My rating: 4/5
Location: 55, 5th Floor, Goenka Chambers, 19th Main Road, Jeewan Griha Colony, Phase 2, JP Nagar, Bangalore
So here's the thing about living in BTM, you are at equal distance from Koramangala and JP nagar, and more often than not, one gives preference to the former when it comes to deciding on a pub. So this Thursday, I decided to try out the latter.
I arrived here at around 3 PM and was promptly greeted by the staff. I wanted to plug in my laptop so they got me a seat accordingly. Since it was a weekday, they only had one variery of crafted beer called the Golden ale. I ordered a beer, masala peanuts and garlic bread. The beer was delicious! I mean, I have almost tried all the breweries here in Bangalore, and trust me, that beer was one of the best I've had (I eventually ended up ordering 3 more)!
While the waiters are quite polite, their service could be better. I did not order much food, so really can't comment on that aspect. The ambiance is quite relaxed and though I went during the daytime, I could tell that it would look beautiful at night.
All in all, it was a refreshing experience and I would definitely recommend it!
My rating: 4/5
Location: 298, Namma Metro Pillar 62, 100 Feet Road, Indiranagar, Bangalore
You can safely say that this is the most famous brewery in Bangalore. This was the first brewery that I visited here, 3 years back. I loved it then, and I love it now! This is one of those places which have maintained their quality over the years and because of this, many patrons like me swear by it!
This place has three floors, the top floor being the smoking zone. It's almost usually crowded, even on weekdays, so be prepared to wait for sometime before you can get a seat. The ambiance is quite rustic and old school. I've tried all their beers and I particularly like the Tintin. This place serves some of the best wood fire pizzas in town and their chicken wings is an absolute delight! The nachos come with generous proportions of cheese! I can go on about the food here but instead I'll just say that you can order anything on the menu and you will not be disappointed! If you are new to Bangalore, this is one of the places you have to try, and if you've been living here, you should've already been here! :)
My rating: 4/5
Location: N 5th Floor, Gopalan Innovation Mall, Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore
A few days back, I was stranded at Gopalan mall thanks to the unexpected Bangalore rains and decided to have dinner at this place with a couple of friends. Boy, was I in for a pleasant surprise! First off, they have happy hours..till 11 PM, which means 1+1 on almost all IMFLs practically throughout the day!! We did not opt for the buffet as none of us were that hungry.
As you enter the place you will see the fine dining area where the buffet is served. They play soft music which goes well with the ambiance. There is a lounge section as well which is where we went. They have a pool table here along with some couches where they played old english classics, much to our delight! We ordered chicken manchurian, chicken tikka and a couple of veg starters. The food is sumptuous! I personally loved it. The tikka has that certain "Delhi flavour" which I find missing in most of the kebab houses here. For main course, we ordered biryani along with some nan and mushroom gravy. The quantity was quite generous they were as delicious as the starters. A pretty noticeable downside to this place is it's nonchalant waiters, but with the overall experience, one wouldn't really complain I guess.
I'll definitely revisit to try their buffet!
My rating: 3.5/5
Location: 4032, Terrace Mainland China Building, HAL, 2nd Stage, Off 100 Feet Road, Indiranagar, Bangalore
Went to this place a few weeks back. This seems to be quite a youth magnet as you will see a lot of college crowd here. There is indoor as well as outdoor seating options, indoor being the no smoking area. The outdoor area has some kind of overhead sprinklers which go off time to time, filling the area with a cloud of sprayed water. Must say, I found this pretty cool! As you enter, you have a wall with tiny doors and the ladies can open a door each and can keep the goodies inside, if they are lucky enough to find anything there! They also have several board games which you can pick up and play on your table.
Food and drinks here are pretty cheap. I ordered a peanut masala, chicken wings and a pitcher of beer. The quantity of the starters were a little less than I had expected, but given their price, they were a pretty good deal!
Overall, a nice hangout joint.
My rating: 3/5
Location: NJ 2, Near Infinity Tower, Block GP, Bidhan Nagar, Sector 5, Salt Lake, Kolkata
Being a Bengali, born and bought up in Delhi, I've never had a chance to live in Kolkata. So when I got relocated to salt lake, I was delighted and opium was the first pub in salt lake that I visited. First impression, must say, was not that good. Going by the reviews, I would say that it's pretty over hyped. This is a place for regulars. Period. If you are a new visitor, don't expect good service. The waiters will serve you as if they are doing you a favour. Also, this place does not have a separate DJ and the waiters are the ones who play the music. They claim that they play "Rock", but when you request them for a song, they are clueless! Having said that, I must say, the food is pretty good and, well, if you do become a regular (and tip well), you will be treated like a celebrity! Overall a decent place to hangout with friends.
My rating: 4/5
Location: N 18, Outer Circle, Opposite Katurbha Gandhi Marg,Connaught Place, New Delhi
I used to be a regular to this place in 2010-11, after that I moved to Bangalore. But even so, I make it a point to visit this place every time I'm in Delhi.
One thing that I must say is that every time I visit this place, I'm left a little disappointed.
Why?
Well, Blues used to be THE coolest hangout spot in CP for good music (read blues) lovers. With talented singers like Linda and Bismarco playing live music every evening, it used to offer the best music-best food-best ambiance deal. And yes, the happy hours (God i miss Delhi)! 1+1 on drinks till 8 PM! Yup, this place had it all.
But over the years, I have to say, the overall quality of this place has gone down. Where once the mood was set by The Beatles, John Denver, The Doors and the likes, have now been replaced by Katy Perry and the "pop" brigade (yes, Katy Perry!).
The food here is good, especially the Indian and the continental. I like the non veg platter, the chilli chicken, the baked nachos and the sizzlers. The waiters are quite impatient, and sometimes arrogant. One can say that the weakest aspect of this place is it's service.
There is no separate smoking zone and you have to go out to take a drag (another mood spoiler, but over the years we got used to it). You will love the ambiance if you like Gothic or the dark, in general.
My rating is solely because of the wonderful memories I have associated with this place. If you don't have much expectations music-wise, and are looking for a place to drink and have good food, you'll like it.
As they say, it's tough to be the best, but it's tougher to maintain it! Hope the management wakes up before this place loses all its credibility!
My rating: 3.5/5
Location: 2nd Floor, 1st A Cross Road, Jyothi Nivas College Road, 5th Block, Koramangala, Bangalore
Went there last Saturday after reading about it in the reviews. This place is plush! Definitely has an English touch. The waiters managed to get us a table even though it was a Saturday night and we went quite late. We ordered a tower of beer, Irish nachos and some cottage cheese starters. The food was satisfactory. There is a separate smoking section where they have a foosball table. Overall, we were having a good time, but then, the music changed!
Let me explain. You see, the kind of music a restaurant plays matters a lot to me and therefore this particular aspect is always under a lot of scrutiny. Now there was the DJ, and there was this other guy with him (who was supposedly the VP as informed by a waiter). When we went there, they were playing the 80s hit British chart busters (Beatles, Duran Duran, Foreigners, Led Zeppelin etc) which was quite impressive and added to the whole English-pub-like feel. I personally requested a few bands and they happily obliged. But as soon as this guy left, the DJ started playing EDM! It was a surprise as the other guy had specifically told us that they do not play that kind of music here! The manager told us that they start off with blues and soft rock and graduate to dance music as the night progresses. This was the only turn off about this place.
Overall, if you are not too fussy about your music, you should give it a try!
