STARTED off as a sheesha joint, What’s Up! café has upgraded itself to a hangout zone that buzzes with the energy of great music accompanied by good food. The four-year-old café at Southern Avenue overlooking the Rabindra Sarobar lake is divided into four sections. The open section with a skywalk, which also has a nine-feet long Jacuzzi table, is the favourite spot for many loyal customers in this 150-seater cafe. “We started this café in 2015 and reinvented ourselves in 2016. We keep updating the menu every six months. We believe in customer delight and not customer satisfaction,” said Anirban Sengupta, one of the three partners, who also informed that this Durga Puja, What’s Up will throw new surprises.
Jacuzzi and Drunk Parrot anyone?
The hookah joint serving finger snacks, now have a water hole and a delectable menu that has Italian, Continental, Chinese and Tandoori delights. Avoiding the sheesha infused air in the upper deck and the heat in the roof-top area, we made ourselves comfortable in the family zone that had graffiti printed seats and quirky lights. Drunk Parrot, a concoction of rum, gin, pineapple juice and coconut cream, served in a whole pine-apple with a parrot carved out of the fruit, made for a good insta feed. The drink, however, did not match our expectations since it lacked the refreshing fruity flavour. However, the delicacies that followed the beverage gave us foodgasm. The Galauti Kebab was made with great precision and the curators get an emphatic thumbs up for the creamy texture of the kebab. The chunky pieces of kebab were spicy and filling. “The meat is minced thrice, to get the texture. Also there is a lot of technique involved to get the desired perfection, ” informed Kunal Sen Sharma, after giving a few tips to the chef, to make the perfect kebabs. Prawn Permadu, a French delicacy arrived next on the table. The cheese had a therapeutic effect on us and we scraped off the flavourful filling in complete silence.
Baked Alaska brought some drama on the table with the chef torching the dessert with blow torch and vodka. The creamy meringue had a burnt effect and it tasted heavenly. In the evenings live music takes the experience to a different level.