Right now, Mumbai is experiencing a rapid change in food culture. Everyday one gets to hear about some new restaurant, pub or patisserie opening around the city. From specialized restaurants to world cuisine, from pop ups to cooking studios, you name it and Mumbai has it and adding on to this list is the new secret pub “The Local” in South Mumbai. The concept of “The Local” is quite unique, its a secret pub, the entry to which is only through a special code. And thanks to Mumbai Boss, I won a chance to experience “The Local” before it opened its doors for everyone.
The place is nestled between the numerous shops standing still on M. G Road, Fort. We followed the directions given to us, still it took us a while to locate the place, remember its a secret pub, so there was no sign board. As guided, we were standing cluelessly in front of Currimjee Building, and we kept staring at the graffiti art wall. Suddenly, we hear a voice saying “Yehi hai! Andhar jao aur code enter karo.” He was the valet. As asked, we entered, there were couple of unused keyboards lying at a corner, we punched in our password and the door opened magically, at the first thought, it seemed like something out of a magical story.
The Place, The Food, The Experience:
Its a two level pub, there is graffiti art, along with Banksy written everywhere. According to me, the Banksy connect was not required for the place. The ambiance is pretty decent, it consists of a bar, high ceiling, rusted looking chairs and huge mirrors. The menu has the usual brands of alcohol, spirits, the regular cocktails and their signature cocktails like Kokum High, Imli ka Nasha, Kacchi Kairi to name a few. Their signature cocktails are available in cutting (Rs.160) and full (Rs.220), love the idea of cutting! We settled down for Kokum High and Long Island Ice Tea along with Peri Peri Chicken Drumsticks and Chicken Relleno.
Kokum High was quite good, it had a very subtle Kokum taste and was topped with chilli flakes and kokum. Next came the Long Island Ice Tea (Rs.450), it was potent and tasted good, one is enough to give you a good buzz, so if you are planning to have it more than one, you better have it at your own risk. Drinks are priced reasonably and comes with a complimentary bowl of boiled peanuts.
Peri Peri Chicken Drumsticks (Rs. 250) perfectly cooked, it was melt in mouth, though the sauce was not even close to an authentic peri peri sauce, still it was very tasty. Chicken Relleno (Rs.250) tasted good, but there wasn’t anything unique about it and it was too oily. The food consists of various sections like veg, chicken, pork, seafood and beef appetizers. There is also option for burgers and rolls.
Pros: Go for the drinks especially The Long Island Ice Tea and for the experience of entering a secret pub.
Cons: Music gets too loud. There is nothing local on the food menu, I was hoping to see some local food like Kheema pao and Bhurjee Pao.
Overall, the place is good to chill out, drinks are decent, food is pretty okay. Apart from the name, there is nothing local about this place in fact there is a very goan feel to the place. Go there to unwind after a long day’s work or just to chill with your friends.
Address: The Local, 111A, Currimjee Building, opposite Mumbai University, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Fort, follow them on Twitter on @TLBombay for updates.
Damage to the Pocket: 1500 plus taxes with alcohol.