Watch restaurant review: This Cafe and Microbrewery is a Hoot! [4/5]
When you live in North Bengaluru and have to make the journey towards deep south in the city, whatever you are looking to achieve or experience better live up to the hype. Having said that, this was one of the occasions when expectations were indeed met. Welcome to Hoot Cafe and Microbrewery, which indeed does justice to its name! That is the short review of it. For a longer account of our visit, read on!
Located just off Sarjapur Road, Hoot can be a place to unwind on a lazy afternoon after a tough week, or a place to party hard in the evening, when the mood lights come on and the music starts to play loud. Add some in-house beer to the concoction, and you might just have a candidate for a regular hangout! If your pocket suits it, that is.
The alcohol
Hoot may serve a heady menu of cocktails and drinks, like the Jalapeno Margarita I ordered, but the suggestion would be to go for one of the three kinds of locally-crafted St Martin beer. Can’t decide on one? Ask for a sampler like the one shown below. These are, from right: Special German Wheat Beer, Abbey Blond Beer and Abbey Dark Beer.
My suggestion: Go for the first of the three. Its flavours are not overpowered by the bitterness of the beer, and it goes down well with some finger food. And you won’t find it often outside Hoot Cafe and Microbrewery!
The starters
Now, I admit I arrived late, so some of the starters had already been served. But I still got some delicious finger food! Here we have, clockwise from top-left: Lazeez Khumb [a creamy mushroom dish], Paneer Karara Dhaniya [melt-in-your-mouth paneer triangles encrusted with crispy herbs], Beer Batter Fish and American Buffalo Wings [no beef, only chicken].
The first two were creamy to the point of coating the mouth till you clear it with the first swig of sharp alcohol. The basa fish coated in beer batter was slightly on the oilier side, but the wings were indeed nice, even on the eyes.
Main course and desserts
One thing that goes down well with alcohol and can be both finger food and main course is pizza. We got two kinds: Farmhouse for the vegetarians, and Butter Chicken for the non-vegetarians. Nothing to write home about, but they gelled well with a quiet dusk that turned into a happening evening.
Next, some noodles: Veg and Chicken Haka. Beautifully spiced, these noodles could give any decent Chinese joint a run for their money.
Then, pasta. The green one is Penne Pesto Rosso, while the red one… well, what’s in a name? They were equally delicious, although possibly a little bland for the Indian palate that is used to more robust spices.
The last round was some Indian food: Paneer Kulcha and Kadai Subz. Hearty spices blended with fresh ingredients to make for some flavours that would be remembered for quite some time!
And finally, some caramel custard to end on a sweet note. This, however, can be improved upon.
Final thoughts on Hoot Cafe and Microbrewery
The food at Hoot is up to par, with you getting what you pay for… on the most part. And based on that alone, the watering hole can get a decent 3.5 out of 5. However, add the St Martin German Wheat Beer and the ambiance to the mix, and the rating goes up automatically to 4!
Visit this place in the afternoon for a quite time, and in the evenings for a happening time. And if you are a family man, bring your children too!
Watch the video review here:
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