Besides restaurant reviews, we’ve begun pub reviews as we are serial pub hoppers. There has been a dearth of pubs/lounges in Pimple Saudagar until last year. Since then, two or three of them have popped out of nowhere, some with their exorbitant pricing, others with sheer lack of infrastructure. Adda, has a bit of history, though. It was previously named Elevate Lounge and was a mildly successful one. There has been a renovation, probably a change of management or even ownership and Elevate has been beautifully revamped into #Adda. Yes, the hashtag is present in neon beside the name and looks cool! The name signifies the establishment – Adda – a place for hangout of like minded people, for fun and frolic.

Did you know? The term ‘Pub’ originates from ‘Public House’ which traditionally sells beer, ale and other brewed alcoholic drinks. In Europe, pubs date back to the Medieval age.

The concept of pubs is relatively new in India and probably arrived with the British. I’ve read in historical fiction and other books about Seraikhanas along major highways in the Mughal era that served alcohol, food and even had lodging facilities for travellers. But pubs, solely meant for serving drinks were probably set up by the British officials, albeit for their folks only. ‘Native Indians’ were kept out of them by guards, who must have evolved into bouncers these days.

Here comes a snippet about Adda and everything about it.

Address: Shop 1, Rainbow Plaza, Near Shivar Garden, Pimple Saudagar, Pune – 411027

Contact: 020 30189670

Check them out on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook

USP – Ladies Night, Offers/Discounts, Live band, Good pub food.

Decor

The entrance to Adda is led through a corridor that is strategically lit with a mirrored wall and is the smoking zone. You might encounter a lot of smoke if you’re a little late in joining the party. Once you go in, things get better though. The decor is quirky with a lot of brickbats carefully arranged on racks and graffiti that is eye catching, most of them is Hinglish.

 

There’s a huge black board that will remind you of school, but it’s filled with offers, discounts and events for the week from Monday to Friday. The toilet sign board reads शौचालय, and I’ve been wondering what happens to people who cannot read the Devnagari text.

There’s a wall redecorated with faux wooden doors and stained glass that gives a retro look of an old style mansion. The utensils for serving cocktails and snacks are done wackily in aluminium kettles, some of them inscribed with catchy taglines and hashtags. It looked pretty cool to me each time I’ve been there.

Ambience

Adda is vibrant and throbbing with youngsters and music every night. Since Pimple Saudagar houses the so-called ‘IT junta’, Adda caters very well to them. Most groups or couples that we noticed seemed to have hopped in for a quick drink on weekdays or huge groups celebrating birthdays, farewells and anniversaries. It’s not a quiet lounge with soothing music where you can sit with a laptop and a drink. At the same time, I have been told that Adda will operate as a co-working space from morning to evening with internet, coffee and other facilities. That should be a great move as the area doesn’t have a single co-working space for Freelancers like me.

Adda offers discounts and events every day of the week and some of them are worth trying. There’s a live band on Fridays that showcases new talent each week. It’s surely a first in the area. There are indoor games and quizes too for friends and strangers to bond.

Drink 

Adda has a comprehensive Bar menu ranging from craft beer to innovative cocktails. They procure a stock of craft beer from Effingut Brewerkz, but it’s often out of supply on Mondays after heavy weekend consumption. We’ve tried the Hefeweizen variety (Bavarian Wheat beer) a number of times. It’s light, fluffy with a hint of fruity flavours and easy on the tummy. Since it’s craft beer, the price is obviously on the higher side (Rs 589 for 1 L), but I’d say it’s worth it. We’ve also tried Kingfisher and Bira draught beers, and they’re usually good and priced evenly.

The best event that Adda offers on Mondays is unlimited Sangria and Mojito for women. It’s a ladies night called Madhosh Mondays (6-10 pm). I’ve been there twice and loved it! The red wine Sangria is quite well mixed with cubes of apples and peaches. Though the portions are small, if you’re a cocktail junkie like me, you’d love it. The Mojito is a little on the sweeter side though and there’s an overdose of mint leaves that clog the mouth. There’s room for improvement with the Mojito. I’ve tried their Bloody Mary too and it was well mixed, though the portion was a little small in comparison to the price (Rs 225). Do try the Tharki Tuesdays offer too, unlimited beer for Rs 699.

Food

For a pub to successfully attract its customers, food is a must, especially in India. We cannot drink our brews without food to accompany them. Adda has a mixed platter of pub food and main course options like biriyani for the heavy eaters. We’ve tried the Masala French Fries a number of times and liked them, not the Cheesy Fries though. The cheese doesn’t stay hot and gooey but turns a little elastic under the air conditioner.

What I loved was the Nachos and Sour Cream. Perfectly crispy and enough to share, they were darn good.

Among the appetisers, Chicken Chilly was a let down the first time, but they were courteous enough to replace the dish with better and fresh pieces of chicken. However, chicken dishes doesn’t seem to be Adda’s forte as of now. The Chicken 65 wasn’t up to the mark either, there was more of a pungent gravy than chicken pieces.

If you’re a non vegetarian, the best platter to try at Adda is the Non Vegetarian Plate (Rs 375). It contains portions of 4 different fusion dishes that can be shared between 3 people – Chicken Popcorn, Chicken Tacos, Achari Chicken Crostini and Beer Batter Fish. The fish was lovely, succulent and well fried in the batter. I loved the Achari Chicken Crostini too and Popcorn too. But the Tacos were a little too sweet due to a sauce that I couldn’t decipher in detail. But it’s a good platter, the best one in Adda according to me.

Service

The waiters are prompt and cooperative, but it gets a little busy during weekends. It’s better to place your orders in bulk than one at a time. Overall, it is satisfactory and the staff are lovely.

My Rating: 3.5/5

Zomato:

Have you ever been here? Let me know how you liked it. 

Shoot a mail to invite for restaurant/diner reviews, menu tasting and pre-launch events at chernozems.prb@gmail.com. Location: Pune