All in one 

If a restaurant can combine a casual dining area, a night club with a dance floor, a fine dining place and a rooftop restaurant, can you ask for anything more? No. Tehelka, the three-month-old eating joint at Pimple Nilakh, is a five-storey restaurant, which offers all that diners want and under one roof. 

On the first floor is a casual dining area called Fluid Lab, the second floor hosts a fine dining restaurant for families called Soul Kitchen, the night club Tehelka is on the fourth floor and The Deck on the fifth floor is an open-air restaurant. The third floor houses the kitchen and office.
 
We decided to visit the place on a Tuesday night and the first thing that impressed us was their valet parking service, so the stress of ‘Where do we park our car now?’ was gone in a jiffy. After checking out all the floors, we decided to sit at The Deck and enjoy the cool summer evening. 
The Fluid Lab looks like a fun place with Texan cowboy kind of ambience. The bar is at the corner, it has funky paintings on the walls and wooden high tables and chairs. When we visited it IPL matches were being telecast live on a big screen. 

Next, the manager guided us to Soul Kitchen, which has comfortable seating area. Chairs with velvet upholstery and artificial plants hanging from the ceiling add a nice touch to the decor. 

As we entered Tehelka, the DJ was playing Bollywood music and the big dance floor looked very welcoming. However, we decided to skip it. That said, the moment we stepped into the top floor, we fell in love with the open space and enjoyed our meal under the stars.
 
One can take a seat at the wrought iron round tables and chairs or the bench style seating areas; we chose the latter. English music playing in the background made it a perfect setting for a good nightout.
 
The general manager of the restaurant, Sujit Rajput, informed us that the restaurant is owned by Appa Dalvi, Devnarayan Sahu, Rajkumar Yadav and Mukesh Saha. “The whole idea behind Tehelka was to offer all kinds of option to our patrons. They can choose to enjoy a meal with their family or have a fun time with friends. We serve liquor and so far, the food menu is the same on every floor. This is a 240-seater restaurant so space is not a problem,” he said adding, “We are planning to serve only finger foods on first, fourth and fifth floors where people can enjoy drinks and starters.” 

Their menu includes Indian, Oriental and Continental cuisines. Rajput says that they serve traditional food but the names on the menu are interesting and innovative like Mushroom Cappuccino, Seafood Bisque, Paneer Ke Kurkure, Spinach and Cheese Bharwan Kumbh, Tehelka Nachos, Mustard BBQ Pineapple Prawns, Crispy Spicy Calamari, Szechwan Vegetable Dim Sum, Chicken Caesar Salad etc.
 
For starters, Rajput recommended Cheese Sticks and Spicy Chicken Tikka Cigar. We also ordered a pint of beer which was served with complimentary Nachos. Spicy Chicken Tikka Cigar was yummy and filling. It had minced chicken rolled in chicken breast. With every bite we enjoyed the delectable flavours of Indian spices, and the mint chutney added to the taste. 

Cheese Sticks were served with salsa. The mild taste of cheese and the tanginess of Tomato Salsa perfectly balanced the flavours. The sticks were crunchy and we couldn’t stop at one.
 
For the main course, we ordered Chicken Thai Curry (red) with Lemon Rice and Dhaniya Mirch Murg. Dhaniya Mirch Murch was served with Wheat Roti and Jeera Rice, so it’s a complete meal. It had medium pieces of chicken and, as the name suggests, a strong flavour of dhaniya (coriander leaves). It wasn’t spicy at all and was a welcome change from the usual onion and tomato gravy. 

The Thai Curry was bang on. It had rich flavours of coconut milk and lemon grass. The curry went well with Lemon Rice.
 
After a hearty meal, we decided to enjoy the breeze and ambience a little more before heading home. 
     
ST READER SERVICE
Tehelka is located at New DP Road, Vishal Nagar, Pimple Nilakh, and is open from noon-midnight