Boat Club, Pali Hill, Bandra

It has been a long time since I went drinking and dancing and no better place in Bandra than Boat Club, as I found out! After a round of coffee with friends, some of us, including Blogger Dude, headed to Boat Club after getting to know that a friend was going to be playing that night. Three of us, grabbed a small round table near the bar and began our sessions while the DJ belted out some nice rock tunes. Located on top of Pali Presidency, Boat Club has been neglected by Trance Dude for far too long!

Boat Club has a rustic feel to it with a predominant wooden decor. It is a great place to hang out with friends though the waiters hovering around the table can get a bit irritating. It has an oval-shaped bar and smallish dance floor. Though dancing is not restricted to just the dance floor and anyone can dance anywhere.  The waiters here wear half sleeve angler jackets to give a more authentic look to the  ‘boat club’. The jackets though resemble photographer’s jackets more like anglers jackets.Had a beer and since we were already stuffed on sandwiches and croissants from Java Espresso, we did not eat anything at the Boat Club but I imagine the food will be similar to Totos.

Boat Club isn’t the cheapest place but a must go for music lovers, friends and everyone else! Don’t forget, Fridays are House Nights!

Zenzi Mills, Lower Parel

Zenzi Mills is an offshoot of Zenzi, Bandra. Similar in ambiance, Zenzi Mills offers a large rectangular bar with a small dance floor and another one on the top floor. The entry at Zenzi Mills is generally free which is such a refresher from the usual rigmarole of other places.

Going in a group or with ur friends/lovers is all good at Zenzi Mills. One can always hop over to Zenzi’s next door neighbour blue Frog if the Mills music isn’t to their taste. But for Trance Dude, it was a great night. Loved the ambiance, the music and the crowd. You’d expect a sophisticated crowd in Lower Parel, which is what Zenzi is all about.

As expected, the price of the booze is much higher here than say in Bandra. So pint of beer would set you back by INR 200 (taxes included). Trance dude being back from Goa recently, was in no mood to pay so much for beer especially after getting high on Kingfisher available for INR 35 in Goa!!

Anyways, Zenzi Mills is the place to go to these days if one wants to have a great time. Don’t forget, place shuts by 1:30 PM.

Pune Trip

It’s been a long long time since I made a trip outside of Mumbai. So when a friend told me about a few cool parties happening in Pune (one of which was by Pete Gooding – one of my favourite House Djs) I could not resist the urge to say ‘Yes lets go rock Pune’! And that is exactly what we did!

It took approximately 3.5 hours to reach the city and another 1 hour to find the place (Koregaon Park) where the parties were happening. To see the city hustling and bustling – dup up roads, upcoming residential/commercial complexes, crazy traffic – was enough proof that Pune is indeed in the ‘big boys’ club now. A small town no more!

There was this road, a long one at that, where we travelled, which had an unusually high number of eateries. Oh! the aromas made my mouth water! But we had a plan, to head to Post91 (buffet) for lunch and then go pub hopping.

After filling ourselves to the brim at Post91, we headed out the Stone Water Grill. This place was right up there amongst the list of places which would ideally be frequented by the rich and famous and not the forget the good looking women as well!

I fell in love with the place, the decor, the ambiance, the seating arrangement, the dining room, everything here was just that good! Offcourse prices were high but that’s not going ot stop you from going now is it?

Vachan Chinappa was playing at the lounge-restaurant which greadually got crowded as the day progressed. Did not stay for the rest of the evening as we were to go Gaia. Stone Water Grill is definately a must check out place if you are in Pune. Chk Santanu’s blog here for an in-depth review: Stone Water Grill.

Next Stop – Gaia.

Gaia, though open air like Stone Water Grill, was in stark contrast to the lounge. While Stone Water was refined, Gaia looked like a treehouse (Atleast parts of it) and most of the place was a lawn which became the dance floor. Oh yes, the place also had an indoor dance floor which resembles the one at Vie Lounge in Juhu, Mumbai. Loved the place, the music and the many dark corners which did put some *ahem* *ahem* thoughts in my head!!

Gaia was the last place on the list before we headed out to have some pav bhaji and finally drove back to Mumbai. Got lost on the way but still managed to reach in 3 hours.

Overall an awesome trip and am definately looking forward to going to Pune soon!

The Banana Bar

Address: Hotel New Castle, First Floor, Above Only Parathas, Khar (W), Mumbai

Tel: 26480483, 26480481

Full Review: Alright, So me and my friend were searching for a place to chillout. Have been to Toto’s too many times, went to Temptation to check out that place which was pretty empty at 8:30 pm (As expected). So we headed out to Banana Bar.

About the Place:

We paid 300 per head as cover charge. On Friday Banana Bar hosts Salsa nights from 9:30-11:30 pm. We were there at 9 pm.

The Music:
The Dj was playing some nice soft rock while I gulped down on some Vodka and my friend on some Beer.
Later at 9:30pm he started pumping out some nice Salsa tunes, believe me i don’t do Salsa but the beats surely got me dancing, albeit by myself only lol. After 11:30 he dished out some house/hip hop tunes which for some reason went exactly in the same order as it did in Hawaiian Shack on Wednesday when i was there!!! Nothing special really when it came to hip hop/house, the same old, the same old choons you’d hear everywhere else.

The Crowd:
Most of the people who had come there were regulars and most knew Salsa too. For the first time i saw a gathering of Salsa dancers, pretty nice sight i must say. People had gathered just for the 2 hours of salsa. Some of them (Well most of them) were like pro’s who must have been coming here every since this place opened!!
The crowd was pretty hip, some very pretty women and cool dudes. What startled me was how quickly the place was deserted when the music shifted genres. But ah well, i guess it was expected.

The ambiance:
A very chilled out place, had two big screens (the challenger trophy was being telecast). Very spacious, to allow for maximum number of people to dance their hearts out, a good thing i must say. The place is divided into two sections : one inside where the actual dancing happens, and another outside overlooking the Linking Road where you could sit and relax and catch up with your folks.
The place wasn’t very dark, a good thing, good lightning and good service too.

The Cost:
Well a Vodka cost me Rs.150.
A Beer cost my friend: Rs.120

Everything ‘food’ there was around 180 and above so we didnt bother eating anything there (Except for the chaklis that was served with the booze).

Other nights:

On thursday’s they got Karaoke nights and from Monday-Wednesday, they got retro nights (rock/hip hop) etc.

Overall, we got bored there cause none of us knew Salsa, and seeing other people enjoy so much made me jealous! It was only when the deejay started dishing out house was when it felt nice. But really, if your a Salsa lover, you gotta make this your regular Friday hang-out.

Definitely worth checking out atleast once.

Mumbai Times Cafe

Address: Crystal Shoppers Paradise, Fifth Floor, Off Linking Road, Bandra (W), Mumbai

Tel: 66711587

Full Review: I was there a couple of weeks ago, went in there to escape the heat. The review below aptly describes the ambiance and the fact that menu left much to be desired.
Anyways, my friend ordered a pint (as it was happy hours, there was a buy one get one free offer). I didn’t feel like drinking so ordered non-alcoholic beverage, so i ordered for a Jumbo chocolate shake ( i think that’s what its called). Well it surely was Jumbo. But here’s the sad part – it tasted exactly like bournvita .
Not worth the money.
There was also a selection of Hukkas in the veranda outside but we didn’t try that out that day. The have a nice array of magazines that you can read while your there, it includes business magazines, lifestyle magazines , women related magaziness etc etc. if your bored you can watch TV too. they got 2 screens and one projector to screen important sports events and the like.

Overall seemed like a nice place to chillout with your friends, but the menu badly needs some more additions. So like the dude below me, i’ll go and check out that place sometime later to see how its progressed so far.

Hawaiian Shack

Address: Plot No. 339, 16th Road, Nr. Linking Road, Linking Road, Bandra (W), Mumbai

Tel: 26058753, 26041749

Full Review: I almost made Hawaiian Shack my Adda last month, don’t remember how many times i have been there already but it was a lot of times for sure!
The booze is nice and cold and the food is not that bad either! The music is good though yeah it gets repetitive if u go there too often! lol… I personally like monday nights since they play more of house there which really gets me going.
Overall a good place to hang out with your friends and enjoy the music ..

Poison

Address: 001/b, Krystal, 206 Patkar Marg, Bandra (W), Mumbai

Tel: 26423006, 26423007, 9820123177

Full Review: I have been to Poison only on Wednesday nights since all i listen to is Trance/House. I must say the first time i was there was back in 2005 ( I think) when solar stone were down here in Mumbai. Though it was an experience never to forget, the sound system was a big let down. Did not go there for almost a year after that but as fate would have it I was at Poison on a Thursday dancing to Pearl dishing it out! Man O Man was that a night to remember! the sound completely blew me off and yes as someone said here, the bass really makes your hair stand up!!!
The sound system is an absolute treat, amazing clarity. Really makes you wanna let your hair down (unless its not already standing up cause of the bass) and dance your heart out.

Poison is easily the best club in Mumbai. I have seen the pretties women at Poison, which is one reason why i love going there. The booze is incredibly expensive (atleast for me).
A Beer (local) costs Rs.150 while the foreign ones will set you back by Rs.300 and all this for a pint.
Vodka large shot is for Rs.400. A breezer is for Rs.200.

The club definitely has strict entry rules (especially for stags) and the entry + cover sets you back by Rs.1500. Pretty costly but the place is worth experiencing atleast once.

Bling

ddress: Leela Kempinski Hotel, Sahar Airport, Sahar, Andheri (E), Mumbai

Tel: 66911234, 66911219, 66911220

Full Review: Well something about the management first. Its brand new, promoted by Dj Aqeel (and is not handled by the Leela Management).
I was at Bling for Dj Pearl’s weekly house dosage on Wednesday night. Since the disc is in a hotel I think it can remain open till after 4 AM (thought I left at 3:30 AM)
The place is nicely decked up, I loved the ambiance there, almost lounge like though its a Disco. OH! they got a lot of balls (big balls) on the ceiling, almost faking the illusion of a chandelier hanging on top. They got lasers too! A blue laser beam from the left (if your facing the DJ console) stretches all the way across the place (as its quite small).
The DJ Console is closed box (with a plexi-glass so you can see through the DJ) Though the Console is on the same level as the dance floor from the outside, its raised from the inside (heck pearl is not taller than me!). Opposite the console is the bar which stocks quite a collection of booze.
The place can accomodate around 200-250 people. There is seating space too but the bouncers did not allow any to sit as they all had a ‘reserved’ tag on them which is a shame cause for the four hours I was there we did not see anyone sitting on the couch (Except for this couple that was making out right next to the DJ console)

The entry is pretty cheap Rs.500 per person (dunno rates for couples) They got guestlists too (and I was on one of em, so got in free). There was some fight a few nights ago outside Bling so those guys were a bit jittery to let us stags in which they eventually did after we talked to the manager (and being on Pearl’s guestlist did help too)

The booze is quite costly, (offcourse, less the number of people costlier the booze). A pint of beer set us back by Rs.350. Vodka costs around Rs.500. Definitely not in my league (or the other way round!)

Bottomline – You gotta check out this new place atleast once. I think its open only on wed, thurs, fri and sat .

Vie Lounge

Address: 102, Juhu Tara Road, Juhu, Vile Parle (W), Mumbai

Tel: 26603003, 26604884

Full Review:

I have been to Vie now twice in three weeks and each time as a stag, thank god for the guestlists!!
Anyways, both times I entered, I headed straight to the dance floor cause that is exactly what I was there for. I really liked the place for one thing: its right there overlooking Juhu Beach. The feeling that surrounds you while you stare at the pitch black ocean from the comfort of your seat cannot be compared. It is by far one of the best places to take a date or just hangout with your friends, I must say.
Just had a couple of drinks while I was there, Jack Daniels being my preferred poison. A small dance floor but that is acceptable if you look at the larger scheme of things. People wouldn’t come here to just shake their booties but to sit, eat, relax, chill, de-stress and maybe then shake a leg or two.
Overall, not a bad place to chillout but then i rather go to a disc or a lounge not a place that wants to be both.