Tag: microbrewery

  • La Casa Brewery & Kitchen

    Our intense contempt for Sarjapur Road’s microbreweries is well documented – Vapour and Hoot being the catalysts. Aurum pulled it back a little, and that’s why, despite my instincts, we decided to make our way to La Casa Brewery & Kitchen. Actually, a little more than instincts. Around 8 years ago, I’d visited the place with my colleagues. Some of us, who loved Khow Suey, persuaded a colleague to try it. Unfortunately, La Casa massacred the dish. Said colleague, to his credit, continues to be a good friend, or is maybe planning a cold revenge.

    The signs were ominous. Google Maps showed us an early turn to get off Sarjapur Road, to save 5 mins. That turned out to be literally an off-roading experience along unpaved roads that had garbage and pigs featuring prominently in the landscape.  La Casa Brewery & Kitchen is reasonably well done, and somehow manages to keep out the chaos of the road. Since only a few tables were occupied when we arrived and we were told we could sit wherever we wanted, we chose a 4-seater in the corner. Along with the menu, we also got a request to shift to a 2 seater “because Saturday night”. Unnecessary, we felt because there were no less than seven 4-seaters vacant. We pointed that out to him with the promise that we would shift if those got occupied. As predicted, didn’t happen.

    La Casa Brewery & Kitchen

    Craft beer was the sole reason for the trip. From the five that were available, we chose the Saison and the Belgian Wit. Completely lacking in spirit (not literally), they offered a perfect prelude to the meh that followed. In fact, the original plan was to use Zomato Gold for a 1+1 on drinks, but such was the quality of beer that we skipped that. Imagine!

    Bamboo pork was the first dish we asked for, and were told that it would be spicy. Predictably, it wasn’t. Spicy Dunken partially lived up to its name – the preparation was basic Chinese fare. We had lost the appetite we came with, and hoped to salvage some of it with a Kerala Style Irachi fry. On hindsight, a dumb decision. Whoever made it clearly hadn’t tasted the dish before.

    Dessert was fun. The only interesting dish seemed to be a Chocolate Opera. We casually asked what it was, and panic seemed to set in. In the third attempt, we figured out that it was a pastry. Since we’d had enough drama, we skipped.

    La Casa Brewery & Kitchen

    The bill came to a little over Rs.1400. I shall leave it there with no more comments.

    La Casa Brewery & Kitchen, 15, Amrita Engineering College Road, Kasavanahalli, Sarjapur Road Ph: 30456363

  • Fox in the Field

    Each time we visited Forum Shantiniketan, we wondered when the sign would evolve into an actual microbrewery, and finally, sometime in early January, it actually happened! The craft beer menu wasn’t available on Zomato so we called to confirm. After reasonably meh experiences at multiple eateries in the mall (Rassasy by Barcelos, Smokehouse Deli, Uno Chicago Bar & Grill) and only Punjab Grill being the saving grace, we were naturally cautious and expectations were minimal.

    Seating should never be a problem here – there are 4 floors, including one that seemed like a mini amphitheater! We chose the terrace option on a crisp Saturday night. Part covered, part al fresco, it has comfortable seating options for different group sizes. Bacardi seems to have branded the fox’s den, if one goes by this floor’s decor.

    Of the five craft beers available, we skipped two – the Chocolate Stout and the Tripel IPA. We began with a Hefeweizen, which from experience is the safest bet. This one was no exception, and seemed fresh as well. The Saison Farmhouse had an intriguing description – “champagne of the beer world”. A pale ale, highly carbonated, it had a touch of sour that worked well.

    The Dabeli pizza with bacon was interesting since they don’t really occur naturally together. The bacon was only the topping but its texture and the spiciness of the dabeli complemented each other very well. Naan Pops also was an interesting dish – we chose the Butter Chicken option and it didn’t disappoint. A good time to note that if you like pork, the menu has a ton of options across cuisines.

    We then tried the lager – spicy hops and a refreshing zing! For mains, we chose the Linguine with lamb dumplings. The pasta itself was a little suspect, but the tomato based sauce, and the lamb dumplings made up for it. The bread too contributed with texture and taste.

    The dessert options didn’t excite us much, so we skipped.

    The bill came to a little over Rs.1800, which is absolutely a good deal given the location and the quality of beer and food. The service was friendly and prompt, and the playlist was perfect evening lounge. This one we will repeat!

    Fox in the Field, Forum Shantiniketan Mall, Whitefield Ph: 47483072

  • Prost Brew Pub(Whitefield)

    When we last visited our “home” microbrewery – 153 Biere Street –  we came to know of a change in management, and going by the changed look of the menu card, mourned the loss of a favourite. Time will tell if we were too harsh, but in the meanwhile, we needed to find an alternate in our favourite neighbourhood watering holes list that includes Red Rhino, Toscano Wine Collection, Biergarten, Irish House and Windmills Craftworks (the last one is like an abusive lover you keep going back to, but never mind).

    Prost in Koramangala had become a favoured place despite a slow start. So when we heard that Whitefield was getting one, we were quite happy. It’s almost opposite Decathlon, Whitefield, housed on the 11th Floor of a building that has a Zomato Kitchens on the ground floor. After a brief “sashay” past gawking delivery boys who didn’t seem to know there was something else other than Zomato in that building (almost true factually) and narrowing our eyes at a lift that predicted bad outcomes, we stepped off on the 11th floor. (more…)

  • Float

    Kalyan Nagar is a favoured food hangout and Float got into our list when we had made the trek that side for Wanderers. While that place didn’t curry any favour with us thanks to its obsession with curry leaves, we live on hop and cannot resist a microbrewery!

    Float is spread across some four floors, each of which seemed to have multiple sections! How do these places break even, and when?! We sat on the first floor, next to pretty windows that overlooked the road. High seats, which bordered on uncomfortable.

    (more…)

  • Aurum Brew Works

    After the horror story that was Vapour, we had sworn off Sarjapur Road. But a peaceful Saturday evening, combined with a reasonably good experience at Sarjapur Social a few weeks ago, and favourable reviews of the new microbrewery, got us back to the area and specifically Aurum Brew Works.

    The dingy access lift got us panicking a bit on whether we had gotten it wrong, but we were fine once we were in. We chose to sit outside – the weather was pleasant and there was a skyline view to be enjoyed.

    Not all the craft beers were available. We tried the Amber Lager, Witbier and the Cider. The last one was seasonal and was just ok. The Lager was the best of the lot and the Witbier was quite good too.

    (more…)