For those who are familiar with Bandra’s famous Carter Road stretch, you know that it’s the ultimate ‘eat street’ – it’s restaurant after restaurant serving diet-destroying fast food. And now, right above Café Coffee Day comes MasalaBar, a science lab-style tapas bar that will take your Friday night plans up a few notches.The brainchild of Zoravar Kalra, this moody candle-lit bar (complete with scientific apparatus courtesy The Busride Design Studio) is everything you would expect from the founder of Masala Library. He brings his taste for theatrics and molecular gastronomy to the cocktail menu, think a whiskey and orange blend laced with almond foam called Sunset @Carter. But their most innovative and Instagram-friendly drink has to be the Bollywood Bhaang that has vodka-basil dragon smoke oozing out of a glass skull (the cocktail itself is a house secret). The food menu matches up with dishes like carbon bhaji pao – a deceptive black mass of the traditional bhaaji with small bread rolls – and the indulgent 12 hours cooked goan pork ribs. It’s the perfect excuse to bring back candle-lit dates.
Level 1, Gagangiri Apartments, Carter Road, above Cafe Coffee Day, Bandra (W), Mumbai. Tel: 022 6770 1793
