With restaurants and bars sprouting all around the city like moss during monsoons how does one determine which bar is worth your time, money and most importantly worth those calories. Yours truly recommends trying out these two watering holes among all the new entrants the city has seen this month. Read on, and then drink on! *hic*
1. Swey, Worli
Perched on the top floor of the now defunct Atria mall in Worli lies Swey – a sprawling casual dining bar where you can nibble on appetizers under the open sky and drink cocktails with the sea breeze in your hair. What I loved about Swey the minute I walked in was the sheer magnitude of the space – large and spaced out unlike most bars in the city where you’re bumping elbows with the drunk on the next table.
Their signature cocktails come strongly recommended. My pick of the night was the Kale and Hearty – a vodka, spinach, cucumber, kale and ginger mix – that definitely tastes better than it sounds. Why have your greens when you can drink them mixed with alcohol? Another favourite was the highly potent Tequila Surprise – a tequila, kiwi, jalapeno concoction. What I loved about the cocktails here was that they were generous with the alcohol quotient which is a rarity nowadays.
Skip the mains and stick to the finger foods here that they do really well. While the Bottle Masala Chicken demonstrates the magic of the fiery East Indian spice, the Rechado Fish Tikka is a beautiful ‘jugalbandi’ of North India and Goa. The pizzas here are another safe bet with their thin crust, ample toppings and large size making it a perfect bar snack. Highly recommended are their boozy desserts especially the Velvet Choco Bomb – a dark chocolate dome filled with cointreau jeally that was the perfect conclusion to the meal. The service could do with a bit fine tuning which turned out to be the only minor complaint in an otherwise wonderful meal.
Contact:
Swey, 4th Floor, Atria Mall, Dr. Annie Besant Rd,
Opposite Poonam Chambers, Worli, Mumbai
2. The Stables, Andheri East
Mumbai gets it’s first equestrian themed bar, flown down all the way from Dubai. The Stables launched in Andheri East amidst much fanfare over a weekend long launch party. The location may be a bit ho-hum for a bar of this stature and pricing, but then again who am I to judge? I absolutely adored the rustic, wooden interiors and the horse inspired memorabilia that gave the entire space a wild west country feel. The equestrian feel is carried forward to the dining experience as well with signature cocktails and tables named after famous horses. (We sat on a Seabiscuit table which thrilled me to bits since I adore the movie.)
Their signature cocktails are definitely worth ordering especially the refreshing Wind Suck – a vodka, cucumber, lemon concoction that is perfect in this heat. The Stables Grog created with rum, pineapple juice, and lemon juice makes you wish you were on a beach front somewhere. Pair your drinks with unlimited servings of their salted butter popcorn which they kept refilling the minute we turned our back.
The food menu is fairly basic – traditional bar food you would’ve found in a five star hotel bar a decade ago. Classic Nachos, Chicken Wings, Chicken Tikka, Drums of Heaven….you get the drift. Not a place I’d come again to dine at. Most definitely a place to tank up on the alcohol.
As the evening progressed, the live band amped up their volume which caused the entire space to get really loud and made any iota of conversation impossible. The Stables is a fabulous place if you’re looking to let your hair down, drink away the night and listen to some fabulous music. No scope for romantic conversations here. Unless you consider sitting on a mechanical bull as romantic.
Contact:
The Stables, The Peninsula Redpine,
Near Airport Road Metro Station, Andheri East, Marol, Mumbai
