The Great Kabab Factory at Radisson Blu Kharadi Pune is back with a bang. Sticking to its basic concept of serving you an array of yummilicious kababs, the new menu will wow you with innovative chutneys and garnishes and rare ingredients.

Situated in a cavernous space on the first floor of the hotel, the interiors have been redone along with the menu. You can expect soft lighting and mood music that will urge you to slow down, relax and take a deep breath so you can get in the mood for the gastronomical feast that is about to be unleashed on you.

I was pleasantly surprised to find ghazals playing in the background. Ghazals seem to have gone on the backburner the last few years. Last New Year’s, I was looking for a restaurant that would have some live ghazals in a fine dining setting and I couldn’t find a place like that in Pune. Used to be, Hotel Kohinoor Executive on Apte Road, Deccan always had ghazals playing. Of course that was a different era, 20-25 years ago when Pune didn’t have a dozen luxury hotels scattered across the city. Point is, if you are a ghazal lover, you are going to be a happy camper even before The Great Kabab Factory serves a single morsel of food.

There is an extensive drinks menu offering plenty of libations to quench your thirst. The recommended drink is Maratha Empire, a guava juice based mocktail livened up with Chat Masala. There is a set menu that offers six vegetarian and six non-vegetarian appetizers. If you are a carnivore, you better bring a good appetite. You will want to taste everything and go in for seconds. There is a main meal with some curries and breads, a slow cooked Daal and biryani. Don’t worry about your sweet tooth. There are plenty of desserts to choose from and this meal ends with Paan.

Executive Chef Amol Patil has worked hard to fine tune every dish so that it not only tastes delicious but is also visually appealing. You will get more than the usual mint chutney as a side, with tomato and tamarind chutneys vying with laccha onions that are seasoned with mint and chili.

The vegetarian kababs started with Paneer Paratdar. This was a stuffed paneer kabab wrapped in puff pastry garnished with a creamy walnut sauce. Mildly spiced, this kabab will easily have you going in for seconds and thirds.

I was happy to see a vegetarian version of their Galouti Kabab. Minced to an inch of its life, the kabab rested on a tiny paratha (Ulate Tave Ka Paratha) and was generously spiced with a complex taste. The paratha adds some body and texture to the kabab. If you don’t eat the paratha, you can definitely put back a few of these kababs.

The Pumpkin Burrata Chop heroed the humble pumpkin. This is one of the highlights of the new menu. The team at The Great Kabab Factory has worked hard to create recipes that stick to the roots of the cuisine but are different from the usual tikka you can get at any restaurant.

Mushroom Galouti Kabab was served with a creamy gucchi mushroom sauce and the small Ulate Tave Ka Paratha. I loved this kabab packed with the earthy fungi flavors but it was spiced quite strongly. Going easy on the spices here might make the mushroom pop more.

Khoya Aur Badam Bharwan Aloo was stuffed with nuts and served on a bed of crumbled papad. This is another appetizer which is a notch above the usual stuffed potatoes.

We were served some fruits and chaas in between just for a change of pace and to cleanse the palate. The Masala Chaas was heavy on chili and spice. I feel a simple salted Chaas would have done a better job here.

Paneer Ki Nazakat was another creamy, nutty gravy with paneer stuffed with nuts. Garlic Naan, Laccha Paratha and Kulchas went well with the vegetable curry. You will probably not have room for Biryani after all this but it is worth a taste. The Vegetable Biryani was mildly spiced which was good but had strong flavors of kevra which I’m not too crazy about.

The desserts took my breath away. The pastry chefs at the Radisson have done a wonderful job with the desserts. Mango Pannacotta with Gulab Jamun, Baked Yogurt with Caramel and Chocolate Mousse with Ras Malai were all excellent choices to feed that sweet tooth. Tres Leche fans have a new version to try here, flavored with Paan.

A trio of kulfis – rose, malai and paan – provided a fitting end to this lavish meal, truly a Daawat-E-Khas.

Staff at the restaurant is friendly and courteous making the whole experience pleasant.

The Great Kabab Factory offers a good balance of ambience, service and exotic but traditional food, making it a perfect dinner destination for the entire family. You don’t need to fight over a menu, trying to decide what will please everyone in your group. There is plenty of variety and something to satisfy every taste.

Check it out the next time you are out for a meal with your family.