Vibrant flower markets, age-old eateries serving filter coffee and masala dose and temple walks are what surround our minds when we think of Malleshwaram. But recently, the newly-opened Enne, a family-friendly pub on Sampige Road gave a whole new angle to this old neighbourhood with its funky South Indian cocktails and dishes. N Shruti Sukumar, a baker, would often find herself with her friends at this location, which was previously known as Hatch, felt the need to renovate the space and turn it into a hang-out spot that serves as an alternative for citizens living in this corner of the city.
Now unlike the other pubs in town, this one is purely Kannadiga with its ambience, language and food. And this is visible in small details such as the rangoli enclosed brand name (which means oil, a slang for alcohol), their menu includes Kannada names instead of English translations, banana palms and coasters with interesting local sayings.
We took a quick tour of both floors of the pub with Mavinakaai Upinakaai (a cocktail made with mango pickle, vodka and soda) in a small bharani (ceramic jar) before we settled down opposite the bar to relish a mango Pepsi candy, every kid’s childhood summer snack, but this one with a twist of vodka. Soon, Rowdy Koli Unde (minced chicken balls tossed in a spicy sauce) and renowned Gaadi Gobi (our local Manchurian hero) made their way to our table as we reminisced some dear old memories. When
sampling food at new restaurants, one is really put to a test when comfort food is on the table. You either get it right or totally wrong but in this case, both the dishes knocked the ball out of the park. And to match the taste, we paired these starters with a shot of Sihi Shunti (gin and ginger).
Taking things up a notch, next came the Siddhartha Mezze Platter, a vegan dish where the Mediterranean meets Mangalorean. The delicacy serving sour cream, beetroot hummus, tomato kara chutney, kaalu usli, udin vade and kulcha has already become a bestseller. What better dish to follow this platter, than with the OG JackFruit Biryani served in a copper tiffin box with raita. The biryani legit tasted homemade, just perfect!
Just when we thought we can’t be stoked anymore, we were brought a couple of desserts — Iyengari Tiramisu and Bisi Chocolate. The former is a mini tiramisu in a bharani layered with Bengaluru’s well-known Iyengar Bakery rusk and filter coffee cream while the latter is a classic hot chocolate served with
benne biscuit in a coconut shell. We are lost for words to describe how good both the desserts were, so we aren’t even going to try. If you are someone who likes ‘to put a quick scene’ with your machas and magas, then Enne is the perfect place, trust us.
Meal for two: INR 1,000 onwards.At Malleshwaram