Situated in Lokhandwala, opposite the famous Boveda, Glocal Junction is the perfect option for people who are bored of the pastas and the chicken curries. Offering a perfect blend of international cuisines with Indian flavours, this work-in-progress industrial bar setting gives you a delightful mix of western flavours packaged with a desi tadka.
You can choose to cozy up on the large sofas on the ground floor, right next to the bar or go up to the first floor, which is a little cramped but gives you’re a great view of the busy Andheri street below.
Starting off with the bar menu we were met with a myriad of choices. Right from the Bouquet which is a delightful mix of Absolut Kurant (black currant-based Vodka) blended with passion fruits and served in a rectangular bowl with edible flowers to the Toxic Box which true to its name comes in a box filled with a vodka cocktail, you’ll spend a good amount of time picking an option. The best thing to do is go with the chef’s suggestion. Coming from an impressive food history of Impresario, The Orchid, ITC Grand Maratha Sheraton, Hyatt Regency and the famous Social, Gaurav Gidwani certainly picks out the best.
Our favourites include the Coalition which is a wonder mix of margarita and beer, and the Infused Jar which is also vodka based but with an infusion of bark, fruit and berries that add a pleasant fruity taste to the vodka. Starting from Rs.295, the drinks are perfectly priced and work out to be quite cheap if you are with a large group and want to experiment with all the cocktails. Right from a pineapple-shaped jar, to a plastic pouch, the presentation of the drinks is quite a delight in itself. You also have a different bar menu for the day, and for the night.
For the food, we dug into the grilled paneer with red onions and bell peppers in Chimichuri sauce and it was as good as it sounds. Spicy and cooked to perfection, it perfectly complemented the cocktails. We also had a taste of the Curry Patta Chicken Satays, which true to its Thai origin had a perfect coconut aftertaste and was a little bland. The C N C Rings which are your regular chilly cheese toasts were again a delight but what deserves a special mention are the Thai-style Sabudana Vadas. The taste can be quite an experiment for those of you who love the Indian way of cooking the vadas, but the pleasant Thai curry aftertaste makes for an interesting experiment. The mixed bhajiyas that came next were the regular bhajiyas but digging into them with vodka was quite innovative.
The Caesar salad deserves another mention; the chicken was cooked just right and a good mix of sauces made it creamy and a meal in itself.
We also tried the Indian makhani served as lasagna, which had a cheesy malai gravy. The chicken-stuffed quesadilla served with spicy yogurt sauce was also the perfect palate teaser. You could also opt for the Tandoori chicken risotto that had a heavenly aroman. But trust me, the appetisers are enough to fill you up. A word of advice: go low on the starters, and try out a variety from the main course.
For desserts, since we were stuffed, we went ahead with a Kalkatta Paan Cheesecake that should absolutely be a part of every dessert menu. Kudos to chef Gaurav for fusing Indian cuisines with just the perfect western hints; who would have thought of packaging cheesecake in a paan, anyway? The chocolate mousse and salted peanut shake were the perfect end after a long day at work.
