First published in Bangalore Mirror
Wimpy’s is one of those Bangalore icons that serve as a good indicator of how long one has been in Bangalore. You can categorise Bangaloreans based on whether they were around when Wimpy’s was. When I gave N the directions (map) to Tapwater, (on Brigade Road) her immediate reaction was “OMG, it’s Wimpy’s!” That iconic outlet no longer exists, I pointed out, and also realised that the new gastropub that has taken its place happens to have a name similar to something that is fast becoming extinct in Bangalore – Tapwater! The name actually seems to come from a key offering – beer on tap, which was yet to start when we visited. The basement location, the wooden benches, the lounge seating in the fringes, the lighting – all attempt a new age hangout ambiance. What kills it quite a bit is the musical hat tip to its underground placement – Pitbull, at volumes – in sound and quantity – to cause permanent damage! It was only fun at some points when the Kabaddi action happening on the other screen seemed to match steps with the music! The most interesting thing we noticed about the place was the crowd – a completely random mix of college kids, elderly families, foreigners, and Malayalis in traditional mundu! We drank it all in before moving on to what we came for – food and beverages.
The alcohol menu is quite elaborate – we saw Chimay and Guinness in the beer section, for instance. It does have a little male skew in the communication, as one of the ladies in the group pointed out. The shooters have interesting names, including one that changed the standard scene of action – Sex in the Water! The name game continued into the cocktails as well. Ash-Win’s Apple had vodka, rose liqueur, apple and Elderflower cordial, a concoction that was rather mild. El Mah-esh’s was El Jimador Blanco, melon liqueur, coconut and passion fruit. Sharper than the first though we couldn’t taste the fruity flavours at all. The Sa-Shru Twist, despite a heady cast of absinthe, tequila, two liqueurs, and Gosling’s wasn’t really potent.
We moved on to solid food in the form of Spicy Coconut Prawn. The prawns were succulent and well-cooked, but I wouldn’t recommend it unless you can handle spice. It really lived up to its name mostly thanks to the diced chilli. The Voodoo Fries, despite the queso, Sriracha sauce and jalapeno gravy, was quite average. The Grilled Nimi’s Chicken was an all green affair with a mint and coriander overload. The best was served for the last – Bangalore Beer Companion. We tasted more mozzarella than the brie mentioned in the description. There was also cheddar and salami with beer batter, but essentially the dip, baguette and the nuts made an excellent posh version of our very own Congress Bun!
We started the main course with a Tapwater Sub and the superbly cooked beef, beer batter cheddar and the ‘special sauce’ made it a fantastic dish. The Cheesy Pork pizza continued the good form. Huge and greasy with an excellent crust, it was everything a pizza should be. The Red Chilli pasta was not as spicy as the name and description made it sound, but was quite creamy. For some reason, they decided to gift us chicken though we had asked for the vegetarian version! The Flamed Turkish Minced Lamb was the subtlest of the dishes we tried, and the mildly spiced stew with the rice served as an excellent respite from the heavy guns thus far. The last dish to arrive was the Grilled Chicken Chimichurri and though it wasn’t served with the promised saffron rice, the long grain rice was cooked to perfection and the marinade itself was lip smacking!
The desserts menu has five options, but as we were rigorously discussing what to try, we were told that exactly two were available. The Mango Pannacotta Memory was strangely named since its taste didn’t remind us of mango at all! The other strangely named dish – Chocolate Avatika – was just a standard layered chocolate pastry.
A meal for two would cost around Rs.2000 (Inclusive of taxes and service charge) – a cocktail, a non veg starter, a non veg pizza and pasta and a dessert. Tapwater is quite a mixed bag – many of the dishes we tried were excellent, the service was quite helpful and prompt, and the décor itself, quite interesting. Beer on tap should turn out to be a differentiator as well. But the sound level was really a bother and this, along with a sharper focus on the crowd they want to cater to, would be the things they need to look into if they want the proposition to hold water.
Tapwater, #50, Koshy’s Complex, Brigade Road, Ph: 080 43692902