Japanese cuisine is a beautifully intricate cuisine involving mind-boggling knife skills and true respect of the ingredient. Not many chefs can master this superb cuisine and the ones that do, are treated with immense respect. Japanese cuisine is slowly gaining ground in this country and its fantastic example can be given in Pune. The city is home to ‘Harajuku’ which initially gave the residents their first taste of this oriental cuisine. The restaurant is responsible for presenting this Japanese cuisine in a new and elegant avatar in wonderful setting of The O Hotel in Koregaon Park. Swish and opulent in décor the restaurant has a very edgy and modern vibe. In a wooden and earthy room colour red brings the much required vibrancy and is further enhanced by clever lighting. A circular Teppanyaki counter dominates the room flanked by lovely comfortable chairs. Harajuku is stylishly designed and cleverly decorated conveying the posh image it is trying to create.

The menu is authentically Japanese with all the hit and bestsellers associated with this fine cuisine. if you are new at this then may I suggest to look into the set lunches or bento boxes which is like a Japanese thali where you can taste little bit of everything. Pick on the exotic menu by beginning with sashimi (tuna, prawns, calamari, sea bream, mackerel, scallops, octopus, yellow tail), jyo sashimi (seabream, salmon, tuna, crabstick, tamago), tokujou sashimi (salmon roe, octopus, salmon, saba, tuna, scallops, yellow tail, crabstick), hand rolled temaki (kappa temaki, tempura temaki, salmon spicy temaki, takwan temaki, salmon skin spicy temaki), nigiri sushi (octopus, tuna, sea bream, mackerel, calamari, eel, scallops, prawns, egg omelette, salmon belly, avocado), gunkan sushi (salmon roe, prawn roe), makimono (tuna roll, avocado maki, shrimp roll, pickled raddish), spider roll, rainbow roll, edamame, tamago soup, sea weed salad and miso soup.

Harajuku displays an impressive selection of mains featuring buta niku (pork loin with teriyaki sauce), deep fried shrimp tempura, kamunegi (duck breast with teriyaki sauce), yasai robatayaki (grilled vegetables in chef’s sauce), sakana nitzuke (boiled white fish with sweet sauce), zaru soba (brown cold noodles with chef’s sauce), tuna steak teppanyaki, salmon teriyaki, pork teppanyaki, strip loin & leeks with yakiniku sauce, duck breast & asparagus with shiogayaki sauce and pork loin & leeks with yakiniku sauce. Bill will be hefty here but eat dessert anyways especially sago with syrup, ice cream tempura and pineapple crepe.