The Beer Cafe, Ambience Mall, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi

[Rated: 4/5]

Asking someone for a coffee is now a passé. The Beer Café is now open with an innovative concept, and it is only matter of time when asking someone for a quick beer would be the in-thing among the socialites.

It would come as no surprise to anyone to learn that Beer is the third most popular drink in the world. First two being, water and tea (Are we missing cola's?). In India, we have mostly grown up on Lager beer dominated by Kingfisher and only now are we experiencing new beers like Stout, Farmhouse Ale, Weisse amongst
others. The Beer Cafe rightfully boosts of almost 37 brands in its kitty which are otherwise impossible to find under the same roof, including the five star properties.

My guest, Anurag Mehrotra pouring beer



Self service beer station



The concept is innovative yet simple; walk into the café, pay and get a prepaid card, use it on the counter to fill your glass with any quantity and see your balance reducing on the screen in front. Hoegaarden (Rs300/330ml) and Stella Artois (Rs250/330ml) is available on the tap. The cafe has done well to explain the country of origin and style of beer, but for uninitiated they would do better by also explaining the beer flavor. Some may also miss the chilled glass normally used to serve beer.

We tried Murphy’s Irish Stout (Rs 475/500ml); which was unlike other stouts, not too strong and with roasted cocoa flavor and chocolate after taste. It is more of an acquired taste. The other beer that we tried was Leffe Blonde; a Belgium beer with a fruit apple flavor, Rs 350/330ml. Found it to be a good accompaniment to the finger food that we enjoyed along.

One thing which is not-to-be-missed at Beer Café is Chicken Pickled Canapies (Rs 150; Shredded chicken with mustard on top of Monaco buiscuit). It was light, and went excellently well to enhance the beer experience. Though the café does not have a full-fledged kitchen it still managed to surprise us with a nice Grilled Meat Platter (Rs450). It wasn’t exceptional but also wasn’t something to ignore. We didn’t appreciate the salsa served along with Nachos (Rs150). Salsa was a bitter paste and was nowhere closer to the freshly made good salsa. Crispy Broccoli served with Chili garlic dip (Rs 150) had a light and crisp barter though none of liked it much to finish the plate. The food was competently priced compared to the beer it serves.

Nachos

Grilled Meat Platter

Crispy broccoli with chilli garlic dip

Chicken pickled canapies

Beer Wall

Menu

Beer Chilling Tower

Beer Fountain

My guest Anurag Mehrotra vowed to come back soon along with his wife and I went happy with a new experience at a concept restaurant.

Ratings out of 5

Alcohol: 5.0 (only Beer, some wine), Food: 3.5, Ambiance: 4.5, Service: 4.5 (Self-service, still we were helped when required)| Overall: 4.0

Meal for Two: Rs600 (without alcohol) | Alcohol: Yes | Credit Card: Yes|
Address: 2^nd Floor, Ambience Mall, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi| Phone: 011-40870509

-Pawan Soni