A date with the grand Paasha

With evening temperatures as nice as they are in Pune, every hotel worth its reputation boasts of an al fresco roof-top bar and restaurant

The Guide gives you an exclusive sneak preview into the city's newest, hippest lounge and restaurant

With evening temperatures as nice as they are in Pune, every hotel worth its reputation boasts of an al fresco roof-top bar and restaurant. So, if the Marriott Hotel and Convention Centre had to be any different at all, they had to go all the way and be grand.


Cosmopolitan cocktail and Barrah Kebab

And grand Paasha, their new roof-top lounge and restaurant, certainly is. Paasha, the name, refers to the one who rules. Sitting pretty on the 24th floor with Pune twinkling at its candlelit feet, this Paasha does rule. Walk in through columns of lit glass and a bar that lines both sides of the entry aisle. Each bottle of wine sits snug on its lit stand creating a walkway of glass and shimmer. The high ceilings, curtains that drape the windows, interspersed tables and warm lights ensure that even though the space is sprawling, it doesn't feel empty.

While Paasha, the restaurant, is regal in itself, its true beauty lies in the outdoors. With contemporary white seating, a long bar and an even longer center wooden table with fairy-lights, the lounge is quite a stunner. The perfect spot to nurture our classic Cosmopolitan (Rs 400 plus taxes).

Paasha, the bar, boasts of 50 classic cocktails. The cocktail menu, cutely, begins with an Aviation Cocktail and culminates with a Zombie. Ask why they don't have any signature drinks and you are informed that Paasha wished not to enter the fusion race and instead chose to stay loyal to the classics that were being gradually forgotten. For those who aren't the cocktail kinds, they have a fine selection of wines and draught beers.
Enjoy your drink, groove to the foot-tapping world lounge music and simply breathe in the star-lit night from the comfort of your white couches.

We finally get ourselves to budge and make way indoors for some food. Paasha serves North West Frontier cuisine. We opt for a Barrah Kebab (Rs 450). The three pieces of lamb on the bone are fantastic. The masalas have marinated overnight in just right amounts of chilli, yoghurt, cloves and ghee and the meat is succulent with the spice and perfect tandoor. Mess up your hands and bite inu00a0-- the perfect way to enjoy the rustic Afghani fare that the North West Frontier offers.

The menu also incorporates a bit of Lucknow, a few delicacies from Awadh such as the kakori kebabs as well as all-time vegetarian favourites such as Paneer Tikka and Lahori Bharta. The chef promises us the menu will change every month and we shall look forward to that.

Paasha is the sort of the place that's as perfect for the pretty people to swirl drinks around, as for us regular ones to enjoy a night out with the beauty of the stars and the tastes that we have grown up to love.u00a0
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From 6 pm onwards
At Marriott Hotel and Convention Centre, 24th floor, Senapati Bapat Road.
Call 66833333