Desi Feels & Dhaba-Style Food: We Love Pune's Newest Eatery

Homesick North Indians, here’s a good news to end the week with. Delhi’s popular restaurant, Dhaba Estd. 1986 has finally opened its door in Pune at The Pavillion on SB Road, and here’s the first look of the place.

Carrying forward a legacy of three long decades across cities including Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad, Dhaba opens its 10th outpost at The Pavillion8 and we quite literally loved everything about it – the vibrant decor, highway special menu, courteous staff and more.

The ambience is a beautiful balance of retro and spunk. The walls have an eclectic collection of vintage collages and monochrome Bollywood posters along with colourful folksy artwork. The al fresco area, though, is the biggest highlight of Dhaba and is designed to look like an akhaada or a wrestler’s den as seen in the villages of North India.

The food menu, on the other hand, is curated by chef Ravi Saxena and is inspired by roadside food kiosks on highways and lesser-known towns around country. In fact, we hear some of the dishes like tandoori bhune aloo, paneer tikka, mutton tak-a-tak and galouti kebab have been big hitters since 1986. Must-try their chicken kolhapuri and Rajasthani dhoongar lal maas with Dhaba’s mouthwatering egg biryani. End this feast on a sweet note with either badaam halwa or their delectable kesari phirni.

Tag the gang and go to Dhaba for a full-blown North Indian fare over the weekends.