My brother and his family were visiting, and I wanted
to take them out to lunch. When I asked them their choice of cuisine, they opted for seafood and I immediately homed in on Fresh Off The Boat. (I had been to
FOTB a few months earlier hence am combining two visits in the same write up.)
As we had made prior reservation, in spite of being a
busy Sunday afternoon, we were led to our table without any delay. As it was a
hot summer day, we immediately ordered glasses of refreshing Sol Kadi. I’ve had
Sol Kadi and many places and pretty good ones at that, but I have to say, the
Sol Kadi at FOTB figures among the best!
The starters we ordered were Tisryacha Sukka (1),
Prawn Rawa Fry (2), Surmai Fry (3), Bombil Rawa Fry (1) and Neer Dosa (3).
The Tisrya were very well made. The sukka masala was
delish and paired well with the Neer Dosa.
I could find no fault with the Prawn
Rawa Fry, Surmai Rawa Fry Bombil Rawa Fry and Bombil Koliwada.
The fish and the
prawns were perfectly cooked; neither was overcooked or rubbery. Instead of the
jumbo size we ordered the regular sized Surmai and that size was not bad at
all. The pieces were quite large.
As for the Bombil, while both styles were marinated and cooked well, what I liked best about them was that FOTB hadn’t
used huge bombils which are terrible to eat as they tend to have those fine
bones which give an ‘urgh’ feeling to one’s palate. These babies were small to medium
size; absolutely perfect!
While we went on to order mains, my little nephew
decided to order a Sizzling Brownie. We also ordered a Sprite and Thums Up for
ourselves. The Sizzling Brownie, however, was nothing to write home about. It
was very average. The quality of brownie and chocolate used could have been
better.
For mains we ordered, Crab Kheema (1), Prawns Ambitik
(1+½) and Indrayani Rice (2).
Crab Kheema was the only dish that did not wow me.
There was simply too much masala. It totally overpowered the taste of the crab. They need to tone down the spice factor so as to allow the crab’s sweet flavour to shine through.
The Prawn Ambotik (with added triphal – happy sigh!)
and the ghee laden Indrayani Rice, blew me away.
The Prawn Ambotik did not feel
spicy at the first two morsels but the tirphal and the spices slowly reared
their head and we soon found ourselves wiping our brows. What a perfect
curry-rice combo this turned out to be! If you like tirphal based spicy curries
please, please do not miss out on this! You can thank me later. 😉
We ended our meal with a yummy Malai Kulfi. It was a simple, no-frills kulfi but no
complaints there.
As I paid the bill, I came to realize this was one
place in Pune that truly served good seafood. I say this because I have been to
FOTB earlier. At that time we had ordered Baby Lobster (cover pic), Fried Pomfret, Chicken Lollipops,
Bombil Rawa Fry, Sukha Chicken Kerala Style.
I remember everything served being excellent. Had there been something amiss, I for one, would have surely remembered. *evil grin* Plus, I have photographs of that visit which I shall post along with the pics taken this time. 😊
I remember everything served being excellent. Had there been something amiss, I for one, would have surely remembered. *evil grin* Plus, I have photographs of that visit which I shall post along with the pics taken this time. 😊
The owner/partner, Akshita, and another lady (I did
not get her name) are always around to ensure each guest gets precisely what
they ask for. The seafood served at FOTB is fresh, their chef knows his/her job
really well, their service is good and their ACs works well in the summer heat
(a big plus for that). Can’t ask for more than that, eh?
I do not recollect the amount I paid at the first
visit, but the amount billed this time was INR 5406. I used a food discount
card and that gave me a 15% off on my entire bill. The final amount paid was
INR 4825.00. As they levy no service charge, I decided on a 10% tip as the
service was good.
If you haven’t been to FOTB I suggest you do so
immediately. It’s truly an amazing place to visit if you love seafood as much
as I do. Believe you me, you won’t regret it!
Thank you Akshita and Team FOTB for the deliciousness
you serve.
Food: 4.5/5 (Zomato does not have a 4.5 tab hence rated FOTB as 4/5 on their website)
Ambiance: 4/5
Service: 4/5
Address: Shop No 2, Upper Ground Floor, Kedar Empire, Karve Road, Paud Phata, Erandwane, Pune
Tel: 020 71967150
Address: Shop No 2, Upper Ground Floor, Kedar Empire, Karve Road, Paud Phata, Erandwane, Pune
Tel: 020 71967150
A few more photographs from this visit and the one before that...
Caught in the act.... :) |
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