Restaurant review: Terttulia
Terttulia, a recently opened Italian café in Koregaon Park is quickly becoming a refuge for fans of light, tasty meals.
Ambience Rating: 
“Terttulia” is a Catalan word meaning “enjoyable and pleasant conversation between friends, usually at a café” and this is exactly the sort of experience you can expect here. The café is open-air, although it is fenced off from the main road and a tarpaulin provides some relief from the sun. With its wooden tables and chairs, quirky lampposts and gentle music it feels very much like a European café and, when leaving, one almost expects to walk into an Italian street, rather than Lane 5, Koregaon Park!
Food Rating: 
A major attraction of Terttulia is that it offers a whole range of dishes which are hard to come by elsewhere such as bagels, waffles and beef burgers, to name a few. For me, the promise of “Eggs Benedict”, one of my favourite dishes, was enough to get me headed in its direction. The Eggs Benedict turned out to be tasty, although the Hollandaise sauce should have been a little richer and creamier. It was supposed to be accompanied by potato wedges but the wedges turned out to be fried, shredded potato. My friend chose the scrambled eggs which were good. However, both of us felt that the portions could have been bigger.
As luck would have it, we also bumped into a couple of other friends, who seem to have become regulars at the café. In fact, one of them had been to the café for lunch a few hours earlier and was now returning for lunch: a recommendation in itself. When I asked what they thought of the food, they reeled off a long list of recommendations: the phat farm (a vegetarian sandwich with basil, tomato and mozzarella), the Za’s (thin and crisy Moroccan pizzas), the bagels (especially the breakfast bagels, both veg and non-veg), the fish and chips (which comes with proper fries), the salads and the desserts (the croissant pudding and the cheesecake). In fact, neither of them had come across a dish they didn’t like.
Terttulia also serves wines and beers, which is only fitting for a European-style café. As for the coffee, its quality has apparently improved greatly since it opened (following a suggestion by my friend). In fact, one of the great things about Terttulia is that the owner is very open to constructive criticism and is keen to act on any suggestions. This time we suggested that they should offer take-away cups for hot drinks so watch this space!
Service Rating:
Terttulia has great food and a great ambience but it is let down by its service. My friends reported several mishaps such as receiving the wrong bill or the wrong change. One friend ordered a normal coffee but was charged for a cappuccino (on the basis that the coffee had milk in it). Having said that, I experienced no problems with the service (aside from the fact that the waiter didn’t know what the quiche of the day was).
Overall Rating:
I really enjoyed my relaxing lunch at Terttulia. And, with a few small improvements (bigger portions and more training given to the staff), it could turn into a really excellent café.
Address:
393 Sanas Corner
South Main Road
Koregaon Park
Pune 411001
Photo Courtesy : Anna Pande.
More articles by Anna Pande
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- Restaurant review: Prems - March 27th, 2009
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- Restaurant review: Malaka Spice - March 20th, 2009
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