House of Paloma, a Latin-American inspired bar in Bandra, is heavy on craft cocktails, inspired and artistic
Kori Roti with Butter Chicken and Hamachi
A revolving Paloma Man with an agave hairdo greets us at the entrance. A cheetah wall mural by artist Zabiya lurks in the al fresco section lined by chic decor. Past the revolving blue door, we step in and take a few seconds to soak in an agave-inspired motion chandelier designed by Goan artist Siddharth Kerkar. Kitschy lamps and artefacts in every corner, cat sculptures sit beside bottles at the ambiently-lit bar. A wooden staircase curves up to a private dining room and kitchen.
Cheese cake swirl and Caliente
Designed by architect Sumesh Menon, House of Paloma in Bandra, screams art collector’s room — expressive in decor and inviting at the same time. The 85-seater spread across 2900 sq ft is owned by trio of Bengaluru-based friends Prathik Shetty, Chethan Hegde, and Samarth Halli who own a few outlets of 1522 in Bengaluru and one in Mumbai.
The restaurant interiors capture its artistic vibe. Pics/Shadab Khan
The Latin-inspired bar menu has four sections — Sazon (bold spicy daring flavours), Altas (highballs), Directo (spirit forward drinks) and Delicato (sour and fruity). Our day drinking commences with head mixologist M Sunil Prathab leading the recommendations. No prize for guessing, the first pick is the namesake, a paloma. It arrives in two versions. First, a welcome jelly bite coated with thyme dust. We pop it into our mouths and let the flavours unfold. We get the grapefruit jelly, a burst of spirit, and the thyme dust gives a savoury pop.
Paloma 1950 and Pisco Disco
Then follows Paloma 1950 (Rs 750), made of an in-house grapefruit cordial, fizz and Mexican tajin dust, that gives us a head-spin. We like the sweet-citrus balance; it’s a classic, well tweaked. Caliente (Rs 950) is a picante drop with tequila, green apple, dill, in-house vanilla spices cordial that canoodles the Naga chilli kick. A green apple salad on the side offers an additional habanero kick. The sweetness is just right to allow the chilli to heat up the palate without flashing a flame. Pisco Disco (Rs 850) has the tang of passion fruit interspersed with pisco (grape) brandy) with a vegetal finish of carom seeds (ajwain) tincture. A pretty looking cocktail with beetroot dust spinach dust, it’s a tropical sip with layering of flavours.
Miso Wasabi Broccoli and Deviled Heart with Nigiri
Red Room (Rs 950) is a refined treat of cacao nib fat washed gin, Ross, Campari, coffee bitters with an in-house chocolate bark resting on the glass rim. This negroni is enjoyable on the palate and hides its spirit strength well. Sip slowly. Shetty, who joins us for a bit, shares how his travel bug inspired the art at this venue. “I love art, and a lot of the inspiration for the space is from my travels across Spain, Mexico and Latin American countries, [Peru, Chile, and Brazil]. House of Paloma is designed as a visual treat that brings you back for its cocktails and food,” he says.
Head chef Pranay Shindey, who has had earlier stints at Masque, Indigo and The Clearing House, breaks our liquid diet with his expansive style of cooking — an Indianness with global umami. We begin with a Butter Kori Roti (Rs 450), creamy with a sharp smokiness of tender meat. The Garlic Toasties (Rs 370) come on a garlic focaccia served with a creamy garlic cheese pâte dressing. It’s bland, and needs a lift.
The Raw Mango Avocado Salad (Rs 395) has pudina green chutney with arugula, raw mango, dried coconut slivers and fried onion. It’s wholesome and robust in flavours. We cut a slice of a Hamachi Crudo (Rs 475) Hamachi, a raw yellowtail fish carpaccio dressed in citrusy coconut marinade with an extra tang from orange and kokum gel.
The flavours in the drinks and food are balanced, and mindfully don’t make unnecessarily sweet or tangy diversions. We pair this Asian tasting with Deviled Heart with Nigiri (R450) which has a dollop of creamy egg tartare with spicy tuna and tobiko fish roe. We will return for Miso Wasabi Broccoli (Rs 395) — a Hibachi-charred broccoli on a luscious bed of cauliflower mash. The dish is dressed in a spicy red crispy chilli oil rendition and cooked in miso-wasabi that unfurls like a best supporting actor.
Our last bite is the Cheesecake Swirl (Rs 395) in semi liquid form in a pink crisp cone with a filling of macerated berries. It is foamy on the palate and could have set a little more in the fridge. If we wore a hat, we’d have tipped it to the Paloma Man on our way out.
House of Paloma
Opens September 7
Time 5.30 pm to 1.30 am
AT Number 545, Ground Floor, Excel Entertainment, 33rd Road, Linking Road, Bandra West.
Call 9892632572
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