Savya Rasa is an authentic south Indian fine dine restaurant . Located in Koregaon Park besides Starbucks , the place may be a little hard to find but once there it will be totally worth it. It is located in a bungalow which has been renovated for the restaurant and the interiors are simply amazing. As soon as you walk in everything from the arches to the carvings to the doors gives you that feeling of stepping into South India. The staff welcoming you is in south Indian attire and its pleasant to see that. There are numerous paintings or forms of artwork in the place and every artwork has a story to itself. The place is designed to seat 62 people at a time. There are private dining tables for large groups as well and the tables are nicely spaced so you can have your own privacy while your gorging on south indian food.
Now the first thing you think about when you think of south Indian cuisine is idli,dosa,uttapam etc. and this is a place that wants to get rid of that image by serving authentic south Indian cuisine from the states of Kerala,Andhra Pradesh,Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The chefs are all sourced from the local villages down south and are trained to cook with a consistency and discipline. Savya Rasa also plans to take northen cuisine in similar fashion to the south. What else is impressive is that the spices that you do not get in abundance here are sourced from the south and quality is something they do not compromise on. The staff too is dressed in south Indian attire.
We were served water with 3 flavours in Khus,Jeera and Tulsi and i loved the whole smell and taste that came with it ,Khus being my favorite. We were also served welcome drinks which has lime and ginger and was pretty decent.
Then we were served some amazing drinks in innovative fashion. We were served Red Chilli Martini, Filter Coffee Martini , Beetle Sour, Curry Leaf Mojito , Apple and Ginger Mojito,a rum based drink whose name i forget and lest i forget the name that caught my fancy the most the Rasamtini. My Personal favorite was the Filter Coffee martini with the beetle Sour coming in a close second.The filter Coffee martini is just so splendid. Before taking a sip you get the strong aroma of Coffee which makes you feel good and as soon as you take a sip you feel the drink playing with your senses. Perfect. The beetle Sour was their rendition of the Whisky sour and kudos to them because i do not think i am going back to whisky sour again with the drink being amazing and there too it plays with your mind with the freshness of the leaf and the whisky playing a different ball game with your senses.The other drinks were good too with the red chilli martini being my third favorite but the coffee martini and the beetle sour are so good i doubt you would want to try anything else.
Before i start off with the food i would like to specify which cuisine belongs to which area that might help you while reading the menu or when you go there next
1) Kerela - Nasrani , Malabari
2) Karnataka - Mysuru , Mangaluru
3) Tamil Nadu - Chettinadu , Kongunadu
4) Andhra Pradesh - Nellore
Coming to the food we were served appetizers where we were first served Uralai Podi Varuval which was a dish served with baby potatoes and a fine mix of spices and various ingredients. The baby potatoes when had with the chilies tasted really nice. The next thing we were served was the Uppu Kari which was a mutton starter cooked in chettinadi style. The taste was brilliant but everyone at the table did feel that it was a bit overcooked although when had as a dish with the red chilies it was delicious. Next on the menu was Kozhi Kurumilagu Fry which cooked in Nasrani style was simply delicious and was my pick for the best starter served. We were also served Koon Ularthiyathu which is a vegetarian starter which did not quite make an impact probably because of the amazing chicken i had just tasted. We were also served ragi wadas and ribbon wadas which was really nice too.
Coming to the main course we were served Nalukettu Kozhi Curry which hailed from the malabari range of cuisines.It was chicken cooked to spicy chettinadi perfection. Thakkali Meen was the next dish which being a fish lover i absolutely loved. The surmai went very well with the chettinadi way of cooking the gravy and it tasted lovely with the rice. Mamsa Bele Gojju was a mutton dish that went well with the dibba rotis served. The dibba rotis were extremely delicious and something i tasted for the first time.Would love to come back and try the dibba rotis again. Bendakkai Gojju too went well with the dibba rotis .Bendakkai Gojju is a mysuru way of cooking ladyfingers with tamarind and it had a different taste to it.Really nice.Ulli Theeyal was a nasrani vegetarian dish which which was decent but with the other brilliant dishes around i preferred having more of the other dishes on offer. To end the main course we were served chicken biryani cooked in true chettinadi style where i found the rice to be of really good quality.The rice in the biryani was perfectly cooked like the chicken.
Coming to the Desserts we were served Kumbuda Halwa,Ambalapuzha Pal Payasam,Panakarkandu Paal,Elaneer Pudding and Sulaimani Tea with brandy out of which i absolutely loved the payasam which was nasrani and the Elaneed Pudding which was jelly made of coconut water which tasted absolutely lovely. We ended the lovely meal with sulaimani chai served with brandy which was a brilliant touch to the fact that ' WINTER IS COMING' . The chai was lovely and aromatic and felt good to end the dinner with that.
Savya Rasa is a place that surprised me with its fantastic interiors and the food they have on offer.The whole concept of bringing the south to Pune to clear the concept of south Indian food is lovely and i hope it works out for them. The service is lovely and the people serving know about the dishes which they absolutely need to.They do need to market the place a little more though and make it more visible.The concept of getting local cooks too is brilliant and a special mention about the interiors which i feel are fantastic. All in all a lovely place to eat dinner and i would really really recommend the Filter Coffee Martini
Now the first thing you think about when you think of south Indian cuisine is idli,dosa,uttapam etc. and this is a place that wants to get rid of that image by serving authentic south Indian cuisine from the states of Kerala,Andhra Pradesh,Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The chefs are all sourced from the local villages down south and are trained to cook with a consistency and discipline. Savya Rasa also plans to take northen cuisine in similar fashion to the south. What else is impressive is that the spices that you do not get in abundance here are sourced from the south and quality is something they do not compromise on. The staff too is dressed in south Indian attire.
We were served water with 3 flavours in Khus,Jeera and Tulsi and i loved the whole smell and taste that came with it ,Khus being my favorite. We were also served welcome drinks which has lime and ginger and was pretty decent.
Then we were served some amazing drinks in innovative fashion. We were served Red Chilli Martini, Filter Coffee Martini , Beetle Sour, Curry Leaf Mojito , Apple and Ginger Mojito,a rum based drink whose name i forget and lest i forget the name that caught my fancy the most the Rasamtini. My Personal favorite was the Filter Coffee martini with the beetle Sour coming in a close second.The filter Coffee martini is just so splendid. Before taking a sip you get the strong aroma of Coffee which makes you feel good and as soon as you take a sip you feel the drink playing with your senses. Perfect. The beetle Sour was their rendition of the Whisky sour and kudos to them because i do not think i am going back to whisky sour again with the drink being amazing and there too it plays with your mind with the freshness of the leaf and the whisky playing a different ball game with your senses.The other drinks were good too with the red chilli martini being my third favorite but the coffee martini and the beetle sour are so good i doubt you would want to try anything else.
Before i start off with the food i would like to specify which cuisine belongs to which area that might help you while reading the menu or when you go there next
1) Kerela - Nasrani , Malabari
2) Karnataka - Mysuru , Mangaluru
3) Tamil Nadu - Chettinadu , Kongunadu
4) Andhra Pradesh - Nellore
Coming to the food we were served appetizers where we were first served Uralai Podi Varuval which was a dish served with baby potatoes and a fine mix of spices and various ingredients. The baby potatoes when had with the chilies tasted really nice. The next thing we were served was the Uppu Kari which was a mutton starter cooked in chettinadi style. The taste was brilliant but everyone at the table did feel that it was a bit overcooked although when had as a dish with the red chilies it was delicious. Next on the menu was Kozhi Kurumilagu Fry which cooked in Nasrani style was simply delicious and was my pick for the best starter served. We were also served Koon Ularthiyathu which is a vegetarian starter which did not quite make an impact probably because of the amazing chicken i had just tasted. We were also served ragi wadas and ribbon wadas which was really nice too.
Coming to the main course we were served Nalukettu Kozhi Curry which hailed from the malabari range of cuisines.It was chicken cooked to spicy chettinadi perfection. Thakkali Meen was the next dish which being a fish lover i absolutely loved. The surmai went very well with the chettinadi way of cooking the gravy and it tasted lovely with the rice. Mamsa Bele Gojju was a mutton dish that went well with the dibba rotis served. The dibba rotis were extremely delicious and something i tasted for the first time.Would love to come back and try the dibba rotis again. Bendakkai Gojju too went well with the dibba rotis .Bendakkai Gojju is a mysuru way of cooking ladyfingers with tamarind and it had a different taste to it.Really nice.Ulli Theeyal was a nasrani vegetarian dish which which was decent but with the other brilliant dishes around i preferred having more of the other dishes on offer. To end the main course we were served chicken biryani cooked in true chettinadi style where i found the rice to be of really good quality.The rice in the biryani was perfectly cooked like the chicken.
Coming to the Desserts we were served Kumbuda Halwa,Ambalapuzha Pal Payasam,Panakarkandu Paal,Elaneer Pudding and Sulaimani Tea with brandy out of which i absolutely loved the payasam which was nasrani and the Elaneed Pudding which was jelly made of coconut water which tasted absolutely lovely. We ended the lovely meal with sulaimani chai served with brandy which was a brilliant touch to the fact that ' WINTER IS COMING' . The chai was lovely and aromatic and felt good to end the dinner with that.
Savya Rasa is a place that surprised me with its fantastic interiors and the food they have on offer.The whole concept of bringing the south to Pune to clear the concept of south Indian food is lovely and i hope it works out for them. The service is lovely and the people serving know about the dishes which they absolutely need to.They do need to market the place a little more though and make it more visible.The concept of getting local cooks too is brilliant and a special mention about the interiors which i feel are fantastic. All in all a lovely place to eat dinner and i would really really recommend the Filter Coffee Martini
