifully with the citrus of the blood orange. Big big win.
Directly, it moves to the top two of my India panna cottas, competing with the Indigo panna cotta on its very good day.
Boozy Gelato Trio
Of the gelato trio, the pina colada was passable, the rose (with vodka) gave interesting hits every other bite, but the star was the chocolate with cointreau. Chocolate gelato, by itself, can be special but the cointreau punch made me giggle like a baby being tickled pink.
The Service
Our F&B server was well-informed, helped us make ordering decisions with confidence, and knew how to pass on our request convincingly enough for changes to be made thoughtfully. The best example was the customized change from the cous cous to saffron risotto as the carb relief on the fish dish.
The man also passed the 'water glass fill' with flying colors. Clearing out used plates and silverware, getting us fresh lime with a minute of the request being made, and being available when needed are things one expects in a fine dine but seldom sees.
All in all, a wonderful meal in all its varied aspects and a heartfelt reco to go eat here. Beware, however, that it's extremely popular and you may not always be lucky enough to get the best table in the house.
