Pune’s newest, picture-perfect Kynd Café & Bar serves a delectable vegetarian European-Oriental fare
Pune’s newest, picture-perfect Kynd Café & Bar serves a delectable vegetarian European-Oriental fare
Located in a quiet, narrow lane in the bustling neighborhood of the Koregaon Park annex is a new entrant in Pune’s food scene; Kynd Café & Bar. The café opened its doors in November 2020 and has quickly become a hot favourite for sit-down meals during the week and a raging party scene on weekends. Serving a pure-vegetarian European-Oriental fare, Kynd Café is the brainchild of fashion designer and entrepreneur Eshieta Deoskar. She is backed by Vaishali Sanghvi and Vishal Karia of Colossal Hospitality Pvt Ltd. The cafe also has Eshieta’s fashion boutique Naap on its premises.
Kynd Café Pune
I visited the café for lunch on a Wednesday afternoon, and it was abuzz with young 20-somethings enjoying the vibe of the place. From the moment my companion and I stepped into the cafe, we were engulfed by an otherworldly feeling. Muted blue and onion pink furniture with golden accents cover the entire area of the café. What caught my eye was a big tree right in the midst of the cafe. I am glad that they didn’t cut it but instead decorated it and made it a part of the interiors.
Another hip area in the cafe is its bar. It is coloured in aqua and gold accents and stocks a boast-worthy collection of the finest spirits such as Ciroc, Jack Daniel and Bombay Sapphire. It also stocks gourmet herbal cigarettes by the homegrown brand Maruk.
Kynd Café Pune
A huge Giraffe with quirky lights branching out adds the perfect dose of drama to the space and makes for a great photo-op. My personal favourite, however, were the mirrored arches with gold accents along the wall, with beautiful floral arrangements that truly uplifted the place. These were inspired by Eshieta’s many travels across the globe and surely make for an Instagram-worthy shot.
Galactic G&T
A pure-vegetarian European and Oriental menu awaits you, along with a dedicated all-day breakfast section. At Kynd, Eshieta wanted to serve lip-smacking vegetarian food, to prove that meatless dishes can be delicious too. My date and I started our meal with a Galactic G&T, a gin-based concoction with elder-flower, blueberries, and mint leaves. The refreshing punch it offered was deliciously addictive. They also have delicious mocktails and freshly squeezed juices for those on a detox.
Turnip Cake
Spicy Sushi Roll
For the small plates, we started with Cigar Rolls; spinach, rice and sundried tomatoes were rolled to perfection and served with a delicious spinach dip. The Turnip Cakes disappointed and bordered on the line of Indo-Chinese Manchurian. The Bok Choy dim sums, best enjoyed with a dash of chilly oil came highly recommended, and were nearly translucent, with a melt-in-your-mouth consistency. For Sushi, we ordered the Spicy Sushi Roll, which got the crisp factor right with the tempura flakes and hit the right note of spicy.
The Kynd Pizza
Spinach Ricotta Ravioli
Next in line was the Burrito Wrap, a perfect option for less experimental eaters. We also ordered two pizzas, the Kynd pizza with caramelized onions and jalapenos that hit the right balance between sweet and spicy. However, it was the Truffle Cheese pizza from the special truffle section of the menu that truly stole the show. Being a truffle aficionado, this pizza overshadowed all other dishes for me. We chose to accompany our pizzas with Spinach Ricotta Ravioli, cooked to perfection and served with a creamy tomato emulsion.
Baked Biscoff Cheesecake
