Bak Bak Bar: a gastronomical delight!

Bangalore is a Foodie heaven. Pretty sure many of you agree. The multicultural melting pot of a city is an ideal place for any foodie to live either (or both) of his dreams – eat the most fabulously original meals and/or open his own crazy one-in-a-million restaurant. Interesting names and even more interesting cuisines dot this city’s restaurant map.

Adding yet another pin to this gastronomy map is a brand new bar – Bak Bak Bar, your little world for unlimited talking… Now that is a chic name and kudos to the people behind it!

Bak Bak Bar

Begin the Bak Bak

Quirky Coasters

You can see a lot of thought was placed in the decor of this place. A very friendly ambiance, warm colors and a host of sharp, tongue-in-cheek one-liners carelessly thrown about around the bar. From the plates at your table saying “What happens on this table stays on this table” to quirky coasters and wacky wall hangings! It is very important when a place is not just inviting but also makes you appreciate the fun part of life. Kudos to Bak Bak Bar for getting it so right!

Friendly ever-smiling servers help you with your choice of food and drinks, music is lovely and old-school and the crowd is young. What else you need? Well, you need the scrumptious food and the divine drinks, silly! So moving on to that!

I will first talk about the drinks because in my life of living in Bangalore, I am yet to come across a place that offers drinks with such appealing names. Take your pick from Darth Vader, Princess Leia, Voldermont, Scarface or our very own Gabbar Singh! Do I hear a “Whaaaaaat??”. Yeah! that would be the reaction I expected. Each drink has its own ‘Yaaaooozzzaaa’ element.

Princess Leia’s magic!

For the adventurous, I say you try the Gabbar Singh. The curry powder will blow you away! Yes,

Scarface!

you heard it right! 😛 For the girly girl, Scarface is gorgeous and for those who want to get their brains blown, try the Princess Leia; comes in a coconut shell and extremely potent! Whiskey lovers, there is an amazing drink called Hannibal Lecter… yummm!

Every cocktail is made to perfection, getting all elements right. There is never too little alcohol or too strong. If I had to find a tiny flaw, it would be the drinks were too sweet for my liking, a little too much sugar. But otherwise a win!

Mayo Magic

Coming to the yummy-in-tummy food.. Again! It is pretty clear the owners have put a lot of thought in designing the menu and experimenting with flavors.

Before the food, let me draw your attention to these 2 add-ons that you must, absolutely MUST order. The Gunpowder Mayo, spicy and the perfect partner to any starter and the Smoked Mayo, that will blow you away with its beautifully smoky flavor, so intense that you will stop your bak-bak for just a second. You will never have enough and you will always ask for more, I promise!

Chilli Yogurt Tapas

PCP Love!

Now for the vegetarians, a must-try would be the Bak Bak PCP: little round bites of potato amply flavored. An explosion of something tangy and something spicy is what you must expect. A perfect nibble to start your evening with! Also a definite try is Chilli Yogurt Tapas: little fat chillies stuffed with spicy yogurt and deep-fried in a light batter served with the Gunpowder Mayo. Every bite had me gasping for water, relishing the mayo and surrendering to the tangy sweetness of the yogurt – all at the same time!

Moving on to the meat-lovers,

Wasabi Riceballs

Wasabi Chicken Steamed Riceballs should come right at the top of your must-try list. The fiery wasabi makes its presence felt among the delicate boiled rice and the chicken. Supported by a sauce of chilli, vinegar, soy and olives.. the dish is unbelievably breathtaking. The steamed vegetable version is not so nice. Quite bland in fact…

Pesto Prawn Baklet

If you are a sea-food lover, I suggest you give Pesto Prawn Baklets a try. Baklets are their own version of cutlets. Delectable little pieces of minced prawns with the nutty pesto is delicious and gobbled pretty quickly with the smoked mayo!

Another definite winner is the Monk-flavored chicken. Now you will

Monk Chicken

wonder, what’s a Monk doing there? *evil laugh* Your plate will arrive with very innocent looking juicy chicken kebabs with onion and green chutney. And then the fireworks begin! The server pours a 30ml shot of Old Monk rum on to a spoon and lights it up! *cue for applause* This intoxicating mix is then poured over the kebabs. Do me a favor, stop salivating, cut yourself a piece and take a bite. Sure-shot path to food heaven, this one is! A dish that ensures 2-minute silence on the table!

For the Pizza lovers, they have Desizzas. You would not even want to imagine a topping of Baigan Bharta and Olive, but I suggest you try it if you are not a complete hater of baigan (aubergine). It is wacky and pretty hardcore! Also try the Mutton Kheema Pizza, the spices are just right and the juiciness of the kheema is intact, even when you take that first bite.

After all this devouring, I did not have another stomach on rent to try the very mouth-watering burgers and the grilled stuff. But hey! isn’t that an excuse to go back?

Bill Please?

Bak Bak Bar will not disappoint you. Fabulous service, friendly faces, would-not-stop cocktails and a spread of food that will do more than just satisfy your palate; sure signs of your Saturday evening becoming an affair to remember!

My Rating:
Food: 4/5
Drinks: 4/5
Ambiance: 4.5/5
Service: 4/5 (Been on a Friday and a Saturday night. All you have to do is wave and the server comes bearing a smile!)

Note: This post is now the post with most pictures… and now I hear my tummy grumble. Food pics doing their magic, I believe.. 😉