Category: Restaurant Reviews

  • Laughing Llama Gastropub

    Thanks to the traffic scene, the ‘town’ part of Bangalore is usually nostalgia territory. However, every once in a while, an opportunity presents itself. This time, when we were around Kundalahalli at midday, Google Maps indicated that the central district was only half an hour away. Since such fortune is rare, we quickly decided to try a place recommended by a colleague of mine. That’s how we landed up at the Laughing Llama Gastropub.

    It’s on Brigade Road, rather the extension of that towards Richmond Road. Very near to an old favourite that shut down a while ago. The bright yellow pop on the road is hard to miss and a yellow door takes you straight into Llama land. The decor has a load of Llama puns, and merchandise to boot. The space has been done up quite well – some diner seating and some standard long tables, a few bar stools, and a really narrow smoking section which is literally between two walls! The overall decor is lively, I really liked how they have converted drinking water into a DIY. (check the pic below)

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  • Brooks and Bonds Brewery

    The last time we were in Koramangala 100 ft Road, a fancy crane without any accompanying construction work caught our attention. Turned out to be an accessory for Brooks and Bonds, which I later realised was a microbrewery. So we absolutely had to plan a trip. One fine, windy Sunday, we did just that. The place has an industrial theme with the beer making process also becoming part of the decor. The elements include everything from meters, gauges and wheels to construction equipment. All of this is apparently spread through three floors and a rooftop though we could only manage to see one, since we were told the rooftop (and presumably the other areas) were open only in the evenings. We sat outside and had to manage with a standard table until we got those high stool ones along the edge that gave us a nice view of the Koramangala skyline.

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  • Vapour Brewpub and Diner (Sarjapur Road)

    A microbrewery is compulsion enough for me to travel to any part of Bangalore, even Sarjapur Road. Some people are not completely in control of their faculties after a few beers, craft beer works for me the other way. That probably explains why I forgot that two of my least favourite microbreweries outside of that hideousness called 3 Monkeys exist on Sarjapur Road. In my defense, our visit to Vapour in Indiranagar, despite the negative reactions we had heard, wasn’t bad at all.

    So one fine cloudy Sunday, we chose to travel to Vapour. The place is huge, and while we were there, the alfresco section was kept closed. Predictably, they tried to squeeze everybody into the areas they had kept open. We got ourselves a table on the upper floor. The decor is very lively, despite the distraction of a giant TV. They had a DJ as well. There was a buffet available, but we chose a la carte.

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  • The Reunion Club

    New places in Whitefield are always an excitement to us, but this one turned out to be a reunion of sorts. The only difference was that the last time we were here, it was called The Riverside Bar & Kitchen! The place used to have a decent crowd, so we wondered why they had to come up with a new avatar – that too without alcohol, as the board announced. The lady at the reception announced that too, more than once. A side glance told me that D didn’t look tipsy, and it definitely wasn’t me! The decor hasn’t changed much, except for the desserts display which had disappeared. The bar was obviously history. Also meant that the crowd was more subdued.

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  • MISU

    Our current location dictates that visits to Bangalore have to be planned well in advance, and require a strong motive. Misu had been appearing in several conversations and the ratings hadn’t dropped after the initial fad fervour had died down, so there was motive enough – will travel for good food. One Sunday afternoon we were lucky enough to reach St.Marks Road from Whitefield in 45 minutes! Misu is in the same funny looking building as The Open Box. In fact, they exist side by side. Misu is actually tiny, though the mirror work suggests otherwise. In fact, the usage of space is really good, and the decor has a nice contemporary, grunge edge to it that gives the place character. Most seats (high stools) give you an excellent view.

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