One bright Sunday morning yours truly was invited to a blogggers’ meet organised by one of the stalwarts of the hospitality industry, Avininder Singh aka the Foodie Surdie. The venue was Bootlegger’s Republic Cafe, the latest lounge bar in town. I entered the cafe and was impressed by the plush interior. The red and black leather chairs and sofas spelt both comfort and chic. The cafe has three levels with the topmost acting as the bar. I am a big fan of natural light and loved the way the topmost level allowed sunlight to stream in. The bar is well equipped and the perfect platform for the mixology sessions this place claims to be famous for. It is a great place to enjoy a tipple with Al Capone watching over you.
Bootleggers claims to be a Mafioso place and all it needed was a gang to make it work. The GANG arrived led by our very own “God father “ Avininder singh ( whose looks trump Marlon Brando’s anytime). The group was an interesting mix indeed with people from a variety of backgrounds- a PhD student (Nimi), a surgeon (Sudipto), an Engineer (Soumabha), Anubhav of the Delhi food walk fame, an interior designer (Shalini),Foodie ( Vickrham) and last but not the least, our true blue Hospitality experts- Sidhartha, Kavita and Sangeeta. There was also the lovely Snehalata who’s intensely passionate about north eastern cuisine. While our professions may be diverse ,we all converge towards our love for writing, food and writing about food. Many of us were meeting for the first time but we hit it off very soon and how well! The next three hours flew past chatting, giggling, and eating of course! I sheepishly admit i was too caught up in interacting that I didn’t pay much attention to the food but some of the stuff was too good to skip mentioning.
This is not a review but some here are some highlights of what we consumed on that beautiful day
The place is renowned for its mixology trends and serves fabulous cocktails and mocktails. The mocktails were very good and makes me want to go back to write a detailed review .The cocktails included rum with orange and cloves which earned a lot of fans that day .There were also perfumer,strawberry & coconut mohito along with their to-die-for beer cocktails.
For starters we had Tabasco Glazed Vegetarian Momoswhich were interestingly served on skewers. The filling was deliciously spiced and we didn’t need the mandatory fiery chutney at all. The Soya Shami Kabab had a wonderful crumbly texture and just melted in the mouth. TheBruschetta was commendable too. Amongst the non-vegetarian starters there were Mutton Seekh kababs andBar be Cue Chicken Wings which earned a lot of raves. TheGalouti kabab sliders stayed true to its reputation and literally slid out of the plates in no time.
The desserts were provided by Jasmeen Malhotra of Cake Couture. This was the second time I got to taste her delectable masterpieces and must say, every bite of her dessert transports you to heaven. She bakes some of the best cheesecakes, cakes and tartlettes. I am so looking forward to seeing more of this spunky lady in Gurgaon. This was one of the best spent afternoon I’ve ever had in Gurgaon and happily look forward to more interactions with my new-found and old friends.
I sure am all prepped-up for a full fledged review of this Mafioso joint, and hope Al Capone’s spirit beckons soon.
Photographs courtesy Snehlata Saikia
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