Bengaluru hotspot Monkey Bar can now also be found in Mumbai and we’re glad to report it lives up to the hype. Rustic walls, pop-coloured bar stools and comfy booths are now commonplace. But what really hits a sweet spot is the binge-worthy menu. We started with their Goan Chorizo Pao – spicy mince stuffed in pillowy bread. Next came the Butteryfly Chicken which is basically shredded chicken, sautéed with lime, basil, chilli, black beans and green onions, and served on crisp butterfly-shaped shells. The chicken also made for a perfect companion to their whisky-based Copper Monkey, which is part lemon and part passion fruit and altogether brilliant. Of all the mash-up fare (think poha croquettes and dal pakwan pizettes) our favourite were the Laal Maas Phulkas (tacos), which we promptly doused in mirch achar and coriander chutney.
One evening is definitely not enough to get around chef Manu Chandra’s extensive menu, but everything we tried, we loved. “I’m not trying to re-introduce Indian cuisine. I just love the food and it makes for delicious bar eats! That’s it. I’ve never pretended to be authentic,” he says. Our suggestion? On a day you really need a drink, stop by for a Don Draper — a scotch-based drink with cloves and a sugar cane stick. It’s so potent, it feels like you’re drinking right from the bottle, just like Draper (except you’ve got some Kurkuri Bhindi on the side).
Meal for two with alcohol costs approximately Rs 1,800. Monkey Bar, Summerville, Junction of 14th & 33rd, Linking Road, Bandra West, Mumbai. Tel: 022 2600 5215. Mobar.in
Photographs: Kunal Chandra/Monkey Bar
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