Stone Water Grill, Pune

By Maneesh Srivastva @urbanescapades
 Stone Water Grill, Pune encompasses a chic, sophisticated and contemporary look. Black is the dominating theme and is boldly showcased right from the elegant chandeliers down to the table linen. The restaurant offers indoor as well as outdoor seating. Style Chef Shailendra Kekade’s eye for detail is reflected in each dish with its clever plating, contrasting textures and fresh clean flavours.
The bread basket featured some delicious breads setting the tone for the meal to follow. The Smoked Mushroom Cappuccino was earthy with a tinge of smokiness that lingered. The bed of toasted apple -wood foam atop the soup was light as air- an absolute cracker soup. The Chilled Pomegranate Gazpacho was refreshing and tantalising. The soups had definitely set the bar quite high.
The salad of Charred Peaches with baby spinach had the sweetness of the peaches that cut through the sharpness of the rocket and the hazelnut nougat added the texture and crunch to balance out the salad. Starters included the Mushroom Galouti on saffron brioche with raspberry coulis- a fine fusion food dish. The small cheese taster was elegantly presented on a unique platter and was visually appealing. Another thumbs up!
Personally I am not a big fan of gnocchi but the Roasted Potato Gnocchi with whey emulsion might just have managed to convert me. The Creamy Cottage Cheese Steak with roasted veg bharta was a beautiful medley of flavours. While Maize- Textures of Corn was another superb dish. My personal favorite though would have to be the Stone Water Grill Prawn Thermidor which was visually stunning and excellent in terms of flavours.
Don’t miss out on desserts. The Dessert Taster was a work of art with each component managing to hold its own. The Malai Coconut Panacotta was light, refreshing and zingy while the Chocolate and Jaffa Orange Mudpie was another feather in Chef Kekade’s cap.