Despite the rain Gods being quite merciless this year, we were lucky, it was a nice sunny afternoon when the five of us (not famous though) headed for lunch to Kargo. Kargo has been open a few months now and we had been told that certain dishes on the menu, are a ‘must-try’.
I made
reservations a day prior and informed the chappie taking the reservation that
we were specially coming in to try the dishes our friends had recommended to
us. I also, specifically mentioned the desserts we wanted to try and requested
that they be made available to us for our upcoming visit the next afternoon. He
said he would ensure the desserts would be available.
As we
reached the venue and plonked our butts down, the first thing I said to the
reservation in-charge was, ‘We are so looking forward to trying all the
desserts.’ He sheepishly informed us that only two of the desserts were
available that afternoon. Specifically the one we all wanted to try was not
available! This is a perfect instance where the Bawi in me feels not just angry
but enraged. I kept my cool, though, and politely reminded him that I had specifically
requested these desserts while making our reservation and had been assured that
they would be made available. Even though we were already seated, I told him to
cancel our reservation if they could not make the desserts available to us. We
decided we’d come back another time when they were. He requested for a time-out
to consult with the chef. When he returned, he informed us that the desserts
would be served to us within two hours. We knew we would be sitting around for
a leisurely lunch hence told him to make sure each any every dessert on the
menu was available as we wanted to try all of them. He said it would be done
and we all sat back with satisfied smiles.
We ordered a few mocktails: Virgin Mojito, Iced Tea and Fresh Lime Soda. We also ordered a Martini. Except for the Martini (I’m a teetotaller), I tried a sip from
all the drinks and they were all refreshing and well made but the clear winner
of the day was, Iced Tea.
For
starters we ordered Potato Wedges, Onion Rings, Lamb Yassa Naanza and Piquant
Chicken Naanza.
A Naanza is an Indian Naan (flat bread) topped with cheese,
vegetables and meats, very similar to a pizza. The only difference is that the
toppings are on a Naan instead of a Pizza Bread. The wedges were nicely done as
were the onion rings but what blew us away were the Naanzas.
The Piquant
Chicken was very good but the Lamb Yassa was BEYOND EXCELLENT! I could live on
that Naanza for an eternity and not get bored of it. Slow braised lamb, robustly
flavourful and topped with an obscene (in the most wonderful kind of way)
amount of cheese; how can anything be wrong with something like that?
As one
of our friends is a vegetarian she ordered for a Corn-Pepper Naanza and Chili
Lime Corn Wheel. I took a bite from each dish and the vegetarian Naanza was
also well made. The Chili Lime Corn Wheels were slices of sweet golden corn,
smeared with chilli and lime and topped with a wee bit of green chutney. Simple
but nice!
We
decided to try a soup and opted for the Potato & Leek Soup. I make a richer
version of Potato & Leek at home; hence this one, to me, merely bordered on
good.
For the
main course we ordered Smoked Roasted Garlic Chicken Tatter and Squid Chilli
FryTatter.
Both were dishes were delicious but because of my love for spicy seafood,
the squid, for me, was the clear winner. Not only was the squid spicy but it
was cooked to perfection. Most of the gals at the table found it too spicy but
I loved it!
I
checked out the menu card and happened to see Galouti Kebabs mentioned therein.
The carnivore in me just could not resist them. Galouti Kebabs are supposed to
be kebabs made from mutton that isn’t just finely minced but ground to a point to
which one simply does not have to chew on the kebab. A perfect Galouti kebab should
not retain any bite and just melts on the tongue. Unfortunately this one was
not a perfect Galouti! The flavour was not bad, I will grant them that, but the
texture was off by quite a measure. In fact, to illustrate the ‘not so
melt-in-the-mouth’ mince from within, I clicked a photograph of the same.
Our vegetarian friend
chose Buttered Paneer (In simple Indian lingo, Paneer Makhanwalla) as main
course for herself. They served the Buttered Paneer with Naan and though we
requested for butter Naan they sent us plain Naan. Greedy souls that we are, we
sent it back to be buttered. The Buttered Paneer was on the sweet side which we
felt was a slight letdown (Yes, of course, I tasted it, how else could I write
the review? ;) )
For
desserts our selections were Dark Chocolate and Orange Fondant, Caramel Baked
Cheese Cake, Opera, Cream Cheese Muffin and Paan-Gulkand Ice cream.
The
desserts that everyone had been raving about so much were all good but not exceptional.
Tastes and preferences differ so I will not elaborate any more on this. We also
wanted to try the Mango & Lime Panacotta but were told it would take more
than two hours to set. By then we had been at the restaurant for over 3 hours
so I wonder how they could have given us that reply in spite of having informed
them about wanting to try all desserts. Anyway... sigh!
I deem
the service of Kargo as average, firstly because of the dessert issue. In spite
of being informed a day ahead, they still weren’t prepped to deliver the
desserts. It was only when we told them we’d walk out and change our lunch
venue that they pulled up their socks. The other reason I deem the service as
average is instead of paying attention to the patrons trying to catch their
eye, many a times the servers stood at the far end of the corner gabbing among
themselves.
All in
all it was not a bad afternoon at all because of the crazy gals I was with. As
for the food, some dishes were a hit and some were misses. There are certain
dishes that will definitely have me stroll into Kargo again, namely: Lamb Yassa
Naanza, Potato Wedges and Squid Tatter. I think these are solid reasons to go
back. As for the service, it would be nice if the servers get more attentive.
Also, a few who take food orders could be requested to do so with a smile or,
at least, return the smile when a patron is polite enough to do so. Sigh!
Food:
3/5 (A 5/5 for that Lamb Yassa Naanza)
Service:
2.5/5
Ambiance:
3/5
Address:
Shop No 1 & 2, Marvel Alaina, Lane 8, Near Godrej Nature’s Basket, Koregaon
Park, Pune
Tel:
+91 9503090435 / +91 7757050199
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