Vardhan Marwah
At first glance, it’s a jalebi. Look closer, and it’s cloaked in Parmesan. On the side, what appears to be malai rabri is actually a silky saffron aioli—garlicky on the palate.
This twisted (pun intended) version of the quintessential Indian mithai opens a larger conversation about how we eat at Farro, Pune’s newest global comfort food restaurant.
Where Grain Meets Geography
Farro exterior (Photo Credit: Farro)
Nestled in Koregaon Park, Farro greets you with limestone-finished walls, earthy beige interiors, and a ceiling dotted with hanging farro stalks. A clay pot mural adds character to the indoor space.
Chef-restaurateur Vardaan Marwah—who has trained with culinary stalwarts like Abhijit Saha, Sujan Sarkar, Suvir Saran, and staged with Gaggan Anand in Bangkok—brings his unique interpretation of global comfort dining. As the Culinary Director at Sip & Savour (the group behind Oi Brewhouse, Murphy’s, and Quora), he has now taken a humble grain—farro, or khapli as it’s known in Maharashtra—and built an entire restaurant philosophy around it.
“Farro has roots in Egypt, the Middle East, Italy, and the Indus Valley. Just like its three sizes—einkorn (small), emmer (medium), and spelt (large)—our menu has three sections with 40 dishes. The idea is to connect familiar flavours across geographies,” explains Marwah.
Only one dish and one drink use farro directly: Farro-Stuffed Peppers and Gilgamesh, a cocktail blending farro wheat beer and whiskey for a sweet, nutty finish.
Global Techniques, Desi Reminiscence
Thirty layer truffle latke (Photo Credit: Farro)
Farro’s menu blurs boundaries—both cultural and culinary. In the Rajma Cannoli, dahi is swapped with labneh. An Italian Arancini becomes an Israeli barley risotto, inspired by Ottolenghi’s recipes, but seasoned with ajwain and feta for a khichdi-like comfort.
One standout dish? The 48-hour, 30-layer truffle latke, a take on the Israeli potato pancake. Micron-sized potato filaments form a compact slab, which is fired in brown butter and topped with truffle and Parmesan cream.
Despite a wood-fired oven, Farro doesn’t serve pizza. Instead, you’ll find breads like simit, pita, sheermal, and tilvor emerging from its flames.
Bharta or Baba Ghanoush? You Decide.
The baba ghanoush flatbread here is layered with an entire roasted eggplant stuffed with paanch phoran masala on sourdough. It’s served with pickled onions and Moroccan chermoula that tastes like a chutney your grandmother might make—herbs chopped, not blitzed.
“Is it bharta or baba ghanoush? Your taste buds will tell you (or not),” Marwah laughs.
Pashtun Kebabs and Butter Chicken Shawarma
One of the most fascinating dishes is the Pashtun Kebab, inspired by the borderlands of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Pressed like a chapli kebab, it’s skillet-cooked and served wrapped in sheermal, paired with Afghan-style borani and pickled carrots.
The Butter Chicken Shawarma is reinvented too—drenched in a makhani sauce made from green tomatoes and capsicum, it replaces the usual Lebanese toum with an Indian spin.
Sipping Across Civilisations
The Alchemist (Photo Credit: Farro)
Cocktails trace civilisations too. Sone Ki Chidiya that lands into India with a coconut gin and balanced with kokum, tamarind and mango topped with a creamy saffron foam. The Alchemist from the Persian belt pairs whiskey with herbal liqueur and apricot caviar. Egyptian civilisation’s Pharoah and the Nile is a briny gin-based cocktail with lacto-fermented pomegranate and dates, while Earth and Spirit, inspired from the Olmecs who worshipped a jaguar found amid cacao plantations come into the glass as cacao gin and lacto-fermented plums. The Empress of the Red Pavilion raises a cup to the evening tea the empress made. This version is heady with hibiscus tequila reposado.
Comfort, Not Conformity
Parmesan Jalebi (Photo Credit: Farro)
“We’re breaking down the idea of ‘authenticity’ and cooking food from around the world using basic ingredients and simple techniques,” says Marwah. “Every bite should remind you of something familiar. Is it Indian? It’s open to interpretation.”
If You Go
Farro
Shop 1/2, 357/1, Lane No. 6, Meera Nagar Garden Society, Koregaon Park, Pune, Maharashtra – 411001
📞 +91 96903 63706
Open: Tuesday to Sunday
Meal for two: ₹3,000++ (without alcohol)
Related: This Indian Chef Is Taking Rural Tamil Cuisine On A Global Plate
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The information in this article is accurate as of the date of publication.
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Written By
Phorum Pandya
Dining and Cooking