Fishing in Pune - Coconut Grove, Near Camp

Yes, so I know I've been talking about Bombay for the longest time. I reluctantly need to switch cities now; under duress, I will state.
So not too far from Bombay, we have Pune. It's not half bad. Food-wise, in fact, I'd say it's pretty good. A little more varied than Bombay. And there have been some gems that I have found here...

The first, in random order, of course, is this place very near the Pune Railway Station. It's in a tiny, slightly sidey-looking corner, just as the road turns off towards the station. Every visit since childhood that I have made to Pune, I have seen the green sign towering above the trees "Coconut Grove" and I have been dying to see what exactly you get here.

I managed to go very recently, and I was pleasantly surprised. It's quite the amazing little discovery.
A warning, though. This is not the place for vegetarians. Honestly, if you can't eat chicken, mutton and fish, then don't bother going to Coconut Grove. I'm sure the vegetarian food is good too, but really...

Anyway. You get here some fantastic Indian coastal cuisine. Goan, Keralite, Andhra, and Maharashtrian; or some mix thereof. Another warning, at this juncture: When they say 'spicy' in the description, I'd suggest you take their word. Order something mild. And I mean MILD; because if you aren't a spice-eater, then you're in severe trouble, if you don't.

So... Order anything sukka... Prawn, clam, mutton... I've had them and they're unequalled by anything I've tasted. Order any seafood, and it'll be good. We had the bombil fry twice and it was amazing both times; melt-in-the-mouth stuff, that bombil...

The stew was good as well. Too mild for me, but I loved what others needed two glasses of water to swallow... The stew is well spiced, mild, full of that wonderful stew-taste, and pretty great with appams. Yes. Appams. And neer dosa. Fantastic stuff. Order one at a time, and ask them for another the second you get the first. This ensures that your food doesn't get cold and your appams won't sit on your plate, waiting for you to eat the first.

The meat is all very nicely spiced and cooked. There is just the right amount of coconut and gravy on every dish, the service is friendly and prompt and the ambience is homely and comforting.

I suggest you have the sol kadhi as well, it's refreshing and goes well with all the food.

Another suggestion is that you stick to the Indian food and not divert to other cuisines. Not because I doubt the quality, but because the coastal fare is too good to be side-tracked for anything else.

A definite win in  my book, I'm recommending this to everyone I meet. Give it a shot, if you're in the area. The prices are great as well. You won't regret it.

UNIVERSAL-ly Applicable - Cafe Universal, Near CST

Talk about hard-to-reach, this eatery is like the mythical end of the rainbow. It's mentioned all over the place, but ask for directions, and it's the vaguest place in the world.
Look at how I've begun this post for one... Do we know what this place is even called, yet?

Cafe Universal.

It's a very cute little building, reminiscent of Goan shacks, all yellow walls and ornate grilles on the outside. The doors are wooden, the insides cheerfully decorated with wine and beer bottles. There are large benches in the middle of the room, and tables and chairs on either side. There's a bar at the opposite end of the room from the front entrance.

But where is it?

An easy way to get there is to get into a cab and say "RBI". Because just a little beyond the Beserve Bank of India, there is a road that forks towards Chattrapati Shivaji Terminus. You stop there and take the other road. Cafe Universal is right there on the corner.

Once you've reached this mythical place, and make sure it isn't a Sunday morning, or you'll find it closed, you enter and sit.

The menu is extensive. You'll find Chinese, Indian, Continental, and vast varieties thereof. Last I visited, it was pretty nicely within budget, but with the nice big jumps we've been having in prices, I cannot guarantee anything any more. Either way, the food is pretty good. They don't skimp on quantity, nor quality.
Whenever I went, I'd invariably settle on the steak and onions. It was a plate of beef and onions. And flavourful from the first bite right through. Another favourite, if you were sharing with someone, was the OMG. This is a ginormous beef-burger. I kid you not, it's a big burger. I've shared it every single time I ate it. Also, it's one of the more expensive items on the menu. But then, sharing always made it better.
Other than this, there are delicious sizzlers and sandwiches and everything is well-made and tasty.

One warning, though, make time for Universal. Because while sometimes you get everything in good time, there will be at least one time when you will luck out and get the REALLY slow waiter. In which case, there is literally nothing you can do but wait it out.

If you go during the evenings, you get to see quite a large number of foreigners sitting around enjoying their beer and whatnot. You can also see the usual Indian con-artists out for a quick buck or some such. This isn't half bad a place for birdwatching either, if you catch my drift. Better, both price-wise and ambience-wise, than Leopold or Mondegar, this little cafe gets a lot of college clientèle as well. It's not a bad little place to go to.

There was a time when I would have vouched for Universal in no uncertain terms, but since I haven't been there in a long time, I'll play it safe and only recommend.

A year ago, it was value for money. The food was phenomenal, the money I needed to pay for it was peanuts, and the ambience and company were always fantastic.

I sincerely hope it's still the same. It would be a shame to lose such a good memory to reality.