Sohum Sutras: Lounge Review: Entourage

Yesterday I was invited to India’s first Sitcom themed lounge at Defence Colony. The concept behind Entourage Lounge Defence Colony is extremely cool and innovative. You’ll find the walls full of artwork from your favourite shows like Friends, How I met your mother, etc. Each drink and dish is also named after that. Entourage is a unique concept place for all reality TV series addicts it is a must visit place. It is located in the defence colony market just next to Swagath. Entourage is different when compared with other restaurants in Defence Colony. It is a 3 story restaurant. On the ground floor they have their own bar, 1st floor fine dining sitting and 2nd floor is lounge.

To start with, we got their signature drink, Jesse Pinkman’s Bitchen batch bitch

Inspired from ‘breaking bad’ Blue Lagoon. It was a visual delight served in a beaker/ lab flask with Nitrogen fumes arising from the glass. Menu does not say what it is made of. We got to know that it is Bacardi base. It was nice and soft. It did not feel much alcohol. All their Domestic liquor cocktails are priced at Rs.250/- and foreign liquors are Rs.350/-

Each one is served in individual trays with a picture of the character they symbolise.

We also ordered The Pablo Escobar Mojito (Inspired from Narcos). He was the most important narco trafficker from Columbia. Classic- with little accent of basil. Instead of basil, we got its Indian version- tulsi. But the drink was very good.

Many times electricity went off and then came in few minutes. There was a loud and noisy group. I was told that the target clientele for the lounge was 18-25 year. They loved these sitcom pictures, they take pictures with these posters. They are the people who are tough to please. In older group, the expectations are different. When you go bar hopping, you generally expect bright lights etc.

This place has a distinct look and feel. After work, one can come here, watch Tv, have a drink, watch a game, etc. The music was very loud music early in evening. And the choice of music was really bad. That was a dampener. Place like this would surely be different at midnight- crowded with youngsters. I am sure it is buzzing at night. Take a cocktail and a dish and you are done.

They were showing football game on Tv. For group of friends to watch the game with a drink is good option. The air conditioning was too cold for me to bear. So the things they can work on, are music and maintaining temperature. Clients generally leave if they find the place too cold or too hot.

Talking about food, the sitcom theme has been extended to the dishes on the menu too.

To start with, we had Parmesan veg Galauti roll. It is priced at Rs. 305/-. You can have it with drink and stay all night. An entrée, that is very cheap.

I also ordered Khao Sui veg. It was not bad but I have had better kaho suis. Their vegetarian soup is priced at Rs.185/- and non-veg is for Rs.225/- I liked the fact that it is not too hot and spicy for my taste.

My friend had non vegetarian, Murgh malai pita pocket. It is priced at Rs. 375/-. It comes with hummus and lots of onions. It was good. Pita had full crisp black peppers that came in mouth as you took a bite. My friend did not like that.

We also ordered Greek Salad. It is priced at Rs. 220/-. This was nothing special. It had too much onion, had less feta cheese. Greek salad is supposed to be more delicate. With so much onion, you cannot kiss after having this. :)

Their crockery and cutlery is very basic and nothing fancy. All in all, it is a place for very young people- very budget friendly. But it can still be made better.

My next dish was Vegetable Shashlik. It is priced at Rs. 325/-. I would highly recommend this. The portion sizes here are just apt for two people. They are neither too big not too small. In fact, I liked their portion sizes.

Our next dish was mushroom and Zucchini Parmeziana & Toast. It is priced at Rs. 325/- It is a very good dish. It is a full meal for two. Someone who loves creamy sauce and combination of mushroom and zucchini, would love this. Different vegetables had their own character and flavours. You can spend the whole evening with one drink and this dish. This is one dish that made me say-Wow!

For our second round of drinks, we asked for Charlie Sheen’s Epic Margarita. It comes in Kiwi/peach/ strawberry. We opted for kiwi. It is priced at Rs. 350/-. Its base is tequila. It was too much ice and very strong.

I ordered a mocktail for myself. They have a different mocktail menu. My drink was called Cranberry Casino. It is priced at Rs. 175/-. It was too sweet for my taste. I think our first two cocktails were the best.

We also wanted to bring you a review for their fish. So we ordered Pan grilled fish. It is priced at Rs. 525/-. It was good. It was served with sweet caramelized onion based sauce with mayonnaise and mashed potatos. It was nicely decorated but nothing that you say wow or fantastic. They serve too much onion in every dish, I think.

For desserts, we were told, they had only 3 options- Pista kulfi, mango kulfi and phirni. All priced at Rs. 155/- each. They all came very well presented. They were nice but not out of this world. I will say very good value for money.

They also have a smoker's zone or the terrace. I do not think many restaurants in Defence colony have a terrace. It is small and cute. It has the potential to be made better.