Mesopotamia-themed Babylon lounge opens its doors for foodies

Babylon, a lounge bar nestled in the by-lanes of Salt Lake tries to recreate slices of that ancient city albeit in a modern manner.
Interiors of Babylon
Interiors of Babylon

Founded about 4,000 years ago as a small port on the River Euphrates, ancient Babylon’s ruins is a reminder of a very architecturally advanced era in ancient history, with the Hanging Gardens still capturing our imagination. Babylon, a lounge bar nestled in the by-lanes of Salt Lake tries to recreate slices of that ancient city albeit in a modern manner.

Interiors
Interiors

Inspired by the concept of layers and tiers of Babylon, most of the space has been kept open and is visible from the outside. The geometric patterns on the walls and floors, handcrafted lights and a lot of greenery will surely transport you to the long-lost city. The walls also feature a hand-crafted texture, which was a popular feature of that era, along with figurine wall art. The very impressive glass façade with many natural and artificial indoor plants creates a soothing ambience. Owners Abhishek and Aditya Agarwal say, “Travelling to different places, tasting different kinds of local cuisines and learning how they are with local ingredients have always excited us. Babylon is a product of our passion.”

Young Veg Pizza
Young Veg Pizza

Babylon serves not just Mediterranean food but an array of continental and Indian dishes as well. We started with a refreshing Spiced Curry Leaf Apple mocktail that had notes of apple and cranberry with a hint of curry leaves — a very unique blend of flavours to start with. We also tried Sea Salt Café Mocha, which was smooth and chocolaty. We felt it could have been a little saltier for that perfect balance. From the exhaustive menu, we settled for the assorted Mezze Platter with all the classic elements, with colourful pita bread adding extra texture. The flavourful Fungo Savoury with Parmesan and Italian herbs, had porcini and morel mushrooms served on little bread toasties, while the Citrus Herb-crusted Gamberi, which has bite-sized parmesan and panko-crusted prawns was also a great dish. Their Young Veg Pizza replete with grilled vegetables, artichokes and sun-dried tomatoes, was crispy yet cheesy.

Herb-crusted Gamberi
Herb-crusted Gamberi
Baklava
Baklava

We, however, wished the menu had a few more Mediterranean options. The star of the show was undoubtedly the Baklava, which had filo pastry stuffed with dried nuts, pistachio and coconut and served with a honey dip. Not only did it look great, but it also tasted just right.

Meal for 2: Rs 800+

Pictures by Pritam Sarkar

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