If you've been to Singapore; Harry's bar needs no introduction for it is the most famed bar back there with 27 outlets in operation. With huge expansion plans in India, Harry's is off to a fiery start here with the 3rd outlet having been launched in Phoenix Market City, Whitefield Bangalore after witnessing success; first in Indiranagar followed by Koramangla. It doesn't end here coz. if I hear it right, 2015 will witness the launch of more outlets across Mumbai and other cities in India.
Taking their expansions very seriously, Harry's has been roping in highly specialized and renowned personalities to spearhead both the bar and kitchen. Right from the first outlet, Shatbhi Basu has set up the bar scene at Harry's India and now, Celebrity Chef Vicky Ratnani has been roped in to head the kitchen for the brand in India. While Shatbhi aims to put the drinks ahead of the food, Vicky strives to put the food ahead of the drinks. In this wonderfully competitive team at Harry's who wins? Well, it clearly is 'We the customers' for we get the best of both worlds - 'Food' and 'Beverages'.
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| Shatbhi Basu @ Harry's |
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| Me with Vicky Ratnani @ Harry's |
In between all this, I got to enjoy the best of both the worlds at Harry's Bar and cafe, Whitefield. Vicky's magic wand has clearly done its tricks. This evening was one delicious evening of enormous spread of fabulous food and amazing cocktails. Marinated olive and feta in a jar was the first to arrive and the flavors were bang on. Asian classic Chicken Satay made an appearance standing in a glass. I loved the delicious peanut sauce and the chicken was so tender; it just melted away in my mouth.
On the vegetarian plate, there was whole mushroom stuffed with ratatouille and cheese. Not a fan of mushroom specially in it's direct for; this dish was my vegetarian favorite of the day. It's weird for me to be writing this but I highly recommend this mushroom plate to be on every table for the vegetarians. Another hit among everyone on our table was the watermelon and feta salad.
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| Whole Mushroom stuffed with Ratatouille & Cheese |
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| Water Melon & Feta Salad |
Fisherman's basket was a basket full of crispy fried fresh and assorted sea food. This dish is something we munched on pretty much al evening. The batter was seasoned with spices, was really light and crisp (reminding me of the Japanese tempura batter) and the fish, prawns and calamari were soft and fresh.
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| Fisherman's Basket |
Vietnamese spring rolls were light and easy on the palate. They were rice paper rolls with a filling of crisp, light and crunchy veggies, toasted peanuts and chill soy dip. A delicious eat indeed with a nice crunch coming in the end from the tasted peanuts.
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| Vietnamese Spring Roll |
Thus far, every snack served was a fine blend of global cuisine, comfort food, bar snack and gourmet treats. This affair continued as a lot more food came fresh and hot from the kitchen as we continued to sip on some interesting cocktail concoctions. With loads of food, I enjoyed the company of 2 new concoctions - 'Sex on Pattaya Beach' and 'Blood on the Rooftop'. Both the drinks were perfectly balanced; a great example of a good drink where the liquor is not overpowering the other flavors yet giving the required buzz.
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| Blood on the Rooftop |
Sex on Pattaya beach was a wonderful rum and watermelon drink; 2 ingredients when together are hard to go wrong. Blood on the rooftop was a mix of multiple white spirits and topped with red wine; hence the name. The liquor was there and so was the wonderful and subtle aftertaste of the wine. Both drinks are available in 3 sizes - 500 ml, 1 and 3 liter.
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| Sex on Pattaya Beach |
Our quest with food at Harry's progressed with vegetarians flipping on the potato wedges which were beautifully crisp on the outside and soft and mushy on the inside and wasabi cottage cheese squares - wasabi coated cottage cheese, wrapped with spinach and then batter fried. Wasabi is an acid taste and can be a turn off to most but this one was nice and well balanced toning down the strength of the wasabi.
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| Potato Wedges |
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| Wasabi Coated Cottage Cheese |
For us non-vegetarians there also was crispy chili chicken and Pattaya Fish Goujons. Of the two, the Pattaya Fish Goujons hit the right spot in terms of the heat, the flavor, the fish and the crispy texture coming from light coating of the fish.
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| Chili Chicken |
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| Pattaya Fish Goujons |
Moving on to the mains, I went for the chicken Thai green curry with the fragrant Jasmine sticky rice. Everything that went into the making the Thai curry was prepared in-house which eventually resulted in bowl of deliciousness. Yes, it was a meal in a bowl and perfect for one but can be shared if you've done a lot of starters. I will surely have this back on my table again except for the onions in the curry which gave an unusual bite in an otherwise fabulous bowl.
In desserts, a chocolate volcano was shared between two of us and was a nice finish to a wonderful evening.
The ambiance is unpretentious and comfortable. Guests can pick their preferred space to be seated - indoor, outdoor or by the lovely large bar. An average meal for two with two starters, two mains two drinks and a dessert each will cost about Rs 1800 plus taxes and charges; surely worth every penny for the experience they offer.
I'm going back here for sure!
Address: 2nd Floor, Phoenix Market City, Whitefield, Bangalore
Phone Number: +91 80 6726 6646
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