The Best Spots For A Great Brunch In Pune, India

This old Parsi restaurant (open since 1935), located on Fergusson Road, offers many breakfast specials. This restaurant has two sitting areas, one area where smoking is permitted, which is adjacent to the noisy and busy street, and a more laid back area which tends to have a quieter atmosphere and cleaner air. This café specializes in breads and varieties of eggs and meat with reasonably fast service, and is easy on the wallet. Vegetarians will enjoy excellent breads along with quality, veg-friendly South Indian offerings.

Yolkshire, as you may be able to tell from its name, specializes in eggs. This place, located off Karve Road, is a recent addition to the plethora of brunch joints operating in Pune. The menu ranges from scrambled eggs and egg curries to pancakes, and is unparalleled in Pune for choice. However, even though the staff are extremely cheerful and patient, the service can be a bit slow.

Hotel Vaishali, located opposite Fergusson College, is probably the most popular brunch place in Pune. A hungry group may have to wait for more than hour for a place on a special Sunday or a holiday, but the wonderful ambience and top-notch food make the wait completely worthwhile. One can easily bump into local celebrities, who are regulars at Vaishali. Generations of Punekars have brunched here, so it’s pretty common to find old men and women chatting over breakfast here while their own children and grandchildren wait outside. Upma, a South Indian rice porridge dish which happens to be a favorite breakfast item across India, is available till 11am.

The first things you notice about this restaurant are the bright colorful cartoons on the walls and menu and the relaxing atmosphere. Wadeshwar specializes in South Indian food, but it still boasts a unique taste, different from other restaurants. Wadeshwar is also a great place for celeb-spotting; leaders of various parties have been known to have brunch together with their rivals at Wadeshwar after the exertions of election campaigns, as they did after Lok-sabha 2014.

Located near the end of Fergusson Road, Sharavaree is known for its breakfast buffet; with plenty of options, including poha, idli, dosas, misal, sandwiches and parathas. One can choose an a la carte breakfast too, which offers a wider variety of options and can be less costly than the buffet.

Located between Laxmi Road and Kelkar Road, Bedekar Tea Stall is a local favorite for Misal pav, a Maharashtrian special made of hot and spicy curry. This particular misal place is famous for its sweet and sour puneri misal, which is popular amongst sweet-toothed Punekars. Customers can also try a variety of Maharashtrian sweets such as cheerote, laddus, and kharwas after the misal.

Initially located in a small shop on Karve Road opposite Garware college, Katakirr has moved into a new and spacious location off Prabhat road near Kalmadi School. Renowned for hot Kolhapuri misal, Katakirr has many fans who pack the place on weekends, making it nearly as crowded as Hotel Vaishali. On the downside, Katakirr offers nothing other than misal apart from buttermilk to wash it down with.

Located on Tilak Road, New Refreshment House offers a typical Maharashtrian brunch. Open since 1995, this place did not have an official name till 2015, when the owners decided to take the name “New Refreshment House.” Varieties of patties like pea, corn, sagoo, and potato, are the specialities here. Additionally, a milder version of misal from this place is also highly regraded. Authentic Maharashtrian dishes such as thalipeet (a kind of multigrain and spicy roti), pea curry, and sol kadhi (a hot coconut drink) are cheap and worth trying.