Hardly four weeks old in the business, Radio Bar seems to be picking up on the popularity front already. For a Monday evening, the bar is reasonably crowded and we have to make our way through scores of people to find our table. Well-received by the staff, we are taken around the exquisite interiors that seem perfectly in tune (pun intended) with the name of the bar.
Ambience
Understated, urban, subtly luxurious and adorned by all things music, Radio Bar is everything your post-work drinking place should be. The charm of the place lies in the intricate detailing of the décor and the incredible research that has obviously gone into it. Comfortable cushions, quotes from legends pasted across the walls, a collection of vintage radio instruments from back in the century to the kinds of microphones and microphone lights on display are nuances that have been brought together and designed as one whole experience.
We give the décor a whopping 5 stars.
Food
Once we are done revelling in the musical décor, the bar food is served. Let’s start with the veg palate. The pizza was served on a vinyl disc, and while the okra fries (ladies’ fingers seasoned and fried with Bengal gram flour, served with mild spicy cajun) and the banana fritters (croquettes made with onion, ginger, garlic, green chilies, coriander and Bengal gram flour served with tamarind and soy glaze) pretty much aced the vegetarian bar food game, we can’t say the same about the spinach fritters and corn medley that failed to tickle our taste buds.
We give the veg bar food a mediocre 3 stars.
With their non-veg bar food however, Chef Harinder Singh bounces back and wins us over. The Chef special fish cakes comprising poached rawas with sundried tomato, jalapenos and orange zest, served with tangy sundried tomato and balsamic jam, scored a big thumbs up from our end, and so did the stuffed prawn ricotta and chicken kalamata olives. The lamb and bulgur wheat patties, on the other hand, were a bit of a disappointment.
We give the non-veg bar food a good 4 stars.
Drinks
We saved the best for the last—the drinks! Our two favourites? The ‘Voodoo’ cocktail—shaken with dark rum, blue curacao, melon liqueur and cranberry juice, and served in a poko grande glass—was as much a winner as was the ‘Safe on the Beach’ mocktail—made with cranberry juice, orange juice, peach crush and grenadine syrup, and served in collins glasses.
The drinks score a good 4 stars.
By and large, Radio Bar is a winner on most fronts and has definitely scored a big thumbs-up from our end for its exquisite and detailed interiors.
Written by Team BB on Jun 10, 2015