Cé La Vi Boho | Botany | Bar — Restaurant in Pune

Classic cooking and Molecular Gastronomy should remain separate. You can mix two styles and get fusion; any more and you get confusion – Alain Ducasse.

Orion Molecular Kitchen and Bar is a cosmic themed restaurant located in Baner. The place is done really well, I literally felt like a STAR!! The ceiling is the most interesting part of the entire property. It is Trippy. Well it’s not just Trippy but it also has “The flower of life” on it which is said to be the most important sacred symbol, as it represents the source of all that exists in the universe. It depicts the fundamental forms of space and time.

The cuisine is basically Modern Indian, Italian and fusion. The bar on the upper section is another attraction of this place. Their cocktails and mocktails are very different from what you’ll find in the market today.

So let’s see what all I had at Orion:

Guava Mary

Kitkat Shake

Cinematic

State from Bihar

Three Mushroom Soup, Crisp Air Dried – Two way cooked mushroom served with a crispy toast. The soup was nice and creamy and I think by now everyone knows I love mushrooms so much. So yes! A big YES for their mushroom soup. #SoulFood #SoupForTheSoul.

Country Style Maple Wings – These are another super hit at Orion. The wings are just perfect with a lovely coating on top of the wings and a very interesting dip which comes along with it. A very hatke dip which I haven’t eaten at any restaurant in Pune.

Indian Spiced Aranchini – Had the dal chaval aranchini?? Now time to try these. Well I would not explain what this is, instead will leave you with a picture and would suggest you to go and try it for yourself!

Lamb Cigars with Onion Ash – This should come with a warning, “Eat it the moment it arrives”. I am saying this because after sometime the cigars tend to become dry and the filling in it will not remain moist for long. In our case, we clicked 100 pictures ( at all possible angles) thus these were dry. And hey, the onion ash is again something very interesting. Never have I ever had it at any place in Pune.

Smoked Eggplant Fondue – By now everyone knows what a fondue is. I’ve had the cheese fondue and chocolate fondue in the past but who makes a fondue out of an eggplant?? At Orion these guys have nailed it. I mean for me cheese and chocolate fondue are on the top of my list anytime and this one is the new addition to my fondue list. Must try item when you visit this place.

Chicken Ravioli – Honestly, I have had really bad experiences when it comes to ravioli. Some were undercooked and sometimes the ravioli was too thick and it felt like I was eating just a ball of dough. The chicken ravioli here is just perfect! The covering is just the way it is supposed to be and the filling was toothsome. Perfecto!

Pumpkin Ravioli – Okay. I am not a person who likes pumpkins. Thus I’d give this a miss but then if you love pumpkins and ravioli then this is like a match made in heaven for you.

Dan Dan mein Veg – Madness!! I know the name is a little fancy but this dish is like a bowl of ramen. Loads of noodles which come with different condiments. For me this was the star of the show. I mean come on Rs.300 for a huge bowl of ramen is amazing.

Golden Fried Prawns – Again, crispy fried prawns until golden brown, drizzled with a tangy sauce and some foam for the drama. #MustTry.

Chicken Tikka Bao -The chicken tikka baos failed to impress me as the baos were dry and it needed a little more sauce or filling to it so that it becomes more moist and also easy to swallow.

Shahi Tukda – Not the regular shahi tukda, instead these were croutons which come with condensed milk and air dried flowers and flower petals. I quite liked the presentation and the dish was also decent.

Overall, Orion is the new sexy for amazing drinks and lip smacking food. The place is VFM. So will I visit Orion again?? Definitely!!

A big shoutout to Abhishek and Sagar for inviting me and being such amazing...

I always dreamt of having food under the stars and whole sky and as you know Pune is a hustling city there wasn’t a bit chance to.Then I got to know about Orion which has amazing yet magical ambience which give you the constellation feels right above you enjoy your food. Orion has tentalizing ambience right from the entrance and with spacious 2floor seating.The ceiling is covered with the sheet of printed galaxy orion and whole place is lit up with the attractive bulb lights.Being staff the most helpful in serving and prompt,food is served freshly and quantitative.It has parking space for cars and bikes as well. Talking about the food,

What I had on my table-

—Drinks— Kiwi blossom-A berry syrup at the bottom and kiwi crush on the uppermost layer.A must try drink.#Recommended

Watermelon Lychee slush-Served in a cute glass,a combination of Watermelon and lychee never fails.Perfect amount of both the flavours tossed and made a heavenly drink.Coming back for this drink.#highlyrecommended

Barman’s special-A milk based mocktail drink which was one unique yet delicious topped with rose petals.#Recommended

Safe sex on the beach-A mixture of cranberry,peach nectar,maraschino cherry made this drink very fruity.#Recommended

Sharabi lassi-I was so excited to try this drink. A baileys based cocktail blended with mango crush.The taste of baileys was literally felt also with mango flavour too.The drink was super thick and creamy as it has to be like lassi.#Recommended

Banarasi paan-A paan drink which I thought was more concentrated with syrup and should have been more balanced.

—Soup— Roasted Vegetable chowder-A good warm creamy soup with chopped roasted vegetables and a spherical toast placed in the centre.The taste of the chowder was so amazing that I wasn’t able to resist the other bite again.Good for a health conscious person.#Recommended

—Starters— Sikkampuri tikki-A veg dish item which was served with the passion fruit mayonnaise.The taste of the tikki was delicious with chopped veggies preparation.#Recommended

Veg makhmali roll-Bell peppers and veggies wrapped in to a roll of paneer marinated in the red gravy presented with the foam.#Recommended

Gulbarg tikki-A vegetarian dish pieces stuffed with paneer,bell peppers and cheese topped on it.Fulfills for 2persons approx.#Recommended

Indian fried chicken-Chicken boneless portions batter fried and coated with puffed rice served with a delicious dip.The chicken was dry enough but tasted good along with the dip.

Honey chilli potato wedges-A simple everyone’s favourite dish.Potato wedges tossed with hot n sweet chilli sauce and honey with sesame seeds.#Recommended

Masala lollipop wings-A peculiar dish every chicken lover has it.Juicy chicken lollipops tossed with spicy schezwan sauce and spring onions.#Recommended

Chicken kathi roll-Succulent chicken kathi kebab rolls made a entry with unique presentation which was designed with caramelised sugar.

—Mains— Prawns payla rice-A portion of rice with delicious prawns.Prawns were juicy and properly cooked also obtaining the flavour of the rice.Also the rice was bit tangy to taste but meal worthy.#Recommended

Pad thai noodles-Flat noodles tossed with veggies and red sauce with mild taste.A quantative portion to end fill your tummy.#Recommended

Polenta-A boiled corn flour cake sided with sauteed veggies and sauce sprinkled with rose petal crush.A very unique dish to try here.

—Desserts— Redvelvet falooda-A big redvelvet piece of cake poured fancily with white chocolate ganache making the dessert more tempting.#Recommended

Kiwi firnee-A firnee with a twist of never imagined flavour-kiwi!! Such an amazing groundy textured firnee I’ve ever had.The taste was balanced with not so very sweet, the flavour and the dryfruits made it even more yummy.#highlyRecommended

Overall,a beautiful nebula over to fall in love with.A absolute dream place everyone will want to visit for food and some...

Orion Kitchen & Bar - Molecular Done Right

In the midst of all pretentious molecular gastronomy restaurants whose only claim to fame is dry ice, comes a rather unassuming new place which is guaranteed to blow your socks off.

Just an infant on the Pune culinary landscape, Orion Kitchen & Bar is already making waves for their superlative food.

I was recently invited by the owner for a food tasting and below is my narrative of the same.

Cocktails The Cinematic [Rs. 280] cocktail was one brilliant drink. Made using whisky as a base and garnished with cinnamon ash and cinnamon stick, it was quite literally one of the best whisky based cocktails I have had in recent times. #YumYum #HighlyRecommended

The Sharabi Lassi [Rs. 500] too was a potent combination of Bailey’s and creamy lassi. Tasty enough to generate a mustache, if you know what I mean! ;-) #DeliciousDelicious

The Tamarind Margarita [Rs. 380] unfortunately, didn’t appeal to me quite as much.

Soups Both the soups we tried at Orion Kitchen & Bar was absolutely outstanding. The Three Mushroom Liquid with Air Dried Mushroom [Rs. 220], popularly also known as “Cappuccino Soup” was a perfect blend of mushrooms and served hot in a large cup. So good, I ended up ordering one more portion of it. #YumYum #HighlyRecommended

The Indian Spiced Pumpkin Veloute [Rs. 200] too was a delicious soup but my heart was already stolen by the mushroom soup. But to be fair, it was near impossible to make out that it was a pumpkin based soup – a perfect healthy soup for those who aren’t too fond of pumpkin.

Appetizers The Golden Fried Prawns with Sweet Chili Air [Rs. 320] were on a different plane altogether. Perfectly crisp on the outside and perfectly cooked and soft in the inside, it was well complemented by the sweet chili air. #DeliciousDelicious

Chicken Kandhari Kebab [Rs. 260] was perfectly cooked and I loved the char grilled bits while the Paneer Makhmali Rolls [Rs. 280] had a lovely beetroot marinade as well as foam. The beetroot marinade had a nice subtle tone which helped elevate the dish. #YumYum

The Murgh Zafrani Kebab with Saffron Foam [Rs. 280] had generous strands of saffron as garnish and had that amazing strong fragrance as well as flavor to the dish. The chicken too was perfectly cooked. #DeliciousDelicious

Mains The Pumpkin Ravioli in Sage Butter [Rs. 300] had a funny presentation but that took nothing away from the sheer brilliance that was this dish. Being 100% vegetarian dish, even the pasta sheets were made without eggs yet had that amazing softness and stretchiness to the dough. Once again, a pumpkin dish which blows your mind away. #YumYum #HighlyRecommended

The Beetroot Risotto [Rs. 280] wasn’t the most appealing visually and didn’t tickly my taste buds much either. The rice used wasn’t as al-dente as is expected from a risotto.

The Smoked Chicken Ravioli [Rs. 350] was garnished with olive ash. Something that was a first for me as well. The non-vegetarian sibling of the pumpkin ravioli, this too was par excellence. #YumYum #HighlyRecommended

The Chicken Katsu Kare felt a little gluggy for me however the chef clarified that is how a katsu kare is supposed to be so no complaints there. Taste-wise too, it was pretty good.

Desserts Orion Kitchen & Bar have their own take on the Shahi Tukda [Rs. 300]. Presented in a deconstructed form with fried bread pieces and a pot full of the condensed milk. Prepared as expected however was a little too sweet for my palate.

Apart from the Shahi Tukda, Abhishek – co-owner of Orion Kitchen & Bar – was kind enough to serve us a home-made recipe of Moong Dal Halwa ka Paratha. Similar to the Gujju style puran poli, the halwa ka paratha was thankfully low on sweetness and high on flavors. #YumYum

From using the most authentic and freshest of ingredients to attentive yet unobtrusive service to superlative food, Orion Kitchen & Bar is guaranteed to give you an unforgettable...