If you are a foodie staying in Pune and look out for healthy meal options, then you must be already knowing Dravida's Bistro quite well.
They serve Grand Satvik Thali on weekends which contains some 27 odd dishes. We have been planing to visit this place for a long time but finally managed it few days ago.
To start with - since there were 8 of us, it took them some time serve (though we had reserved table in advance) and my 6 year old was getting impatient. However, their service and politeness was quite assuring and we waited with large banana leaves on our table!
The food - it is really simple but quite tasty. The thali started with what 4 glasses of liquid, beetroot juice, masala buttermilk, nut milk with honey and dates juice.
This was really a good start and then they followed it with plenty of other dishes and side-dishes, the best one I remember was banana stem raita and a dish probably made from ash gourd, though they claimed it to be made from bottle gourd. However, the biggest problem was the quantity, as you can see from the pics, the quantity was quite less and when we asked for more, we were told that they were out of those food items.
We were hoping to have Appam or some kind of Dosa for our main course, but we were told that main course would be rice alone with sambhar, rassam, curd based curry (similar to Kadhi) and sabjis. They just served us 1 bowl of red rice among 8 of us and 3-4 big bowls of white rice. When asked for red rice, again they didn't have more of it. So we finished our dinner with all that white rice.
In the end, we were served Payasam for sweet dish and an amazing Paan (Betel leaf) with veggies in it. I am not a Paan fan, but I loved this one.
I am skeptical about any healthy lunch consisting of tons starch-laden white rice. I'd strongly recommend them to offer Appam or Neer Dosa for main course and serve more quantity of those dishes, at least keep it available when someone asks for it. We had so many dishes (apparently 27 of them, though I didn't count), but didn't feel satiated! I hope they really look into this and take feedback positively. And I believe many people have felt the same way and have given them feedback on this aspect. Anyway!
As for service, though our dishes took time to get served, they were very courteous and polite. My 6 year old was getting sleepy and didn't like food much after the first serve of 4 health drinks, so we ordered smoothie and they got it quickly for the kid. My 6 year old drank the smoothie and slept afterwards without having rest of the dinner. They were kind enough not to charge us for that smoothie.
Overall, tasty and healthy food but I hope they do something about quantity of the food in their Satvik Thali and include Appam/Neer Dosa for main courses, at least as an option for those who cannot have tons of white rice for dinner.
We plan to visit them again and this time try rest of their dishes and see how we like them. Satvik Thali, though fascinating idea, is not as great as it sounds! Though I believe it is great place if you love eating simple, healthy yet tasty food!
Food - 4/5 (This would have been higher if we had more options and quantity for the Thali)
Service - 4/5
Ambiance - 3.5/5
Value for money - 3.5/5
Overall - 3.75/5
Restaurant Reviews
Dravida's Bistro, Dhole Patil Road, Pune
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- manish
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