Is Bandra having a nightlife crisis?

Psst! If you totally missed what happened: Over the last month several hangouts in Bandra took a hit and shut down when the order was passed by Home Minister R.R. Patil after a group of housing society residents complained against the increasing noise and traffic, making allegations that these clubs were flouting certain licensing rules. Oh pooh.

So can you still bar crawl around Bandra? That's the question I set out to answer on Saturday night when Sita Wadhwani editor of CNNGo Mumbai asked me to write a feature on it (I like them, they put me on their Mumbai 20 Hot List remember) Did I succeed? I guess you could say so. But it’s clear that your best bet is to pick a place early and stick to it, unless you're willing to travel to China House at the Grand Hyatt (where I spotted Salman Khan!) or Aurus in Juhu post the 1:30 a.m. deadline Bandra is forced to adhere to.

So here’s a quick look at Bandra nightlife, as it is now… and then I’ll show you the results of my Twitter survey to see which neighborhood clubs we cannot let R.I.P, even if they’ve long since shut down. (For more on the Mumbai party circuit visit www.missmalini.com)

Saturday night Bandra bar crawl

Toto's Garage [status: Open]

This was our first stop because Toto’s is such a city institution (in fact it was even around when we were still allowed to call it Bombay.) Now the crowd is a little dodgy but the music's still rocking. The owner was SO not happy about me filming though, I wonder why?

Soul Fry [status: open]

Bandra's favorite Monday-night karaoke bar. Plus who could say no to a place where the menus dangle from the ceiling?

Hawaiian Shack: [status: open]

Four floors of retro insanity! Plus the DJ booth actually moves.

Elbo Room [status: open]

Like I said in the video, I've done so much celebrity spotting there lately, it's clearly a hit. Plus the DJ/accountant has a certain (albeit eccentric) flair for music.

Mumbai Times Cafe [status: open]

Again one of the few places you can enjoy a nice apple-flavored hookah (for some reason Mocha Mojo doesn’t do them anymore.) The rooftop lounge area is my fave and a great place to spend a chill evening. Unfortunately they’re pretty militant about their last order on the hookah (even though you can still get drinks).

Olive Bar & Kitchen [status: open]

Apart from Thursdays, when they have theme nights, Olive is a great place for a chilled out drink if you sit outside on the bar stools or a weekend rager with the DJ pumping house inside. Owner A.D. Singh always gets it right.

The Banana Bar [status: open]

One of the few places in Bandra with a pool table so it gets my vote (ever since I moved north I’ve been having Ghetto withdrawal -- now that was a real dive bar). In fact that’s where I ended up randomly on Tuesday night. Apparently they also do Karaoke on Thursdays. 

Zenzi [status: closed]

This is really heartbreaking. Particularly because I JUST moved to Bandra and I remember trekking all the way over from town for that delicious bar-food-with-a-twist China Box! I’ll never forget the day I discovered that Dutch founder Matan Schabracq has an identical twin brother. Who knew? Oooh and I have fond memories of a very sweet and dimpled Abhay Deol agreeing to pose with me too.

Bonobo [status: open]

I’m so glad they re-opened again after being closed for three months. In fact they’ve got a bunch of new stuff on their menu now and hopefully the live music scene will return to normal in a few months. Remember Nikhil D’Souza’s indie jam in May 2009? Epic.

Escobar [status: closed]

In all honesty Escobar is sorely missed. And it was barely open for six months. Great indoor/outdoor space, a terrace for the smokers and that 77 feet long bar connecting both spaces. I hope they get their license sorted soon.

Royalty [status: closed]

When they launched this place I was pretty impressed (despite the crazy smoke parade) and I thought between Bollywood celebrity Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra it would be packed full of glitterati every weekend. I don’t know what happened exactly but they never actually managed to open after the launch party… doh!

Shilpa Shetty, husband Raj Kundra and her younger sister Shamita Shetty at Royalty club launch.

Miss Malini's Twitter nightlife survey

As per Twitter the old favorites continue to be Poison (DJ Aqeel bring it back!), Zenzi Bandra, and Seijo and the Soul Dish (gosh remember those egg shaped bathrooms?) And sadly, none of these Bandra institutions exists anymore.

Solution? Look to the future

I'm happy to report there are a few new restaurants and bars opening up, California Pizza Kitchen (with killer margaritas I'm told), Barcode 053 (Dino and Nicolo Morea’s new spot in Andheri next to Infinity Mall, I’ll go take a look-see soon) and The Sea Princess hotel in Juhu is getting it's own version of Delhi's Elevate dance club. Yippee!

 

 

 

Aurus, Ground Floor, Nichani Kutir, Juhu Tara Road, Juhu, Vile Parle (W), +91 (0) 22 6710 6666

Bonobo, Kenilworth, second floor, off Linking Road, Behind KFC, Bandra, tel. +91 (0) 22 26055050

China House, off Western Express Highway, Santacruz East; tel. +91 (0) 22 66761086

Hawaiian Shack, No. 339, 16th Road, off Linking Road, Bandra (W), tel. +91 (0) 22 2605 8753

The Banana Bar, Hotel New Castle, First Floor, Above Only Parathas, Khar (W), tel. +91 (0) 22 26480483

The Mumbai Times Cafe, 33rd Road, Khar (W), tel. +91 (0) 22 66711587

Olive Bar & Kitchen, 14, Union Park, Khar (W), tel. +91 (0) 22 2605 8228

Soul Fry, Silver Croft, Pali Market, Bandra (W), tel. +91 (0) 22 26046892

Toto's Garage, 7/8 Lourdes Haven, Pali Naka, Bandra (W), tel. +91 (0) 22 26006429