Country Roads Cafe is beautiful and cosy, with loads of character. Comfy sofas, bright warm lighting, loads of wall hangings, quotes, a huge world map and most importantly, a colourful painting of their golden retriever, Bruno. Whom you can meet at the cafe, if he's not asleep! The outside seating though, is simple and unassuming. The place isn't luxurious, but a really nice place to be. The amazing music, classic rock and hits from my college days (which always helps) as well as the occasional live music, just adding a whole lot in the 'feel' of the place.
The food is simple and non-pretentious, with something for everybody. This place is perfect for college kids and youngsters, but the young at heart will enjoy this place as well. There is a mix of Indian, a bit of Indo-Chinese, pizzas, pasta and range of shakes, teas and coffees. The food isn't super refined or exclusive, but very simple typical food we all crave once in a while. Given the pricing, it's pretty much perfect.
Drinks - We tried the Chocolate Chip Shake and Kesar-Badam Frappe which were so good. Creamy, frothy and tasty. The Pineapple juice was refreshing but we were intrigued by a coffee called 'Turkish Delight'. But it was neither the Turkish candy, not the strong black Turkish Coffee. It was more like instant coffee with loads of drinking chocolate. People who like instant coffee will enjoy this, but the name is confusing.
Snacks:
Veg Crostini Sandwich - An amazing open sandwich full of cheese, bell peppers, jalapenos. Basically like a pizza sandwich. Good.
Olio Veg Exotica Pizza - Quite good. The base, in-house-made, was a bit hard and thick. If it was thinner I think it would have been great. The toppings were were full of videos vegetables, topped with loads of cheese. But there was like a spiced mayo as well, which didn't taste that great and no tomato sauce was in sight. This was like a very typical college cafe pizza, enjoyable, but not exceptional.
Pink Pasta - Simple as that! Penne in a typical pink sauce, with loads of vegetables and herbs, so it had loads of flavour. Nothing authentic, but cheesy, creamy, tasty and satisfying.
Chicken Shawarma - This wasn't that good. The chicken wasn't flavourful nor smokey and it was just mixed with mayo and vegetables inside a Khaboos. It was more like a Chicken Mayo wrap. This needs work, especially considering the massive competition for excellent shawarma's in the area.
Non-Veg Starters:
Tunday Kabab was a surprise and were really good! They weren't super authentic, I think (I haven't had the original so I don't know), but the flavour was amazing, they were soft on the inside and slightly crispy on the outside with mild spices and great texture. They tasted great with the naan. Ketchup on the side was a bit disappointing, would have loved some minty green chutney.
Chicken Malai Kebab - Classic, creamy, subtle and smokey, topped with cheese. Not the juiciest, but nice, and the accompanying sweet raita was great too.
Mains- The Indian mains blew us away.
Butter Chicken - amazing, this. Not sweet, rich gravy, buttery with a great flavour of whole spices. I would rate this as one of the better Butter Chicken's of Pune.
Mughlai Paneer - Another smash hit. Mildly spiced onion based gravy full of garam masala and richness of cream and butter. Soul-satisfying curry.
Dessert:
The Sizzling Brownie with ice cream was quite nice. The Shahi Tukda does need some work. It was served at room temperature and just lacked flavour. It had all the elements in theory but somehow just didn't taste great.
Verdict:
I think despite its flaws, Country Roads is an excellent cafe and restaurant to hang out. The food is simple and typical cafe fare, but tasty and satisfying to have. Indian food is just incredible. The pricing especially, makes it worth it. It is the perfect spot of college-goers, youngsters and, like I've said, young at heart! Service does need work, as they are understaffed and it was quite slow. It is one of those places that in spite of having shortcomings, you still like a lot and enjoy.
The food is simple and non-pretentious, with something for everybody. This place is perfect for college kids and youngsters, but the young at heart will enjoy this place as well. There is a mix of Indian, a bit of Indo-Chinese, pizzas, pasta and range of shakes, teas and coffees. The food isn't super refined or exclusive, but very simple typical food we all crave once in a while. Given the pricing, it's pretty much perfect.
Drinks - We tried the Chocolate Chip Shake and Kesar-Badam Frappe which were so good. Creamy, frothy and tasty. The Pineapple juice was refreshing but we were intrigued by a coffee called 'Turkish Delight'. But it was neither the Turkish candy, not the strong black Turkish Coffee. It was more like instant coffee with loads of drinking chocolate. People who like instant coffee will enjoy this, but the name is confusing.
Snacks:
Veg Crostini Sandwich - An amazing open sandwich full of cheese, bell peppers, jalapenos. Basically like a pizza sandwich. Good.
Olio Veg Exotica Pizza - Quite good. The base, in-house-made, was a bit hard and thick. If it was thinner I think it would have been great. The toppings were were full of videos vegetables, topped with loads of cheese. But there was like a spiced mayo as well, which didn't taste that great and no tomato sauce was in sight. This was like a very typical college cafe pizza, enjoyable, but not exceptional.
Pink Pasta - Simple as that! Penne in a typical pink sauce, with loads of vegetables and herbs, so it had loads of flavour. Nothing authentic, but cheesy, creamy, tasty and satisfying.
Chicken Shawarma - This wasn't that good. The chicken wasn't flavourful nor smokey and it was just mixed with mayo and vegetables inside a Khaboos. It was more like a Chicken Mayo wrap. This needs work, especially considering the massive competition for excellent shawarma's in the area.
Non-Veg Starters:
Tunday Kabab was a surprise and were really good! They weren't super authentic, I think (I haven't had the original so I don't know), but the flavour was amazing, they were soft on the inside and slightly crispy on the outside with mild spices and great texture. They tasted great with the naan. Ketchup on the side was a bit disappointing, would have loved some minty green chutney.
Chicken Malai Kebab - Classic, creamy, subtle and smokey, topped with cheese. Not the juiciest, but nice, and the accompanying sweet raita was great too.
Mains- The Indian mains blew us away.
Butter Chicken - amazing, this. Not sweet, rich gravy, buttery with a great flavour of whole spices. I would rate this as one of the better Butter Chicken's of Pune.
Mughlai Paneer - Another smash hit. Mildly spiced onion based gravy full of garam masala and richness of cream and butter. Soul-satisfying curry.
Dessert:
The Sizzling Brownie with ice cream was quite nice. The Shahi Tukda does need some work. It was served at room temperature and just lacked flavour. It had all the elements in theory but somehow just didn't taste great.
Verdict:
I think despite its flaws, Country Roads is an excellent cafe and restaurant to hang out. The food is simple and typical cafe fare, but tasty and satisfying to have. Indian food is just incredible. The pricing especially, makes it worth it. It is the perfect spot of college-goers, youngsters and, like I've said, young at heart! Service does need work, as they are understaffed and it was quite slow. It is one of those places that in spite of having shortcomings, you still like a lot and enjoy.
