Thorat's Barbeque Misal Pavbhaji — Restaurant in Pune

On a day trip to pune, had a misal craving and decided to give this, fairly new place, a try.

Firstly, the place is established under a makeshift tin sheet covered shed. It was a hot & humid day in pune and the inadequate fan settings made me uncomfortable to begin with.

They have option of unlimited misal, and then single serving options of - kolhapuri, puneri, nashik & jain misal to choose from.

I settled for puneri misal.

The misal is served in a very attractive way. The rating here is only for the way it is served.

Going on to taste.

The single serve misal came with unusually huge amount of matki/moth, very limited farsan/shev (I actually had to search for it), next to nil amount of subji, and average amount of poha, in the base plate. They add their tarri/sample to it and given some on the side in a katori. The accompanying pav/bread are slightly heated, but just from outside, without cutting them (so result being, the inner portion of pav remains unheated/untreated).

When we start to mix together, I found no lime wedges or onions given (they gave after 5-7 mins). Sad. The main ingredients in puneri misal are matki, bhaaji, farsan/shev, poha/chivada, along with others. It's a fine balance that needs to be maintained. One excess or less, alters the whole taste experience of a misal.

Here that was exactly the case. The matki was in excess (and it was undercooked, not in texture but to the extent, that the matki had a rawness flavour still coming through. It should have been cooked a little more to remove that).

The accompanying pav, though heated from outside, there was no freshness inside. A fresh pav is smooth inside. Here it was flaky and crumbling.

The tarri or sample had a distinct chul/barbeque aroma. Yes! Slight though. But except that, it wasn't flavourful at all. Just oily.

All in all, had a pretty bad experience and surely not recommend it to anyone for misal, atleast the one which I tried isn't...

Thorat's Barbeque Misal Pavbhaji

Overall Impression

Thorat's Barbeque Misal Pavbhaji is a popular restaurant in Pune that specializes in, you guessed it, misal pav and pav bhaji. The restaurant has a casual atmosphere and is a great place to go for a quick and affordable meal.

Ambiance and Service

The restaurant is located in a small, unassuming building in the Rasta Peth area of Pune. The interior is simple and clean, with tables and chairs arranged in a casual setting. The service is friendly and efficient, and the staff is always happy to answer questions about the menu.

The Misal Pav

The misal pav is the star of the show at Thorat's. The misal is made with a variety of ingredients, including beans, peas, onions, tomatoes, spices, and a generous helping of butter. The pav is fluffy and soft, and it soaks up the flavorful misal sauce perfectly.

The misal is served with a variety of accompaniments, including chopped onions, lemon wedges, and a spicy chutney. I particularly enjoyed the chutney, which added a nice bit of heat to the dish.

Value for Money

The prices at Thorat's are very reasonable. The misal pav costs ₹108, and the pav bhaji costs ₹120. Both dishes are large enough to share, and they are a great value for the price.

Additional Details

I visited Thorat's for lunch on a Saturday. The restaurant was fairly crowded, but we were able to get a table without having to wait too long. The service was friendly and efficient, and our food arrived quickly.

Overall, I had a great experience at Thorat's Barbeque Misal Pavbhaji. The food was delicious, the service was friendly, and the prices were reasonable. I would definitely recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for a good meal in Pune.

Recommendations

I would recommend the misal pav to anyone looking for a hearty and flavorful dish. The pav bhaji is also a good option, and it is a great choice for those who prefer a...

Visited on 2nd October again. And really disappointed. Taste was lackluster. I mean really guys, they probably serve only two dishes , pav bhaji and misal. That's their USP. And still it wasn't tasty at all.

Pav bhaji dish otherwise is so popular and loved by everyone that if they make and serve it right, there would have been line of people waiting.

Don't know what they are upto. Got to get their act together if they want to survive the competition.

Old review below where i had given them 4 stars...

I am foodie and pav bhaji freak so did visit this this place couple of times to munch on unlimited pav bhaji 😂... So let me give review now..I haven't tried their misal yet. So review is strictly for pav bhaji.

It's nice. I loved it. One first visit I felt spices were a bit less to my taste. But on 2nd visit, it was perfect. 2nd visit was on evening after sunset so climate was nice, cold to really enjoy hot pav bhaji. So best time to visit imo is evening.

One first visit I had gone in afternoon and since ambience is bare bone low cost, climate was hot so I couldn't enjoy it as much as I wanted. Realised reason on my 2nd visit.

One star less for relatively slow service. Not expected or acceptable as it ruins the experience when one has to keep waiting for them to serve midway the meal.

Also their policy of not allowing two independent customers on the same or single table is ridiculous and pathetic. Makes new customers wait unnecessarily and too much as everyone normally spends much more time on the table as both misal and pav bhaji are unlimited menu. They got to fix this. It's for their (restro) own good. As they can engage more customers at the same time by not wasting resources (empty seats...