Good Times @ Hoot Cafe & Brewery
“Hoot” a very different sounding brewery caught my attention when they opened in Bangalore a while ago. However considering they are located about 22 kms away, I always hesitated driving all the way.
Recently thanks to a few friends I got the chance to make my way here on a pleasant Sunday evening. I have never been to a brewery during the evening hours and I am so glad we decided to head here in the evening. Though located on the busy Sarjapur stretch, the road leading here is quiet with their large metal structure standing tall in the midst of it all.
A very unassuming building opens into one of the largest microbreweries in Bangalore spread across a whopping 40,000 sq ft which can supposedly accommodate 900 people.
There are 3 floors including an open air seating surrounded by coconut trees and water bodies if you are more of a one with nature kinda person. Luckily the weather was accommodating and the lovely breeze and the occasional drizzle made way for a lovely evening here.
The first and second floor are for those who would like a quiet meal though both have open balcony seating too.
Being a microbrewery, I did notice the tanks behind the bar counter for their different brews located on the ground floor.
As expected the crowd here is quite young but I was surprised to find one or two families with kids and babies which was a pleasant surprise. The music played by the DJ on the ground floor is absolutely foot tapping with a mix of the latest chartbusters interspersed with some good ol’ oldies.
Hoot has a great selection of beverages and we tried a few cocktails and mocktails – The Patiala, Saffron & Sweet lime Daiquiri, Blood Orange & Mint and Indian Inspired Street Food Martini. I loved the Saffron & Sweet Lime Daiquiri with a soft spot for the The Patiala.
Saffron & Sweet lime Daiquiri
Indian Inspired Street Food Martini
Blood Orange & Min
The Patiala
Among the mocktails I got a chance to try their Mint & Basil , Chilly Guava & Mango Slush & Berry Slush. The Slush drink was a winner. Moving on to their brews, I did get to try their mini tasters and settled for their Belgian white for the rest of the evening.
Chilly Guava
Mint & Basil
Mango Slush
Berry Slush
In places like these, it is the starters which need to live up to one’s expectations and many of the starters I tried here were quite good. Among the vegetarian dishes I tried the Crackling Spinach, Till Babycorn, Gulshan Ki Paneer and Mushroom Skewers.
Though I liked all the veg starters, I wouldnt mind going there once again just for their Paneer starter. Crackling spinach was a hit and miss for my friends though I thought it was quite an unique dish.
Among the non veg starters I tried – Multani Fish, Chicken Potli Takatak, Tempura Prawn and Hot Pot Lamb Chops. Once again, all the starters ordered we very well prepared and enjoyed my group as well as me.
I would definitely recommend trying their Multani Fish and the Lamb chops.
Since it was almost sunset, some of us decided to try a few of their main course to be split by the group. The dishes we ordered were Hoot Mix Noodle, Fusilli Forester Pasta and Fresh Focaccia Sandwich. The Hoot noodles were a surprise package as it looked quite ordinary but the dish was packed with flavour and the thin noodles added that extra yum factor.
The Foccacia sandwich felt more like a burger with the bread used being the saving grace. The Pasta was the best among the main course dishes ordered being mildly creamy with tiny bits of mushrooms and just the right amount of cheese.
In addition to the micro brewery, these guys are taking it up a notch in the coming days by including an in-house gaming zone called BOOT that will have Laser Tag, Vertigo and Football.
I would suggest visiting mid evening so that you can get a feel of the place during the day as well as night. Definitely a must visit for the brew lovers as well as young crowd!
Ambiance – 4.5/5
Service/Hospitality – 4/5
Food Taste – 4/5
Beverages– 4/5
Quantity/Quality – 4/5
Value for Money – 4/5
I always look forward to your blogs. Beautiful writeups and great pictures 🙂
Thanks. 🙂