Chinese fine-dine to Italian trattoria: JW Marriott Pune is a food connoisseur’s delight 

By: Vivek M 

Pune is a busy city, and there’s not much time to take a breather on a daily basis. So when JW Marriott sends you a Mercedes 220 D for pickup, you hop right in! That’s how we began our journey in the spacious car, in the backseat that could be reclined, and reached our beautiful room where we were greeted with a personalized message, berries and bonbons, even my edible Instagram profile on chocolate! 

We checked into our suite which had an expansive 180-degree view of the greens around Pune, with two French windows on two sides of the suite. The huge bathroom was equipped with a bathtub, apart from the separate powder bathroom in the living room lobby.  

We headed out straight to lunch at Spice Kitchen, where there was a lavish buffet spread awaiting us. We enjoyed the chicken tajine, eggplant caponata, orange chilli poached fish, kasundi marinated seafood salad andHyderabadi biryani from the lavish multi-cuisine spread in front of us. The JW Marriott’s bakery is worth mentioning for the A-level desserts they kept whipping up throughout the staycation. We had one of the best desserts – jalousie, a classic French pastry had an unbelievably thick cross-section of decadent chocolate. We tried some pannacotta, mango mousse and a brownie (the theme of this holiday was indulgence) apart from that.  

Of Spas and High Tea 

We decided to nap in the afternoon and then moved on to our booking for a massage at their award-winning spa. Quan Spa features eight different treatment rooms, a welcome centre for consultations. They offer traditional Indian Ayurvedic treatments such as Shirodhara, Balinese massages, and deep tissue options using Vitamin E-infused ointments. We went for the Balinese treatment which helped us ease away the knots that had formed in our body, relaxing during and after the treatment.  

As you enter and change, they prep you for the massage with a feet massage, and then when you sink in to your massage bed, small details such as a bowl of fresh flowers while enjoying your session.  

By now it was time for tea, and we headed straight to the Pune Baking Co, a cute café designed like a food truck with outside seating, overlooking a bed of peace lilies. The JW Garden next to the café is fenced in with a white picket fence, seasonal vegetables and herbs are supplied to the kitchens and bars of the property. The cutest high tea arrived, with four different kinds of finger sandwiches, macarons, madeleines and tarts.  

The hotel grows its own herbs (including rosemary, mint, lemongrass and aloe vera) which are used directly in their cocktails. They host DIY mixology sessions for in-house guests as well.  

The hotel, with 416 keys is the ideal location for a grand, Indian wedding. Under the Shaadi by Marriott initiative, a dedicated wedding studio on the ground floor to curate bespoke wedding packages, utilizing spaces like a large pillarless banquet hall, with in-house decoration and catering.  

We went for dinner all dressed up to Alto Vino, their Italian restaurant. The wine cellar is front and centre, next to the bar, and is the pride of the entire place. The bread basket was fantastic, with two kinds of dips which kept us occupied till the entrée came – spinach, chicken and ricotta balls in sage brown butter sauce, an off-the-menu item that left us wanting more. The seafood fritters, in general all the seafood in the hotel is haven for all seafood lovers. Then for mains we had Chicken ragu tagliatelle, but we surprisingly fell in love with the mushroom stew, the chef’s special, a light broth made with different kinds of mushrooms. The earthy soup was topped with a herb oil, adding a nice acidic touch to this umami dish. For dessert, we went for tiramisu, which was served homestyle out of the bowl, making it a very cosy experience.  

Breakfast of calm champions 

Mornings are calm at the hotel, despite it being situated right in the midst of Pune’s city centre. Breakfast was laid out at the Spice Kitchen, with a full spread across multiple cuisine options. For our bit, we decided to sample stuff from across the tables, from miso soup to flavoured yoghurts, to a savoury croissant sandwich. Breakfast was busy, and it was only then we could see the hotel was running at full capacity.  

Among JW Marriott’s many restaurant options is a splendid Chinese one called Tao-fu. The restaurant had an expert chef from China who had been there since its inception.  

The bar menu is based on the Chinese zodiac and features fun stories behind every drink. I ordered a Yellow Emperor, served in an aluminium cup. The lotus stem was interestingly served poached in a soy broth, Cheung Fun,chicken and chives and cream cheese and truffle dimsums that transported us right into a south-east Asian country. The dish, deep-fried noodles stuffed with prawn were a rare delicacy, followed by an orange chicken version, stuffed with a sweet mango chutney. For dessert, there was the restaurant’s own version of Magnum ice cream, made with dark chocolates, and filled with a bright berry compote along with chocolate mousse.  

The swimming pool at the property is on the first floor, and has the best sunset views in  the property, which is where we headed to post the food-coma inducing lunch.  

Besides these, the hotel also features a 24th floor rooftop restaurant called Pasha serving North West Frontier cuisine, known for its iconic views of Pune’s city area.  

The double-height ceilings and the wall-to-floor windows added to the ambience. Overall, JW Marriott is a stellar property if you’re looking at a relaxed staycation, or even if you’re scouting for a property for a larger event. The restaurants are top notch, and provide a diverse variety of spreads, ensuring you travel the world while having to get into the hassle of going anywhere at all! 

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