A Punjabi food village in Gurgaon. Review on Pind Baluchi, Sector 29, Gurgaon

For those who stay in Gurgaon, this may be a known name, but for the interest of those who stay elsewhere, Pind Baluchi is a "Good quality food in a small budget" restaurant, speciallising in Punjabi food, the same being served in a village ambience.

The Location: It is next door to "Bikanerwala" outlet in sector -29 Gurgaon. It has its back to the only public park in the city - The Leisure valley. One would feel the splendour of having driven on the surface of the Moon while driving to Pind Baluchi. Finding a parking place is generally not an issue as there is paid parking available, enough to accomodate about 200 cars.

The Ambience: Elaborating further on the village ambience, the interiors are well designed to resemble caves and decorated with the tid-bits associated with village life - Lanterns, Charpais, and well(Don't look for water there!). The temperature is maintained at a comfortable level(I would presume between 20-25 dec Celcius)The overall lighting is dull but individual lights focus on tables / charpais so that one know what he / she is eating. The cutlery too is very much in sync with the ambience. The brass tumblers and the spoons weigh more than what an urban human had is accustomed to holding. Just for the curious reader - an empty glass may still weigh over a KG!

The Food: The unfamiliar piece of wood kept on your table would be the menu, so don't ask the waiter what it is.They serve veg as well as non-veg food. Do not expect small servings hence it is always a good idea to consult the waiter for the quantity to order for a group of people. I am quite fond of their Parathas served with Gravy or curd. One paratha is good enough to satisfy my hunger. They have some not-so-common items available like - Kurkuri Bhindi, Aam Panna etc to name a few.The taste of the food has suited every pallette that I personally know off. They serve liquor / beer as well. I am a non-drinker so no review on this part.

The Price: As I said earlier, this is not an expensive eating joint. This can be compared to Dana Choga in terms of prices and value for money. In groupf of 3-4 people, a veg dinner / lunch would cost around Rs 150-200 per head, while the carnivores may need to shell our another Rs 50 - 75 per head. No advice for drunkards for reasons already cited. Don't forget to add the Rs 10 you spend on the parking and some sundry expenses if your kid finds some street vendor selling toys amusing.

The Music: I have always heard someting different being played there. There is no live music, hence all you hear is out of their music system. I have heard them playing Kishore Kumar, Pankaj Udhas, Shaan, MLTR, some shehnai etc, hence no real theme that they stick to can be understood. It is definately loud, and at times it can drown your voice, hence simple chatting could turn out to be screaming at each other. One does not realise that when dining, but would realise while gargling later.

The Staff: The staff are dressed in typical village attire. Whenever I visit Pind Baluchi, I wonder how comfortable would these guys be while sporting a Kurta and a tehmat. They get really busy during rush hours and carrying all that on themselves. Their dresses seem to be washed regularly hence the element of clenliness is obvious. I all my experience I had found the staff to be very polite and willing to serve the hungry customer.

The long wait: Oh Yes, this place witnesses a rush on weekends, and often during weeknights. They follow a neat process of allotting waitlist numbers based on the number of people in the group. There is an electronic display panel outside the restaurant that displays the current status. Even though there are waitlists, I have never had to wait for more than 15 minutes to enter. As far as I am aware, they do not have a reservation / advance booking policy.

If I were to summarize the pros and cons of Pind Baluchi, here's what I would say:

Pros:

1. Excellent food(Both veg as well as non veg)

   
   




2. Good Ambience

   
   




3. Well groomed and polite staff.

   
   




4. Very affordable prices.

   
   




5. Sometimes, good music.

   
   




6. No intrusion of privacy

   
   

Cons:

1. Relatively slow service - maybe due to the staff diverting some of their attention to their attirte.

   
   




2. Presence of slight smoke everywhere as the tandoors are open for public view.

   
   




3. It does not have separate alchol and smoking sections.

   
   




4. The road near the restaurant are in a bad shape - God forbid if you visit during monsoons.

   
   

All said and done, Pind baluchi is a place worth visiting time and again for great affordable food in an ambience different to the concrete jungles we live in.

And as I always say - Happy Chomping!