IBC needs no introduction. Crazy awesome craft beers and pretty amazing food and desserts have always been a staple here. But not stopping at that, they always try to push the envelope and try and introduce new dishes and concepts every few days. They're launching a new unified menu across all their branches and I visited them for a trial of their new dishes. Some successful, some not, but overall great additions to the already great quality of food.
Salads- Unlikely companions for beer usually but some blokes, like me, enjoy a salad once in a while. Not for health reasons, of course, obvious by my general rotundness, but for the taste and their refreshing nature.
The Quinoa Salad was refreshing, crunchy, tangy and perfect. Loads of vegetables like bell peppers, cucumber, lettuce topped with raisins, nuts and pomegranate. Wonderful flavours and combination of taste and textures.
The Grilled Chicken and Pineapple Salad were quite nice too. A bit more of a hit of mustard and a consistent tossing of the sauce across the salad would have helped. But, on the whole, pretty nice.
Appetizers-
Chicken Pops are the perfect beer accompaniment. Crunchy, spicy, deep-fried mini chicken nuggets. Some may find it too spicy, but most will love this.
Independence BBQ WIngs were nice tangy, spicy, and a hint of mustard. Juicy too and they're are not sweet, so great balance of flavours. The size of wings / general quantity, was slightly less for me, though.
Falafel & Hummus Platter was classic and hearty. The hummus, though, was a bit grainy and too tangy for me. It needed to be much creamier and silkier. But the salad, pita bread and pickled vegetables were amazing.
The Sichuan Cauliflower and Smoked Veg Samosas were a bit of the disaster. The former being too oily, not crispy enough and the latter devoid of any flavour or salt, while being overpowered by smokiness. Thai Chicken Meatballs too wasn't great. The meatballs need more flavour and the sauce was very spicy and tangy. It needed more balance and more Thai flavours of lemongrass, kaffir lime etc.
Pizza - The Street Style Pizza was fantastic. Typical, capsicum, onion and tomatoes with Amul cheese and ketchup. Very moreish and nostalgic. The Spicy Charred Pizza, unfortunately, did not impress me too much. The tandoori chicken was great but it did not go well with the sauce and felt dry, in general. It needs a better balance of flavours and more sauce and cheese.
Mains:
Mac & Cheese was an absolute winner. Creamy, cheesy, with loads of mushroom and vegetables. Only thing was, it was topped with coriander (as was every other dish) which was funny. We were told they put that instead of Parsley by mistake. Overall though, great dish, really comforting and hearty.
Coorgi Chicken Curry, delicious coriander based homely green curry. Was perfect with the accompanying soft dosas. But a bolder hit of Black Pepper and curry leaf would have upped the flavour quotient. The chicken legs were fantastically cooked, succulent and just falling off the bone.
Chicken Tikka Biryani was incredible! Super flavourful, amazingly spiced and the chicken tikka was juicy and delicious. Hands down the best of the bunch.
Malai Kofta - Beautifully subtle creamy gravy fragrant with whole spices, cardamom and cinnamon, and creamy and crisp koftas, stuffed full of paneer and vegetables. No unnecessary sweetness and a heartwarming curry.
Mutton Kheema - Really delicious kheema with a bold and well-spiced masala, topped with a half fried egg. The accompanying in-house bread was soft and perfect to scoop up the kheema.
Desserts:
The Dark Chocolate Mousse was incredible as always. I've had it before and was stunned by it all over again. Creamy, intense, unsweetened dark chocolate, literally puts your brain in ecstasy.
The Coconut Panna Cotta is a really interesting dessert. Creamy panna cotta with an Asian inspired sauce, with kaffir lime, lemongrass, a hint of red chilli and pineapple. Unfortunately, this one was not as great as last time. Panna Cotta was too dense, and the sauce too was too thick and lacked the flavour, it had when I first had it. It's an amazing dessert, but consistency is key.
Verdict:
Overall still a pretty nice selection of food. But I do hope they improve on the dishes that didn't work and improve on consistency of older dishes. Overall, still one of the best Breweries in Pune for kickass beers and really good food.
Salads- Unlikely companions for beer usually but some blokes, like me, enjoy a salad once in a while. Not for health reasons, of course, obvious by my general rotundness, but for the taste and their refreshing nature.
The Quinoa Salad was refreshing, crunchy, tangy and perfect. Loads of vegetables like bell peppers, cucumber, lettuce topped with raisins, nuts and pomegranate. Wonderful flavours and combination of taste and textures.
The Grilled Chicken and Pineapple Salad were quite nice too. A bit more of a hit of mustard and a consistent tossing of the sauce across the salad would have helped. But, on the whole, pretty nice.
Appetizers-
Chicken Pops are the perfect beer accompaniment. Crunchy, spicy, deep-fried mini chicken nuggets. Some may find it too spicy, but most will love this.
Independence BBQ WIngs were nice tangy, spicy, and a hint of mustard. Juicy too and they're are not sweet, so great balance of flavours. The size of wings / general quantity, was slightly less for me, though.
Falafel & Hummus Platter was classic and hearty. The hummus, though, was a bit grainy and too tangy for me. It needed to be much creamier and silkier. But the salad, pita bread and pickled vegetables were amazing.
The Sichuan Cauliflower and Smoked Veg Samosas were a bit of the disaster. The former being too oily, not crispy enough and the latter devoid of any flavour or salt, while being overpowered by smokiness. Thai Chicken Meatballs too wasn't great. The meatballs need more flavour and the sauce was very spicy and tangy. It needed more balance and more Thai flavours of lemongrass, kaffir lime etc.
Pizza - The Street Style Pizza was fantastic. Typical, capsicum, onion and tomatoes with Amul cheese and ketchup. Very moreish and nostalgic. The Spicy Charred Pizza, unfortunately, did not impress me too much. The tandoori chicken was great but it did not go well with the sauce and felt dry, in general. It needs a better balance of flavours and more sauce and cheese.
Mains:
Mac & Cheese was an absolute winner. Creamy, cheesy, with loads of mushroom and vegetables. Only thing was, it was topped with coriander (as was every other dish) which was funny. We were told they put that instead of Parsley by mistake. Overall though, great dish, really comforting and hearty.
Coorgi Chicken Curry, delicious coriander based homely green curry. Was perfect with the accompanying soft dosas. But a bolder hit of Black Pepper and curry leaf would have upped the flavour quotient. The chicken legs were fantastically cooked, succulent and just falling off the bone.
Chicken Tikka Biryani was incredible! Super flavourful, amazingly spiced and the chicken tikka was juicy and delicious. Hands down the best of the bunch.
Malai Kofta - Beautifully subtle creamy gravy fragrant with whole spices, cardamom and cinnamon, and creamy and crisp koftas, stuffed full of paneer and vegetables. No unnecessary sweetness and a heartwarming curry.
Mutton Kheema - Really delicious kheema with a bold and well-spiced masala, topped with a half fried egg. The accompanying in-house bread was soft and perfect to scoop up the kheema.
Desserts:
The Dark Chocolate Mousse was incredible as always. I've had it before and was stunned by it all over again. Creamy, intense, unsweetened dark chocolate, literally puts your brain in ecstasy.
The Coconut Panna Cotta is a really interesting dessert. Creamy panna cotta with an Asian inspired sauce, with kaffir lime, lemongrass, a hint of red chilli and pineapple. Unfortunately, this one was not as great as last time. Panna Cotta was too dense, and the sauce too was too thick and lacked the flavour, it had when I first had it. It's an amazing dessert, but consistency is key.
Verdict:
Overall still a pretty nice selection of food. But I do hope they improve on the dishes that didn't work and improve on consistency of older dishes. Overall, still one of the best Breweries in Pune for kickass beers and really good food.