The restaurant I just mentioned (it doesn’t even have a name yet) opened at Gokina a couple of weeks back. I went there late last Saturday with some friends which culminated in an under-10 minute ride (or more like a mad rush) down, a fun, adrenaline-pumping, but very risky manauover, even if you do happen to have a sturdy car with Anti-locking Braking System (ABS) (you know who you are). 😉
The food is pretty good and prices are relatively decent for a quality place such as this. They seem to have stolen my idea and include a number of different naans on the menu. I have yet to find another place in Isb that offers varieties such as garlic naan or cheese naan. Their butter chicken haandi (or stew) is excellent as well. I have yet to try out the other dishes.
The service however, is quite appalling, though it may be too early to say that. There are multiple levels (we counted at least 5 different sections) to the restaurant, sloping downwards and giving the appearance of the deck of a cruise ship. There must be enough seating for a couple of hundred people. Yet despite being somewhat far and difficult to reach from the city, it was jam-packed yesterday. All this before they have even put up a sign board or done any advertising.
We must have waited an hour for someone to come and take our order and when that didn’t happen, we just paid for the bottle of mineral water and left. Though we didn’t get to enjoy any food or drinks, the view made up for it. The ride down took longer than the last time (I’m a relatively careful driver), but it was still pretty fast and fun enough. There’s nothing like overtaking vehicles at blazing speed on a narrow, winding mountain road.
One advice to anyone going up there: bring warm clothes. It gets a little chilly after sunset or when there are clouds around (another awesome experience since sometimes you are actually within the clouds). Though it increases the risks (slippery roads + lightning hazard), I hear Pir Sohawa/Gokina is best experienced during a thunderstorm.