I am going to say it the nth time – one of the best things that happened to Mumbai, in a long time! And Bandra gets another fresh lease on life. Since I moved to Mumbai a few months back, and found my nook in my most desired suburb of Bandra, I had been running from place to place to find the perfect neighborhood bar, especially overlooking the sea, where I could watch the sunset through a glass of wine or cocktail, with my beau or hang out with my friends. I was confused and frustrated that being how charming Bandra is, and having the sea by the side, there is no such place to go to in Bandra. All you can do while watching the waves crash against the rocks is sip on quick fix tea or coffee, sit in a Barista or CCD or munch on some inconsequential roasted corn on the cob. But then, I chanced upon MasalaBar!!
Perched atop Cafe Coffee Day at the corner of Carter Road, at a perfect location overlooking the sea, the people and the atmosphere, it could not have gotten better (apart from being on Bandstand). MasalaBar can truly become the “noor” of the suburbs. Candlelight, sunsets, a fun experimental lab for a bar, interesting and creative food menu, dapper yet super nice crew, and groovy music – perfect, and how!
We started off with a few incredible cocktails (it is commendable to see the effort, creativity and thought that has gone into creating these) with whiskey, vodka and gin. Sunset at Carter: whiskey with with rosemary and orange concoction and topped with an almond foam – love at first sip! Malabar Point was next in line, apple chamomile reduction, vodka and thyme foam. They served it with a diffuser puffing out soft chamomile and apple fragrance, for one to internalize the flavors. I particularly loved the cocktail they named An Evening At Chowpatty, vodka with coconut curry mix, served in a glass jar weighing exactly the same as a green coconut. Fresh, different and comforting. But to top the experience, they make one of the best whiskey sours (sorry, but had to try my fav mix to set the benchmark) in business!
All of the above with several fusion small plates to munch on. The chana tempura chaat makes the Mumbai experience complete. The chicken lollipop 65 is a the perfect companion with the quirky cocktails, crisp outside and amazingly soft inside (loved it). Their truffled fries tops the list, for that awesome truffle flavor, and perfected crispiness. We also tried their chilli poppers, filled with gooey goat cheese inside the achar mirchis, crumb fried. I was floored with the pulled kathal sliders (yum would be an understatement) and the melt-in-the-mouth mutton galouti sliders, both served with potato wafers on a stick. The risotto phirni was the best of both worlds, for me – why didn’t anyone think of this before or if anyone did, why didn’t I know of it 🙁 I love risotto and anything creamy and sweet. Lovely way to end the delectable trip.
While you are gorging on the gourmet food and crazy cocktails, take a tour of the place. Watch the men at work in their bar-lab and doing exceptional stuff out of alcohol. Chemistry turns interesting for the first time ever in this lifetime. True to my excitement about this place, I went back a second time in 3 days and expect to find myself here quite often, from now on. Zorawar Kalra never failed to charm us, but MasalaBar surpasses all expectations.
Where: Carter Road corner, above Cafe Coffee Day, 1 Gagangiri Apartments
Cost: Approx. INR 5000 for 2 people. Special cocktails cost INR 700 + S. Tax.
Must Haves: Truffled Fries, Sunset@Carter, Whiskey Sours, Evening at Chowpatty, Malabar Point, Chicken Lollipop 65, Sliders and Risotto Phirni
