Saturday, September 17, 2016

The Monkey Bar in Kolkata - Things to watch out for!






The Monkey has finally swung East - with Monkey Bar, India's first gastropub opening its first outlet in Kolkata at Fort Knox - Camac Street. All of us had heard lovely things about Monkey Bar from our friends in Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi. Hence, when we were invited for a preview of the MoBar( as its fondly called), I could see a lot of excitement amongst the community. 


It was also the day when Kolkata received the heaviest rainfall of the season. It was a workday and though my office is almost a 20 min walk from the outlet, I was not sure if I could make it. There was water everywhere, roads were chock-a-block with cars honking and yellow cabs blatantly refused, app cabs were surging !! In short, Kolkata was in a bad state that evening., add to that the office hour pressure. But god bless that one yellow cab driver who agreed to drop me to the venue. 




When I entered the venue, I was half wet.I was wearing a white chikankari kurta and white leggings ( God knows why such things happen to me on days I wear white :/) and I was pretty sure, it was dirty by then because I had to wade through all the waterlogging. I received a warm welcome from Team Monkey Bar. I could already spot some of my blogger friends chilling by then. Yes, I was late but I was not the only one to be late. All thanks to the weather, people took a long time to reach Monkey Bar. Yet, there was a palpable excitement :)



Here are a few things to watch out for at Monkey Bar, Kolkata :



Copper Monkey


The innovative cocktails: They have some amazing cocktails - starting with MoBar's signature Mangaa and Copper Monkey. The all new cocktail menu for Kolkata includes Toast to Calcutta, a cocktail with Gin, basil, and house made Gondhoraj cordial, Old Fashioned on Camac Street - made with Whiskey, roast almond syrup, bitters and praline and Tipsy Sherbet - our version of a Rose Margarita with egg white. If you are looking to share a drink with your friend order a Pack-a-Punch – a refreshing take on Charles Dickens most favourite drink, made with Rum, Brandy, apple and thyme shrub and cinnamon.

 My pick would definitely be Manga and Pack-a-Punch.

Pack-a-punch



Food and more food :  Chef Manu Chandra has an interesting mix of international and regional flavours for you. The menu is quirky, surprising and innovative. So while you have a mezze platter, you will also find Kerala Rice salad( a concoction of Baby spinach, red rice, raw mango, coconut, peanuts and upmensinkai; imagine having rice for salad !!). To soothe the bong taste buds they have tikki of joy - Kolkata inspired fish cutlets with kasundi and mint chutney. My favourites were the chicken chapli - galouti kebabs served on mini slices of parathas with onions and mint chutney; Butter Chicken Khchdi - Just imagine two comfort food in one : Butter chicken and khichdi. It was just the perfect dish for a rainy evening. Comes very very close to the Bhuna khichdi of Oudh !! It was yum :) Another superhit dish was the Tiger beef - soft, juicy and spicy beef dish - a preparation that is just my kind of dish. 



Tiger Beef



Butter Chicken Khichdi



Kerala Red Rice salad



The decor: Sky high ceilings with large arched windows that offer a lovely panoramic view of the city 's skyline, MoBar has an intimate set up where you can relax with your group of friends after a hard day at work. The interiors have a Kolkata touch with brick walls, quirky posters and works of local artists. They also have an outdoor seating area. Spread over 2750 square feet ,the place is warm and vibrant.





I missed the desserts, all thanks to the rains and non-availability of cabs. Next time I visit Monkey Bar, I will definitely try out the desserts beacuse I have heard great things about them from fellow bloggers. Till next time, then.


Overall, I loved the ambience of the place. The cocktails and food especially the chicken chapli, tiger beef, butter chicken khichdi is superb. 


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Disclaimer: Love Health N Beauty dined at MonkeyBar on the kind invitation of the management

2 comments:

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