As the cricket teams gear up for heart skipping matches, the city restaurants are leaving no stones unturned to lure cricket lovers.
As the cricket teams gear up for heart skipping matches, the city restaurants are leaving no stones unturned to lure cricket lovers. Apart from their mandatory screenings of live matches, the restaurants are coming up with unique ways to celebrate the cricket season. While some are having their own parallel ‘tournaments’ others are making customised dishes keeping the flavour of the season — cricket — in mind.
Monkey Bar, in Bandra wants to celebrate cricket in their own way. Calling it ‘Go Bananas’, the gastro pub has come up with their own Indian Chugging Cup. The restaurant is offering free cocktails for all fans wearing jerseys of their favourite team playing on a particular day and free shots for those lucky ones wearing the winning team jerseys on that day. From West Indies to New Zealand, from Pakistan to Sri Lanka, they have it all covered.
“Rethinking pub food, our menu brings together eclectic favourites from around the world with dishes from the popular cricketing nations,” says Varun Pereira, executive chef of Monkey Bar. “Inspired from the tropical West Indies, we have Broad Bean Caribbean — a concoction of fresh pineapple, mango, sweet peppers, jalapenos, broad beans, feta cheese and crisp lettuce with a passion fruit, chili and coriander vinaigrette. We also have the Lord of the Veggies, from New Zealand, which is a fragrant mix of vegetables and seitan rolled in a puff pastry and baked, served with smoky ketchup and a buttermilk ranch dip,” adds Varun.
If you are on the newer side of Mumbai, then you can hop into the Tipplers Lounge at Four Points by Sheraton, Vashi. Apart from the mandatory offers, the lounge has decked up like a cricket pitch. “Cricket World Cup is the nation’s biggest sport event where brands engage with their customers in various innovative ways, says the general manager Subhabrata Roy.
Mostly Grills, the roof-top barbecue restaurant at Vile Parle has turned it ambience into a stadium. With stewards dressed in jerseys, and hostesses acting as cheer leaders to the manager shuffling between his job and intermittently playing the role of a commentator.
As the best cricketers of the world descend in India to participate in the biggest T20 extravaganza, the Orchid is ready to celebrate the arrival of master blasters in the country at Mostly Grills the roof top barbecue restaurant. And one can enjoy the matches live with starters like Dhoni’s dazzling sixer, Virat’s straight drive to some beverages like Raina’s super six to Yuvraj’s super sweet shot.
Vaishali Rawat, a cricket fan, prefers to go out with friends to watch the matches, instead of sitting at home. “I prefer to go out because there you feel the pulse of a room full of people. It gives me a feeling as if I’m almost watching the match at the stadium. I would have had sulked alone if I had watched India lose to New Zealand, but in a crowd, the sorrow was shared. I can’t wait to meet all of these people again on Saturday for the Pakistan versus India match.”
Our T20 special picks: Chug De! At Asia Bar, Where: Ground Floor, Phoenix Marketcity, Kurla From 3 pm till midnight For reservations: 60508082
Cheer for the men in blue at Brewbot, Where: G-01 & 101, Morya Landmark 1, Off New Link Road, Andheri West For reservations: 40034449
Cricket Extravaganza at District Lounge, Where: The Shalimar Hotel, August Kranti Marg, Cumbala Marg, Kemps Corner. 7 pm to 1 am
Cricket Fever at Woodside Inn, Where: Woodside Inn, New Link Plaza, Next to Oshiwara Police Station, Oshiwara Link Road, Andheri West, Call: 26328963
Live screenings at O:h Cha Where: Oh Unit 1, New Mahalaxmi Silk Mills Premises, Mathurdas Mills Compound, N M joshi marg, Next to Blue Frog, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400013 Timings - 9pm onward
