There’s a new friendly neighborhood bistro
whose food and desserts have got the town talking. I make the drive to Baner to find out what’s in
store…
This
45-seater bistro is the vibrant new kid on the block. Stark navy blue and white
walls could have made the place look clinical, but the smart interior designer
has blended it together with subtle touches of teal - on the upholstery, the
menu and the picture frames on the wall. With the chosen color palette, Minus
18 Degrees could have been the perfect naval office canteen.
There
is alfresco seating but you really want to sit where all the action is
happening – indoors. Push open the door and you are greeted with a sweet aroma.
It’s a bustling scene inside - young waiters energetically attending tables,
people waiting by the counter to collect their food orders, diners indulging in
conversation and hearty laughter. The operational flow is orchestrated by Kimico
Mehta. An ex-Baskin Robbins franchise owner, Kimi is today a proud owner of
this bistro and you’ll find her chatting with her patrons and even taking
orders.
Asked
about the bistro name and Kimi explains as an ex-franchise, she was required to
store ice-creams strictly at this temperature; the reading stuck with her. When
we were handed the menu, the first thing to strike us was the irresistible food
photography - Kimi happily gives all the credit to some talented and eager
journalism students whose help she enlisted.
The
menu has all-day breakfast, paninis, soups, salads, pasta and an incredible
variety of desserts. We started our meal off with ‘Minus Eighteen’s Nachos’ (Rs. 280). They were served with a
drizzle of grated (not melted) cheddar and mozzarella, diced onion, capsicum,
tomato, jalapenos and beans. Bringing it all together was the dollop of sour
cream and tangy tomato salsa in the centre. The nacho chips were warm and crisp
and seemed to be spiced with carom seeds. But the cream and salsa were
insufficient lending the dish dry.
.jpg "Fig and Goat Cheese Salad")
.jpg "Pasta Pesto")
For
our main course, Kimi recommended we try the Pesto Spaghetti (Rs. 280) and we highly recommend this dish. The
pesto made using basil, pine nuts, garlic and a lot of olive oil was bursting
with fresh herby flavors. The spaghetti cooked al dente combined well with the
sauce and was topped with grated parmesan and roasted pine nuts.
For
desserts, we headed over to the dessert counter. There was so much variety and
with bright colors, it would be little exaggeration to say that the counter
looked like an edible rainbow. We settled on Lavender Macaroon (Rs. 40), Chocolate
Hazelnut Éclairs (Rs. 80) and the Tiramisu
(Rs. 140). As attractive as it looked, the macaroon was a disappointment.
The sweetness was overpowering and we could hardly detect any hints of
lavender. The Éclairs too did not hit the nail. While the chocolate hazelnut
ganache was rich and intense with the right consistency, the dessert was pulled
down because of the choux pastry – it was ‘bready’ and did not taste fresh.
Thankfully the Tiramisu was a winner. Soft, moist ladyfingers intensely flavored
with coffee and layered with mascarpone cheese made this a pleasing dessert for
the palate.
Address: 273/5, Baner Main Road, Opposite Aman Honda Showroom,
Baner, Pune
Contact
number: 020 30189707
Timings:
8AM – 11PM
Interior Designer in baner
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