Come over to the dark side

Jinx Lounge at Vashi takes a chance with a negative theme that challenges guests to 'curse their misfortunes' and have a blast

When we entered the restaurant section of Jinx, Vashi's latest resto lounge, we spotted a cosy family enjoying their dinner. Instead, we decided to head upstairs, to the lounge area. That's because the vibration from thumping beats and the sweet smell of hookah fumes beckoned us to the
dark side.



The walls at Jinx were plastered with spooky-looking cats, hazy vampires and morphing werewolves, whose eyes seemed to follow us through the night. If you plan to venture to the bar, you must walk past creepy dark woods that take the form of wall decor. The paintings, we were informed later, are artworks done by students from the JJ School of Art.

Proprietor Ashish Sehgal, said in a chat, later, "At jinx, we aren't afraid of the cursed and damned. For us, 13 is a lucky number; we celebrate Jinxed day on the thirteenth of every month." And the bizarre idea seemed to have worked, with a fair crowd of college students thronging the lounge.

Targetted at a younger crowd, the menu was priced reasonably and dished out a host of offers for every day of the week. A genial waiter was happy to run us through the list, and offered to provide an SMS update on forthcoming events. On the night we dropped by, we got a free drink with every appetiser that was ordered. Friday night is ladies night, we were told.

The menu was a mix of Indian and Chinese mainly. The Chicken Salt and Pepper was a starter worth ordering; spiked with a hint of lime and spice (Rs 170). The vegetarian combination of Mushroom in Green Pepper (Rs 160) was part of the mains that had a pleasant garlic surprise, teamed with Malaysian Fried Rice (Rs 165). The extensive Indian menu included Chicken Amritsari, Chicken Pahadi Masala and Konkan Fish Curry.

A Rum and Coke costs Rs 85, while you can tipple on your tequila for Rs 275 per shot. Keeping with the theme, the hookah menu offered innovative names like Bordello of Blood, and Blackula, (Rs 250 onwards).

The flavours were fresh, and a few had a desi twistu00a0-- Kolkata Pan Masala. DJ Ryan spins a set every night; it's evident he favours the retro stuff. The playlist however depends on crowd requests. Thursday nights are reserved for Bollywood ganas. The music moved from Queen to Guetta and even digressed to jive music.

At Sector 26, Palm Beach Road, Vashi, Navi Mumbai. Call 41558557 / 9322835890
Jinx didn't know we were there.u00a0The Guideu00a0reviews and pays anonymously for meals