Mediterranean Monsoon

Between Bombay and Pune, cafes, restaurants and bars seem to be opening up all over the place at the moment and as a keen foodie and recent blogger, one would imagine that I would be on top of these, but between revisiting the old and sampling the new, I am hardly able to keep up with this food boom that seems to be happening, but try, I do and taste, I will ;)

Anyhoo, while I was in Pune this weekend, I stumbled across one such newbie that I learned has come up about a month or two ago. So, I dragged my sister and hubs for a late luncheon date on Saturday afternoon to Mezzuna.

Mezzuna is a lovely little restaurant tucked away behind the busy complex of city point, on Dhole Patil road, an address that is home to a number of other eateries like Mainland China and Sigree to name a few.

The décor is spacious with cozy indoor seating that’s perfect for a kitty brunch and yet intimate enough for a romantic date and roomy al fresco seating, where large wicker sofas that can accommodate multiple guests are nestled between blooming champa trees (frangipani), under mini shamiana’s. A perfect setting for a warm summer’s day, drizzly monsoon afternoon or cool winter’s eve.

This all-day dining, café-style restaurant serves a mix of popular Mediterranean and European cuisines with some American favourites thrown in, using glocal (global and local) ingredients to serve items such as; assorted mezze, fresh salads, stone baked pizzas, a medley of sandwiches and burgers, main dishes like moussaka and roast lamb, a variety of pastas and risottos and of course, delicious dessert options that leave you salivating and ready to tuck in.

As we got there quite late in the afternoon, we had a choice of tables to choose from and settled for a lovely little outdoor spot where we enjoyed the powder rain and cool monsoon air that is now Pune.

Our friendly and very attentive waiter Samiran, made sure we were well taken care of…maybe a bit too well taken care of as he was always there, but that’s Indian hospitality for you.

While sipping on our sweet ‘n’ salty fresh lime sodas and munching on some freshly baked breads; which were served with butter but we missed a good olive oil and balsamic dip which would add a little more authenticity to the Mediterranean inspired food, we browsed through the menu and finally managed to choose our meals and here my lovelies is what we got:

To start off, we ordered a serve of Prawn Popcorn; plump juicy prawns coated with crispy golden fried crumbs and served with a creamy mayo dip. Popprawn perfect.

For mains, my not so hungry, not much of a foodie sister, got a serve of the Rocket, Pear and Blue cheese salad but she swapped the blue cheese for goat cheese; purple slivers of red wine poached, sweet pears on a bed of bright green spicy-fresh rocket leaves, served with rich but crumbly goat cheese and topped off with a sprinkling of caramelised walnuts and just the right amount of house dressing. A delicious combination of fresh flavours and textures. No wonder this salad has quickly become a favourite at a number of establishments across Bombay and Pune. With the right ingredients, you just can’t go wrong.

The meat-loving  hubs ordered a Teriyaki Pulled Pork Burger; tender shreds of slow-cooked barbecued pork meat that had just fallen off the bone, flavoured with a soy and ginger glaze and sandwiched between a soft sesame bun, served with a smooth mayo coleslaw, garden salad and thick potato wedges. According to my husband, “the best pork burger in town! I'll definitely be back for another”. I think I can comfortably say that he thoroughly enjoyed it.

And, last but not least, I ordered the Homemade Parpadelle with Creamy Chicken; beautifully made flat, broad noodles of pasta served with moist, juicy chunks of chicken, seasoned with tarragon and a very generous portion of parmesan-cream sauce. I did suggest to the chef that they could tone down the cream-sauce a little as there was just a tad too much, but all in all it was creamy dreamy delicious!

To end our delightful meals, we ordered a couple of coffees with a portion of the Freshly Baked Cheesecake (did I ever mention that I love baked cheesecakes? Def one of many of my favourite desserts); sweetened cream cheese with a tinge of vanilla, baked to soft-crumbly perfection, served with a tart blueberry compote. Wow! Oh was I loving it!

After our bellies were so full that we had to do the sly top-button-off move, we thanked Chef Balakrishnan Maharana, for sending out some wonderful food and promised to visit again sooner than later, to sample some other exciting dishes on the menu.

Mezzuna-Poona, definitely a must for residents and visitors alike.

Address:

Mezzuna,

City Point,

Dhole Patil Road,

Pune: 411001.

Facebook:

Mezzuna