After a long day at work, who wouldn’t want to unwind and sip on some invigorating drinks? If you are looking for a place that has spacious outdoor seating, lots of greenery and also gives you a gorgeous view of the city, stop by and relax at Levit8 — the rooftop resto-cum-bar above Croma in Sanewadi, Aundh. With its inviting ambience, delectable food and enjoyable music, Levit8 (pronounced as levitate) lifts your spirits, helps you float and take home good memories.
Launched soon after Levit8 NIBM, Levit8 Aundh on the eighth floor is a perfect mix of old and new. While the romantic outdoor seating decorated with plants and colourful couches, high bar stools and chairs is contemporary, the elegant indoor lounge gives you a vintage feel. However, we suggest you sit outdoors, preferably the section which has glass floors and enjoy the city lights from the top and the soothing breeze.
We visited the place on Monday evening and immersed ourselves in their hospitality and soaked in the environment. We chose a table that had the glass flooring beneath and above the city’s magnificent skyline was visible. The pleasant breeze made the ambience even more enjoyable.
While this young and vibrant elevated rooftop lounge offers a wide range of cuisines, including Continental, Italian, Indian, Middle Eastern, Asian and so on, their unique range of cocktails and mocktails are equally exciting. We ordered Market Yard (gin infused turmeric, lime, orange syrup, tonic water and javitri infused ice), Watermelon Mule (vodka, watermelon, lime, homemade ginger beer and bitters) and Blood and Sand (blended scotch whiskey, sweet vermouth, cherry syrup and orange juice). Each drink has a unique flavour with the perfect blend of alcohol and ingredients added to them. After a hectic day at work and strenuous driving through crowded roads, the drinks were truly refreshing. What accompanied the drinks was Sehatmand Chakha — a healthy and tangy salad made with black channa, peanuts, American corn — all boiled and mixed with onions, tomato, chillies and lime.
We did not want to order too many varieties of starters, so we chose a few that offered great aroma and taste. The first item that was served was Ghee Roast Potato Kebabs (baby potato in ghee roast spices and cooked in the tandoor). A potato lover cannot ask for anything more! The perfect balance of herbs gave the humble potato dish a distinctive taste that lingered in our mouth.
Next came Bharwan Kumbh Malai (cheese stuffed button mushrooms in malai marinade). Let us tell you, if you love mushrooms, this will be the best form to relish it and the cream dipped onion served along with it is the cherry on the top.
Jerked Chicken Tikka (jerk marinated chicken, tandoor grilled and served with hot sauce drizzle) is what every chicken lover would find lip-smacking when s/he wants to savour something light to go with the drinks. The chicken was cooked to perfection and the marination gave it a great taste.
The main course would be the next obvious choice, but we wanted to simply take a break from food and enjoy the drinks for a while. This time some non-alcoholic drinks though. Energiser was a perfect pick for the evening. Served in a tall twisted glass, the drink made with pineapple juice, mango juice, coconut syrup, basil leaves and fresh cream can be a great option for those who enjoy fruits. This is certainly an interesting way to have them. The subtle taste of basil after every sip was heavenly.
For the main course, we opted for Penne Creme ai Fungi. Penne tossed with sauteed mushrooms and cream and served with crispy Garlic Bread was smooth, creamy, flavourful and filling. It was a perfect meal and frankly, we had no room for dessert.
Levit8 has everything going right for the guests — different kinds of seating arrangements, various types of cuisines, a wide choice of drinks, a great ambience and foot-tapping music. So you know where to head this weekend!
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Levit8 is located at NSG Building, 8th floor, Sahil Park, Aundh, and is open between 5 pm and 1.30 am. The menu is moderately priced. It has covered parking space in the basement.
