The Westin Pune Koregaon Park opens Indian comfort food restaurant 'AAFREEN'
The Westin Pune Koregaon Park opens Indian comfort food restaurant 'AAFREEN'

Over the past decade or two the concept of dining out, globally, has seen an evolution; more-so in the past few years. While there are numerous restaurants serving Indian cuisine or an interpretation of it, there are a few truly representing the vastness of India’s culinary culture.

With a focus on presenting Indian food in its unabashed form, The Westin Pune Koregaon Park presents the future of Indian dining with the launch of AAFREEN - Inspired Indian.

In recent past, the palate of Indian diners has also evolved, allowing for further exploration of regional Indian food and infusing modern techniques to elevate the overall dining experience. Aafreen - Inspired Indian aims to offer a glimpse into the vastness of regional Indian cuisine, through small plates and comfort food concepts, created by a team of culinary experts led by Chef Vikram Khatri.

Chef Khatri, with his team, spent over six months researching dishes from across India before getting to food trials. The handcrafted menu presents a mix of classic recipes with unique ingredient pairings, offering familiar tastes.

The team has consciously endeavored to keep the focus of each creation on the four pillars that form the basis of the cuisine at Aafreen - Inspired Indian - flavor, aroma, texture and visual appeal. Aafreen - Inspired Indian, envisages to bring forth traditional Indian cuisine, sans theatrics, focusing on flavours representing the dining cultures of its varied regions.

“The Cuisine at Aafreen brings alive the spirit of India through its Comfort Indian Food and Unique Combination of Pan Indian Flavors. The entire menu mix is a bouquet of ingredients emphasizing the freshness and a bold taste palate. Barring the Lamb Chops (Barrah), all other ingredients are locally sourced and are proudly indigenous to the Indian Sub-continent. The thought behind the menu mix is also to put together an array of small plates, with various offerings along with Timeless Classics and some comfort Dessert options,” shared Khatri.

Designed by Rushabh Parekh and covering a dining area of 1900 square feet, accommodating 50 guests, the restaurant is designed to offer a truly luxurious dining experience. Aesthetics of the window paintings are inspired from The Mandu Palace in Madhya Pradesh to encapsulate the ambience of traditional Indian culture with a luxe and modern edge, added. Guests are greeted with customized lampshades, handpicked from the Sabyasachi collection along with Menu cover design. Savor delectable cuisine in an equally regal crockery designed by National award winning artist, Keshari Nandan.

“Indian cuisine, in recent times, has captured the imagination of diners around the world. While the endeavor has been to make Indian food exciting, we felt that it was becoming more theatrical and falling short on the culinary strengths that our cuisine offers. With the belief that Indian food has much more to offer and realizing the gap, we felt it was time for us to introduce a concept like Aafreen to our discerning guests,” added Sudeep Sharma, General Manager, The Westin Pune.

 
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