Restaurant Review: 3 Spices - DoubleTree by Hilton (Global)

I must say this was a real surprise and a level of cuisine I never expected in the Chakan area.
Decor
Doubletree by Hilton is already attracting many of the factory owners and executives in an area which up to now has been devoid of an international level of cuisine. In fact, this Doubletree Hilton with its contemporary look and feel, is much smarter than other Doubletrees I have visited.Their all-day dining 3 Spices is just off the lobby. I also look forward to their Japanese section opening shortly.
Food
Spices have an extensive lunch and dinner buffet. I like the idea of the ‘make your own salad bar’ which is placed separately from the rest of the food on offer. The items may not be huge in number but the quality is spot-on. We chose a variety of dishes off the menu which is a classic coffee shop menu with Italian, Asian and Indian cuisines with some interesting, thoughtful and quirky renditions of popular street and regional dishes like chef’s mutton sukka, the Sikkimese noodle soup ‘thupka’ and the komdi cha rassa. Start with sharing platters. We chose the dudhiya kebab (cottage cheese sandwich with spicy potato and green chutney) and dimsums. Both were very good. The fresh shiitake potato cake with tamarind chutney was a cut above anything I have had in this genre for a long time. The menu has indications very relevant to today’s - low carb, healthy, low fat dishes like the Mediterranean salad with red wine vinaigrette and feta crumble, carom spiced tawa paplet and the Mumbai toastie, the classic Bombay veg street sandwich with green chutney which I both love and miss. I would also recommend the French snack croque monsieur - an open ham sandwich with a generous topping of Emmental cheese. This one had an egg in it as well — so technically it should be a croque madame. It was a very good rendition of the French café special with fabulous presentation. We also had the spaghetti with poached mackerel and lemon zest which was not on the menu but specially created by the chef. Do not miss dessert. For our lunch the pastry chef created a chocolate mousse with baileys ice cream and raspberry caviar. Do stop at ‘Tarta’ their bakery/patisserie. I recommend the blueberry cheesecake and the red velvet cake.
Plus & Minus: Great food but all the way in Chakan.
Times food guide
3 Spices - Doubletree by Hilton C-32 MIDC, Tata Motors Road, Chinchwad, Pune-411019
Price for two: `1500, soup and salad buffet at `275
Timings: 24 hours
Rating:
Food: 3.5
Service: 3.5
Décor: 3.5