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| ai : 4065-4567 |
MGF Metropolitan Mall, second floor, District Centre.
Saket |
| Daily 7.30pm-midnight. |
| Girls’ nights out need to be planned very carefully, taking location, security and comfort into account. The hotspot of the moment, ai scores well on all counts.
The escalator takes you right up to the smiling hostesses who stand in front of three doors. The one on the left takes you to the terrace bar called The Love Hotel, the middle one takes you to the dining space (it also leads you outside to the terrace) and the one on the right takes you to the lounge area.
Our business that night took us through door number three. It swings open to reveal a red-lit (it’s a nice red and not reminiscent of a brothel, we promise you) room with a lovely live band that does a mean jazz set. Low sofa sets line the wall and the room is scattered with high tables to lean on while you sip on James Bond’s favourite tipple. These are excellent; this reporter had to be restrained from knocking back too many green apple martinis. Then, the bartender – sly fox that he is – introduced us to the peach martini (all martinis Rs 400), which is now officially the cocktail that beats all others. Fresh, tasty, the alcohol and fruit blend perfectly. We sat happily by the bar and drank wine to cap off the evening (Villa Maria pinot noir; Rs 440 per glass). There is a grouse here though, great evening notwithstanding. The service isn’t up to the mark. Our snacks – mushroom and asparagus gyoza (Rs 399) – though delicious, took forever to arrive (an hour; we checked).
On a more positive note, this reporter has gone back a couple of times (it’s that peach martini), and the service has already noticeably improved. Door number one is what you should be choosing come winter, because the
terrace bar – The Love Hotel is gorgeous. A wooden walk-way leads to a huge space with a long bar set atop white pebbles (watch those heels). Cabanas are dotted about, most aesthetically, with lots of cushions to sink into, beautiful lighting and great music (edgily ambient, for the most part). L |
| 24/7 : 4444-7777 |
The Lalit, Barakhamba Avenue,Barakhamba Road
Connaught Place |
| Daily 24 hours |
| 24/7 at The Lalit goes where few hotel coffeeshops have gone before: to the club! It is actually the cool, night-owl sister to the Lalit’s perky coffeeshop (of the same name), a shadowy, moody, genre-bending all-hours joint, just like a bar should be. They take their booze seriously at 24/7, as is evident in their bar menu, a thorough and extensive affair. Shooters are a standard Rs. 500, as are the traditional cocktails (think caipiroskas or Manhattans), but dammit, just because it’s 4.45 in the morning, that’s no reason for you to settle for a boring drink. First-class bartending means that their excellently conceived and executed signature cocktails must be sampled. The Strangler (Rs. 550), a slushy mango triumph spiked with jalapeño-infused vodka and topped with a red chilli, is a drink with real kick. The Berry Spicy (Rs. 550) is a worthy competitor, a balanced blend of clove-infused gin, fresh strawberries and ginger.A simple margarita (Rs. 550) arrived in a stemless glass above an ice-filled goblet, keeping the drink frosty without diluting the alcohol, ensuring it remained tart and delicious down to the last sip. The food menu is brief, but if you’re after something more substantial (the wee small hours often call for not-so-wee sustenance), they’ll bring you goodies from the coffee shop next door. You may never get through the mile-long menu, but at least you’ll have 24/7 to try. Vandana Verma |
| Manajsa : 4052-2444 |
G-12 Hauz
Khas Market |
| Daily noon-midnight |
| New review Like flies to a giant zapper, a two-storey-high orange neon sign outside Manajsa draws in thirsty souls en route to Hauz Khas Village. Despite having only just thrown open its doors, as the night wears on, Manajsa’s relatively compact space fills up with well-gelled collegiate types. In fact, it feels a little like a college bar-in-training, trying to lure students from South Campus. What better way to pull in the student crowd than with the promise of live music?
The first floor is for drinking, karaoke and live acts, with a lit-up bar, lounge-style seating and tables along the pink, orange and blue light-striped walls. This is the party level, flirting with the ’80s with its neon palette, boxy swivel chairs, and a playlist littered with classics like “In Zaire” and Lionel Richie’s “All Night Long”.
Thursday nights are karaoke nights and ladies drink for free. That’s what really pulls the crowd in, and the tables fill up with a young, trendy crowd partaking of large, gratis vodka-Cokes and cocktails. It’s an innocuous, pleasant stop at the beginning of an evening (especially on Thursdays, ladies) or at the end of an evening, if you time it so everyone else is a few screwdrivers deep. Really, nothing really seems to matter once the liquor’s loosened enough tongues to really get the karaoke going and the whole floor belting out a chorus in one voice. VV
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