Monkey Bar Kolkata Rings in The Great Indian Christmas Fare

Monkey Bar Kolkata, part of the pan-India brand, has launched its Christmas special menu which incorporates specially crafted cocktails and a food menu curated from a selection of lesser known Indian recipes (with a slight &lsquomonkey&rsquo twist).

We chose to visit a day after the launch to check out what was on offer. We missed the Christmas d&eacutecor (the gastropub had just started bringing out its Christmas decoration) though. Settling down by a long table by the window, we could see a large swathe of the heart of the city from our ninth floor perch.

Thankfully, the menu has been kept short but there was something for everyone. If you are looking for a traditional Christmas drink, they have the popular mulled wine. Or, you may opt for the slightly tweaked East Indian Khimad &ndash a semi spiced sweetened mix of rum and gin with cardamom, cloves and black jaggery syrup and topped with hot water. The Xmas Pinag (a mix of vodka and brandy with a black jaggery base, topped with soda and a pinch of black salt) drew its inspiration from the Goan Christmas dessert Pinaca.   

Besides, we had the option of choosing from a list that included Natale Mule &ndash vodka, jamun juice, pomegranate, topped with ginger ale Home for the Holidays &ndash gin, cranberry and lemon juice, with a splash of bitters and egg white Red Hot Santa Tinni &ndash chili infused vodka with a hint of cocoa, chocolate cream and cayenne pepper Butter Me Up &ndash cinnamon infused butter rum topped with apple cider and served warm.

The eclectic food menu was interesting with all kinds of meat options. We started with the Potato Chop Bruschetta where the potato chops were stuffed with spiced lamb mince and topped with Anglo Indian Meatball Curry. But the indifferent taste was soon forgotten as we helped ourselves to the warm sannas (steamed spongy rice cakes popular in Goa and Karnataka), dipping it into Mangalorean Chicken Indad (apparently a Mangalorean take on the Vindaloo) the sweet and sour taste of the gravy was pleasant. You may continue your culinary journey further south to Kerala with the Roast Duck Mappa &ndash a hearty roast duck in scented coconut curry &ndash served with masala appams. The duck was from Kolkata and not Kuttanadan though I had to let the Bottle Masala Shrimp Pan Roll served with mango ginger chutney pass. So there was the Anglo Indian Baked Fish for me where the zing came from Monkey&rsquos secret curry sauce. This was followed by Erachi Pidi (spicy cutlet made from beef and rice flour, and served with yogurt curry), and pita pocket (stuffed with cured smoked ham and vindaloo sauce) served with green apple and jalapeno chutney.

&lsquoThe Great Indian Christmas&rsquo festival at the Monkey Bar Kolkata will run till January 6, 2022. A meal for two would cost around Rs 1,400 plus tax without alcohol and Rs 2,000 plus tax with alcohol. Their regular menu will also be available at the same time.

The Information

Monkey Bar, #901 A, Fort Knox, 6, Camac Street, Kolkata- 700017 contact 91-8420309813. Timings Monday to Sunday, noon &ndash 11 pm (subject to government notifications).