Pune has adorned many personas over decades — ‘Oxford of the East,’ ‘Queen of the Deccan,’ and ‘Cultural Capital of Maharashtra.’ Now, there’s one more facet that this city has added to its character — ‘The One With Happening Nightlife.’ Our recent visit to Pune proved this tag absolutely right as we navigated through a night filled with amazing food, the city’s first tequila bar, live music and more cocktails!
Surrounded by tall pillars, sparkling chandeliers and art, we stood in the lobby of Sheraton Grand Pune, our stay for the trip and much-required snooze destination between a four-hour drive from Mumbai and a tequila-filled evening at JUJU.
Unleashing the spirit
Justifying its name, as we walked up the stairs and through the doors of JUJU, a puff of Mexican magic hit us, nothing like we ever imagined it to be. Celebrating the Day of the Dead, the staff greeted us all dressed in black and faces painted with calavera makeup. The tables were decorated with skeletons and flowers while tall white origami lanterns added to the jolly vibe. Simply put? No matter what mood you are in, you enter JUJU and say hello to happy party vibes!
Pune’s premier tequila bar, JUJU is a haven for spirits enthusiasts. With its limited and carefully curated menu, the restobar puts out its best Mexican offerings and cocktails. Our evening commenced with a glass of Paloma 4.0 with tequila reposado, grapefruit cordial and watermelon. Safe to say, it was not the villain alcohol we make tequila out to be.
As our guards lowered from overthinking about the after-effects and cinematic nostalgia of drunken tequila nights, we started enjoying the nicely crafted cocktail menu including drinks like Jamaica, Pickle Sour, Tommy’s Southside, Dead Man’s Switch, Slush of the Day and more. But our favourite part of the evening came with the shots — JUJU Bombs and heartfelt salud!
Tequila is considered to be an integral part of Mexican culture and also plays a pivotal role in the celebration of Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). And to commemorate this drink, there’s a special toast that we said before gulping down the bomb. It goes like this: |
If drinks can’t win you over, food definitely will. We started with a bite of Classic Guacamole served with corn chips and ended up ordering two more plates of the same dish, finally moving on to some fruit. The Freshly Cut Watermelon is not what it sounds like. With Tajin spice, lime, pickled mustard seeds and Juju spice, this fruit was going through a revolution of flavours. And just when we thought our taste buds had reached their peaks, our forks, betraying the stay orders, made their way to Baked Queso Potatoes and just like the potatoes melted in our mouths, we melted in our seats, waving the white flag and announcing JUJU’s victory.
There’s no such thing as too much food and drinks
Even as we were halfway into a food coma, we dragged our party to Pune’s first cocktail bar, Cobbler & Crew. We felt like we were taken out of a pop song and placed in a jazz setting. The vibes of these two places are polar opposites with Cobbler & Crew’s live music and fine dining landscape. What came as a surprise for us here was not the amazing cocktails, but the delicious food. We would recommend you try their Salmon Carpaccio, Silken Tofu Carpaccio and Cobbler Tiramisu among others.
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And just like that, the night bid us adieu with tummies filled with delectable food and eyes droopy from all the drinks. We made our way back to Sheraton Grand where our comfy beds were waiting for us like a mirage of water waiting in the desert.
Until next time, Pune. Salud!
JUJU Pune:
Meal for two: approximately INR 2,500 (with alcohol)
At Kalyani Nagar
Cobbler & Crew
Meal for two: approximately INR 2,500 (with alcohol)
At Kalyani Nagar