Pune on my Plate: This retired Air India plane is now a viral highway diner near Pune

Brownstone Air Dine, on the Pune–Satara highway at Khed-Shivapur, (Express Photo)

“We bought the aeroplane in 2023 and started to customise the interiors to convert it into a dining area and opened it for public use at the end of 2025,” says Shinde, 38.

Spread across a spacious area along the highway, the restaurant has a seating capacity of around 75 customers indoors. The interior is carefully designed with bright lighting, decorative elements, small landscaped gardens, and attractive corners that visitors often use as photo spots. A children’s playing area adds to its appeal as a family destination.

The seating infrastructure was specially developed for the restaurant. According to Shinde, the chairs and seating modules were manufactured in Bengaluru and Satara, using fibre material for durability and design flexibility.

The restaurant is adorned with bright lighting, decorative elements, small landscaped gardens and attractive corners that visitors often use as photo spots. (Express Photo)

Brownstone Air Dine follows a strictly vegetarian menu, with a special focus on Jain and Rajasthani cuisine. The kitchen team includes chefs from Uttarakhand along with Jain chefs, ensuring that the food caters to diverse vegetarian preferences.

Interestingly, the restaurant’s menu is designed in the style of an airbase or airport layout, matching the aviation theme. Instead of conventional headings like starters or main course, dishes are grouped under creative titles such as ‘Kheton Ki Hariyali’, and ‘Desi Matke Ka Kamaal’. Popular dishes include Paneer Lajawab, Paneer Lababdar, Lasuni Paneer, Paneer Hariyali Tikka Masala, Singapuri Noodles, and Singapuri Fried Rice.

For beverages, milkshakes appear under a section titled ‘Chalte Chalte’, offering flavours such as mango, orange, chocolate, banana, vanilla, butterscotch, Oreo, dragon fruit, and strawberry. The dessert menu features classics like gulab jamun with ice cream, basundi, and triple sundae, along with seasonal mocktails and juices.

The entrance to Brownstone Air Dine Restaurant’s menu. (Express Photo)

Like many new ventures, Brownstone Air Dine faced a challenging start as they started getting more crowds than their capacity, and have now ramped up their service so that people do not return disappointed. “We have a dining area outside too, but of course, when people travel all the way, here everyone wants to sit inside the plane,” says Shinde. Beyond dining, the premises also include shops and recreational areas that are rented out, providing small employment opportunities for local people.

With highway tourism and experiential dining gaining popularity around Pune, the owners believe that Brownstone Air Dine could evolve into a popular stop for travellers heading toward Satara, Kolhapur, and southern Maharashtra.

“We wanted to create a place where families can come, relax, and enjoy food in a different atmosphere,” Shinde said, adding that future plans include expanding the menu and introducing more themed experiences for visitors.

(Poorva Santosh Thombare is an intern with The Indian Express)