Birthdays are festive occasions and a place from where you can enjoy the breathtaking vistas of the city while enjoying your meal with loved ones just makes the occasion more special. Keeping this in mind, I zeroed in on Up and Above, located in the green locales of NDA road, it seemed like the perfect setting for a group of 8 adults.
The climb up can seem a bit tedious to those craving food. However, the place does not disappoint in terms of its name. You truly feel like you are up and above once you reach the open terrace level where the tables face the twinkling city lights.
The restaurant specializes in North Indian, Continental, Sea Food and Chinese. We started with soup, which thankfully we had the foresight to ask for a one by two share considering the quantities. The sweet corn soup tasted way too sweet and had a pasty taste that was anything but appetizing. The chilly Manchow soup is for you if you like it spicy. Although this too could have lesser corn flour.
For starters, we tried the Paneer Chutneywala, which was basically a concoction of cottage cheese cubes marinated in spices and put through the tandoor. Borders on the spicy side, so be careful if you are not a fan. The Tandoori Mushrooms were a sore disappointment. They were not properly marinated and were tasteless except for a sweet sauce which did nothing to enhance the flavor. Also, this starter had way too much raw onion chopped into it, which again did not complement the mushrooms or the sauce.
Main course was the standard run of the meal Paneer tikka masala which was so unremarkable; I actually have no recollection of the precise flavors. It just looked red and tasted of tomato puree and onions.
The Three treasure veg fared better in the taste department. The vegetables had their own distinct flavors even in the same gravy. We coupled this with butter roti and Kulcha, both of which were prepared well.
The steamed rice was not well cooked and was hard as a result while the dal fry was passable.
The service is decent, but slow, so make sure you place your main course order along with the starters or soup.
The ambiance is the only saving grace, although they have a long way to go in the furnishing and decor department even though the restaurant is essentially open air. They can definitely do away with the dhaba type feel it evokes.
Not a very good experience on an overall basis and I would certainly not recommend it if exotic food rich in tastes is what you are looking for in the vegetarian food section. That is strictly mediocre. You can visit it just for the ambiance and the view.
Verdict: You can easily give it a miss.
Rating: 2/5
Address: Plot 45/44, Kothrud, Chandani Chowk, Pune
Photo courtesy: Trip Advisor
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