Hop in to Hop-In – It’s Good!

This was my first time at Hop-In, the newly opened restaurant at Kalyani Nagar (they were located at Viman Nagar earlier). The invite for a tasting was extended to me via Team #FoodProwl. Hop-In is a cute, quaintly decorated restaurant. They have board games and Jenga available for their patrons which clearly indicates that they would be happy to have customers enjoy their meal and leisurely hang around for a while.

They served us a variety of mocktails at the tasting event. I did not like the flavour of a couple of them but most were well made. The one I liked best was the one that was quite similar to the fresh lime soda (I am unable to recollect the name). At the time, when we visited them, they hadn’t received their liquor license but they have now acquired one hence cocktails are also being served. 

The appetizers they served us were Hop-In Fries, Dhokla Pakoda, Tandoori Lollypops, Jalapeno Poppers, Fish Fingers, Chicken Banjara Kebab, Chili Garlic Paneer, Black Pepper Prawns, Costal Fry Chicken, Hop-In Egg Surprise and Corn Cheese Potato Dumplings.

The Hop-in Fries were superb! The spice powder sprinkled on them took them to a new high. 

The chicken for the lollypops, the banjara kebab and the coastal fry was cooked perfectly and each was delicious in its own way. 

The Corn Cheese Potato Dumplings and the Jalapeno Poppers where cheesy and yum! 

The Fish Fingers too were very nicely done. 

The one starter, though, that completely blew me away was the Dhokla Pakoda. This baby is to be tried to be believed. We were so impressed with the flavour that we requested for more.

Most of the starters were very nicely made but two of them did not work for me. The Black Pepper Prawns had been cooked in a wine sauce that simply ruined the pepper-prawn combination. 

They had been frying starters for quite a while and the Hop In Egg Surprise was the last starter served. Perhaps that was the reason why the dish emanated the smell of over-used oil; kinda like the type you get when standing at a bhajiya or a batata wada stand. Ideally, after having fried so much food the chef should have replaced the oil with a fresh batch. Had he done that, the starter would have tasted quite nice.

They served us three tasty pizzas: Americian Barbeque Pizza, Arabic Spicy Pizza and the Cheese Garlic Olive Pizza. 

The American Barbeque was the best of the three. 

Our main course was a Khowsuey Curry, Kheema Pau and the Upside Down Bowl. I had a bite of each to give them a try and all three were flavourful and well made. 

The Kheema Pau was made with chicken mince and though I would have preferred it with mutton mince, it was the dish I liked best.

Hop-In serves bar bites. They have a large selection of starters and tandoori dishes (veg and non-veg), burgers, pizzas, mocktails, cocktails and a good variety of mains. They have yet to introduce desserts on their menu but we were told it would be done soon. All in all, this an excellent place to spend some fun time with friends and family. The vibe is warm, the servers are friendly and the food is good!

Address: Unit 1, Panache, Opposite Archway Society, Kalyani Nagar, Pune
Phone: 020 71967357

A few more photographs: