Hard Rock Cafe - New Delhi

Guest writer - I must say I’m sooper excited to introduce Mr.Martin as the first guest writer on my blog. Martin has been part of Cocktail Nirvana`s family doing private gigs before and a great bartender (he pours amazing beer). In that context he is not a full time guest either. Today Martin gives us a hands on review of Hard Rock Cafe`s latest joint in New Delhi. Read on.
“Take time to be kind”, “All is one” and “Love all, serve all”. These are the three bold statements which catch your eye as soon as you’re ushered in by a very welcoming crew at the Hard Rock Café, New Delhi, which is located inside the 1 month old mall, called the DLF Place, Saket. The place has a very ‘woody’ architecture and has a lot of design cues from the 70s and the 80s, with things like a huge hologram of Mick Jagger and David Bowie behind the bar, which make the place, look very retro and classy. Hard Rock is known for its trademark bands memorabilia, given to Hard Rock personally by the members which ranges from guitars to costumes used by them in various gigs over time. This definitely would take the guests on a beautiful time warp for hours, or maybe more!

We found place at the bar and it didn’t take more than a few seconds to jump onto the stools and start flipping through the menu. We were being served by Surya, again a very energetic and ‘ready to try anything new with alcohol’ bartender. He has been doing this for the past 9 years, having worked in places like Saudi Arabia as well, and loves mixing alcohol for his girlfriend.



Having been to Hard Rock Café a zillion times in Bangalore, I love being served draught beer in the pint glasses, which has its own pleasure. So, I expected the same in Delhi. But it wasn’t to be. Draught beer is not served at Hard Rock Café, Delhi. No big deal, happens all the time, is what I say to myself and carry on with the experience which was to go on till 1 AM. This made me try Tuborg, which is being spoken about by a lot of people around, and I liked it quite a lot. Beer is priced at Rs. 250. We ordered some onion rings, which also is a habit which I developed in Bangalore. After a few rounds of beer, we decided to try a few cocktails, mixed at Hard Rock. We ordered a round of Whiskey Sour, which turned into 3 in sometime. Oh yes, there were no eggs around, so we had to do with Whiskey Sour, sans eggs in them. Cocktails are priced at Rs. 345 a piece. The price difference in beer and cocktails is not much, which would encourage people to try the various cocktails available.

Since I am not a big on any form of rock, which is usually played at Hard Rock, I wouldn’t comment on the music. But a friend, who was with me, and who loves rock, was very happy with the guy at the console, and so were others. And yes, the traditional YMCA was carried out with a lot of readiness, aplomb and let’s not forget, the heightened energy levels, by the crew members at the Hard Rock.

Beer and Whiskey present in our system at good levels, we decided to go for a round of B-52s. But Surya wanted us to go for something different. Enter, the Sambooka! And before we knew what was happening, he was on top of the bar with a bottle full of spirit, asking us to turn around one by one. And we did. He filled our mouths with the certain spirit and lit it, and we swallowed it down, which did send us on a crazy trip moments later. Priced at Rs. 700, a mouthful, if I may call it that, I would say, it was worth it.

A shot like that, and most smokers would scurry for a smoke, which, according to us, makes it feel “better”. And so we did. Usually, there is a separate section for people to smoke, at any place, which is super small and has no proper ventilation. But not this one. The smoking area at Hard Rock has a big window to let the smoke out and has enough space for at least 10 people smoking inside without having the next person eavesdropping on your conversation. Also the place is cleaned periodically and has the whole memorabilia thing extending inside as well.

Wrapping up on this, I would ask everyone who stays in Delhi or visiting Delhi for sometime, to give this place a definite try. And while you’re at it, you would also want to check the Hard Rock memorabilia store right at the entrance, which has Tee shirts, glasses and other collectives.
Hard Rock Café, New Delhi, Cocktail Nirvana recommends!




Comments

4 Responses to "Hard Rock Cafe - New Delhi"

Anonymous said... July 16, 2009 at 10:52 AM

Very well explained .. keep it up Martin :)

Anonymous said... July 17, 2009 at 11:26 PM

Cheers to that!!!

Vivek Martin said... July 21, 2009 at 11:17 AM

yeah, ok, fine, i'll go there, maybe have a beer as well... nice review though,so covincing..

Rajinder Soni said... May 30, 2010 at 1:34 PM

Nicely explained. I have gone there two times. Had fun. Will go again with friends.

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About Shank

Shank is a cocktail enthusiast & a self-proclaimed mixologist. He likes to experiment with spirits. He has traveled around a bit visiting hundreds of bars and tasting the buzziest of alcohols, cocktails and shooters.



Shank spent early years of his dizziness in Mumbai. He has lived in Hyderabad for long and for the past few years is chilling his glass in Bangalore.



He is currently busy spreading his love for spirits through this blog - Cocktail Nirvana.



This blog is part of his ongoing quest for fine spirits, creative cocktails and classic mixology. These online journals will capture his cocktail inventions, adventures with alcohol, trips to bars, meeting with ace mixologists, lessons in the art of drinking and much more.

This apart, ignoring good judgment, the fine folks at www.mybangalore.com also allow him to take up valuable space on their portal with his words & pictures.

Away from Nirvana