This weekend, some friends and I decided to try Bootlegger on Vittal Mallaya road. We arrived at around 4 PM to find the place jam-packed. We were immediately attended to and were shown a place we could sit until a table cleared up. Luckily, we got one on the outside in a matter of five minutes. I was happy to move outdoors as the air-conditioning inside the premises was not effective at all. It was quite hot and unpleasant thanks to so many people cramped into a small space.
One of the first things that put me off to the evening was the fact that while the menu card boasted of an extensive list of domestic and foreign beers, almost none of the foreign brands were available. Almost like an udipi hotel, the waiter kept telling us what wasn't there on the menu rather than what was. As it turned out they pretty much had only the domestic fare and one very odd-tasting Amstel beer. We soon switched to the tried and tested formula of Kingfisher.
The cocktails aren't much to write home about either. I started the evening with a cocktail titled ‘The Godfather’ which had a very confusing taste to it. It was almost like drinking tonic water flavoured with lemon. It apparently had bourbon and scotch, but I wouldn't know. The first Long Island Ice Tea I ordered had some promise, while the second was absolutely terrible where the coke was the overwhelming taste. I can’t say much for the Daiquiri either. My friends had some Mojitos which weren't impressive. Bootleggers also committed the sin of putting ice in the Sangria, rather than ensuring the wine was cold to start with. The cocktails are not inexpensive and are priced at an average of over Rs.400.
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| The Godfather |
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| Daiquiri |
As far as the food goes, Bootlegger was consistent in keeping us disappointed. The nachos we ordered had barely enough cheese and had huge chunks of onions just cut and sprinkled around. The onion sizes were ideal if one were having a meal of naan and butter chicken. The taste was below average. The chilly cheese toast and the chilly chicken we ordered were alright, but nothing to write home about. What did stand out were the spicy fries that were cooked to perfection and were not too oily.
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| Veg Nachos |
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| Chilly Cheese Toast |
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| Chilly Chicken |
The big plus point (and maybe the only) of Bootlegger was that the waiters were prompt and courteous. The guy waiting on us ensured we never had an empty glass and always had a plate full of food. That aside, I don’t recommend Bootlegger to people and I won’t be visiting it again anytime soon.
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