Sealing Koregaon Park's fate as one of the most popular party and hang out zone in Pune, is the brand new entrant. Rubbing shoulders with the oldies like Hard Rock Cafe is the spanking new complex of Unwind.

My initial impression of the place, when I first got there for the launch, was that it looked incredibly like a classy Goa shack with live music and people thronging the area. The ambience, needless to say, was incredible for a weekend night out.
The most recent visit I had was for a quiet dinner in the Bistro area and it was a spacious location, overlooking the alfresco area. Its very open and breezy space, with wooden table and chairs giving it a very beachy feel.

Unwind is now soon going to unveil its incredible night club which seems kick ass just by the sound of it. But if you are visiting for a nice meal here are a few tips you could use from my experience of the place!


Here are the things that I thought were amazing and you should try!

• DRINKS: Frankly going by how they want to market themselves, they are on point with the drinks. All the concoctions are great and you might want to get a bit more adventurous with the drinks menu to find out what really ticks your taste buds.
  I downed quite a number of MOJITOs which is hard to go wrong with but they still did a pretty good job nevertheless. Another favorite that you can try if you are not adventurous is the white wine based, HUGO, which was definitely the star of the table that night.
• DIM SUMS: I loved all the dim sums that we were served that night and especially loved how they were paired so well with the accompanying sauces. I particularly favored the CHICKEN DIM SUMS though and quite liked the BROCCOLI AND WATER CHESTNUT one as well.

• MALAI BROCCOLI: I know right? Broccoli has been the bane of my existence growing up with my mother sneaking it into my food ever so often. We have been at loggerheads until I was served this cracking of a dish. We actually had seconds and maybe thirds. But seriously guys, vegetarian or no, give this dish a shot. You might be in for a surprise.
• CHILLI GARLIC FISH was supposed to be an appetizer but it came with a nice thick gravy that made me wish for a bowl of piping, hot steamed rice so bad! The fish was delicately cooked and the gravy was beautiful, but it can be disappointing if you order this for starters. I'd definitely treat this as mains.

• I was eyeing the SOBA NOODLES in the menu since the time I sat down at the table. And it was worth all the wait! It was so good with the eggs on them. Definitely go for them. Soba Noodles are made out of buckwheat flour so they have this really amazing flavor, almost nutty. I really enjoyed this one.

• PRAWN THAI RED CURRY was a beautiful, beautiful curry that I just wanted to carry home, snuggle under a blanket in front of the telly and hog on it till I was fat and happy. It was absolutely comforting and with the steamed, sticky rice absolutely heaven. Try it, please?

And now the things I'd suggest you miss, in case you were wanting to try it at Unwind:

• FLATBREADS: Maybe it was just me, but the flat breads didn't sit well with me at all. Was it the blandness? or the weird cheese? I don't know but I'd personally steer clear of all the flat breads when I'm down there for my Soba Noodles run. Only other thing flat about these breads was the taste.

• I nearly chocked on BARBADOS KE JHINGE. I do believe it could be amazing because it sounds incredible on paper. Marinated prawns flambéed with old monk. But sadly all the flambé left the prawns swimming in rum which only made it bitter. Too cloying for my palate. Maybe someone into Rum may like it? Now that's a thought, but you wouldn't really be tasting any prawns though.

• The only dessert we had that night was the CHOCOLATE MUD PIE which did look tempting. The consistency was however very congealed and thick. It was a bit unyielding to my spoon and didn't want to be eaten that day. So I let it go, with a taste of course. :D
  But I guess they have a lot of other desserts to choose from that you can try.

Culture Pune has opened up in one of the busiest streets of Pune, Fergusson College Road, and I have already cataloged it as my go-to place for food and drinks with friends.



This was one of the places I was able to go to with Mr. TKD in tow (occasions like these are few and far in between since he upped and left for Delhi last year) and we enjoyed it.



For people who are familiar with Delhi food scene, Mr.TKD reports he could draw a lot of similarity as far as the ambience , the design of the menu and the aesthetics of the place went. But it was one of those fun tasting with friends which start as a tasting but ends up like a hang out instead. But yes, a lot of the good time was drawn out of the fact that the food and drinks were good.



But, but, but....there's a caveat. Next time I go I'll personally steer clear of the mains perhaps.

As they admitted themselves, Culture Pune is trying to be a place where you go in with your friends and hang out and spend time while you indulge in some good drinks and munchies by the side. They are not looking to be a proper restaurant which I guess is a fair point.
So the do have mains in the menu, but you might want to go for some amazing options in other parts of it instead.

Here's what we suggest you try!

• DRINKS: I was really happy spending the night nursing a glass of my much loved SANGRIA (which was really good tbh) but I was on a tasting. So I tried the CULTURE ELECTRIC GIN which came in a cool bulb  It tasted delicious and found many takers on the table.
  I also specially liked the TULSI BAUG which was vodka based and unusually served in a brass pot but tasted really nice too.

• My suggestion, go experimental and try what catches your fancy. They take great care in preparing their drinks and almost everything we tried, we liked.
• PANEER SOFIYANI TIKKA is something we all unanimously liked and devoured, vegetarians, non-vegetarians alike. Very tender paneer pieces and spiced delicately. Really tasty.

• TOSSED THAI BASIL CHICKEN was another crowd pleasure. The thai elements were well played on the dish and it really made for a good accompaniment to the wonderful cocktails.

• PRAWN CURRY WITH RICE: We know we asked you to stay clear of the mains. But this here is your savior if the hunger pangs are too much to handle. I personally loved the curry and
  with the rice it made for a good after-drinks meal.

• BOURBON PANNA COTTA was one of the satisfying desserts we tried that day. Beautiful, creamy panna cotta sitting pretty on a bourbon based sauce. It was wiped clean so fast, how I managed to get a picture is a miracle.

• RASPBERRY CREME BRULEE: Oh my heart! The creme brulee at Culture Pune is something you must try when you visit. They do it right with the creamy custard and that caramelized sugar coating on top that cracks as you go for it. Plus they add a twist with fresh fruits. My favorite perhaps.