From the old-timers of Prem's Restaurant, comes a spanking new Mediterranean and Greek restaurant, Euriska, which took us on a food journey full of simple pleasure
Eureka! Eureka! One of Pune’s legendary restaurateurs has had a brainwave. The people behind the much-loved Prem’s Restaurant have brought to Pune, a slice of Santorini. Euriska’s all-white island may not be blessed with azure blue waters or farm-fresh ingredients but, Puneiites have reason to rejoice as they have a choice to tuck into a Greek and Mediterranean menu.
Souvlakia Strip Loin
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Euriska, the new eatery on the block, is innovative. This restaurant doesn’t have four walls. Instead, its white décor is put together with ropes and ribbons hanging from white lanterns. Its novelty in thought spills over to its menu design as well. The beverage card phrases fun with their cocktails — from alcoholic legends to tempting cocktails making any teetotaler think twice in this booze haven. We definitely didn’t feel weak-spirited. So, a Zorba The Greek, was our choice of poison. And what a good choice. The cocktail that used the Greek liquor, Metaxa, as its base, was a bright magenta swivelled with an orange passion fruit rind. It tasted deliciously promising like its appearance. The blend of fresh tangy passion fruit, the tinge of blackberries and the slightly sour cranberry juice gives the drink an edge.
Grilled Pork Chops. pics/ Sachin Thakare
The warm bread basket that comes with Focaccia and Lavash, also had a gorgeous dip of chilled puréed eggplant and hummus.
For the starters, our server dissuaded us from trying the Dolmades and Herbed Cheese ('230), citing that the “sourness of the grape juice wasn’t very nice”. We appreciated his concern but, decided to stick to our choice. And thankfully, our bet paid well. The grape juice rolled around the veggies and soft rice oozed with the flavour of the brine. The grassy leaf was rewarding and of course, the smooth olive oil that it sits in was worth a mention, too. Don’t miss the cheese and the bright red sprinkling of pomegranate seeds that lift the green dolmades on the white plate.
Dolmades and Herbed Cheese
Our next bite was the Souvlakia Strip Loin ('490). The skewers of beef strips sat on a delicate Pita filled with roasted bell peppers. Again, the platter comes with three complementary dips. A garlic aioli, a tomato-garlic chutney and the very Greek tzatziki (a sort of cool cucumber raita, flavoured with garlic). The beef itself was juicy, chunky and a perfect accompaniment to the gently-flavoured peppers in the Pita.
The next buck where our tongues stopped were the Grilled Pork Chops ('590) rubbed with harissa and served with zahtar veggies and a skordalia (a thick potato-garlic mash). Though we did find the meat a tad too tough, we couldn’t have expected otherwise since we didn’t specify the toughness.
Baklava
We had our eyes on the Greek Strava, which, unfortunately, they weren’t serving. Being cajoled into trying the Baklava ('280) by our server, we felt it was time to give in. When our order arrived, it turned out to be unlike the well-browned Jewish dessert that we have all come to know and love. This was a fragile puff pastry layering, filled with a honey-sweetened blend of pistachios and other dried fruits. On trying to cut, the tender, flaky sweet started dismantling. All we could say was that we couldn’t have loved it more. Ditto was the parting gesture with little chocolates that were offered along with our bill foil.
At Euriska restaurant, next to Koregaon Park Plaza, Koregaon Park.
Call 9049159911 / 9765659079u00a0
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