A friend was in Pune and asked if we could meet over the weekend. After going to & fro on a place, we finally zeroed in on Elephant & Co, in Kalyani Nagar. I had heard of the place, seen their outlet in Baner and was quite excited to head out.
The amazing thing about Pune is that outdoor seating is available at almost all places and is a pleasure sitting outside. Coming from Chennai, it is such a relief to sit outside and not be sweating buckets. The very 1st time we went out and sat outdoors, I was stumped. Coming back to Elephant & Co, we also sat outdoors, with a cover and fans across the space. Oh, and did I mention the place is pet friendly? Yes, there is a pup that lives there, wanders about getting pets from people and happily finds a corner to snooze in..
The place is quite big, they also have an indoor seating area, but hey when the weather is so pleasant, why sit inside in the AC, right?.. We kicked off the afternoon with a round of cocktails, recommended by a staff member. I opted for the Watermelon High ( Short story gin, amaro, watermelon & strawberry juices) while my friend chose another Gin-based drink without berries. The drinks were beautiful, to look at and drink. The glasses were different, the ice cubes were unique and the flavours were rich. We also ordered 2 starters, one potato-based & other was the lotus stem, Chinese style… For the next round of drinks, we chose different ones – I went for the Forbidden Fruit (Apple, walnut, bourbon, caramel, vermouth, lime acid, Kraken spiced rum float) which was served with a small chocolate on top! Once again, presentation & taste were the highlight of the drinks.
For the main, we ordered rice with Vegetable Gochujang [ served with sticky rice], which was alright. I didn’t enjoy it too much for the sauce was too intense and felt like a lot of Soya sauce. And finally, to round up the meal, we opted for a dessert, which was quite sinful – a Flourless Chocolate cake served with vanilla ice cream. The entire meal worked out to close to 4k [2k per person]
Before we knew it, we had been there not 2 or 3, but nearly 4.5 hours. Time sure flies when you are catching up with a friend… What a fun afternoon that was~ Got back home feeling good and happy.
Address:
Elephant & Co
D 10, Central Ave, opp. Gaurishankar Kalyani Bungalow,
Nilanjali Society, Kalyani Nagar
[They also have an outlet in Baner]
