Kolkata gourmands are having a field day relishing every bit of the contention among the established and emerging lounge bars and gastropubs to win them over. And new entrant Effingut seems to have added more fuel to the fire with its unique mix of offerings. The national brand, with five existing outlets across Mumbai and Pune, debuted in Kolkata last December 22 with a crazy range of quirky concoctions and entremets.
The 7,500 sq ft sprawling address, nestled on the seventh floor of the Celica Park complex, is a visual treat with its artful display of motley artefacts and vibrant furnishings. Given that no two outlets of this brand owned by Manu Gulati look the same, interior expert Minnie Bhatt has done a splendid job out of the Kolkata one with an intelligent interplay of many elements. There's a ceiling installation of myriad headgears, a wall full of yellow blow horns, and a nostalgic collection of radios, music players, vinyl turntables and dial phones adorning a wall.
Apart from their mascot Borrel, we also love how their second mascot, Bobby, a vintage Royal Enfield hangs from a corner ceiling.
We settled in the verdant roofed extension overlooking the bustling Park Street area. Replete with relaxing wooden armchairs, spacious sofas and bar stools, this section is a great spot for some hollering with friends over huge mugs of craft beer at any time of the day. Everything about the place has us impressed, be it the ambience, the playlist or the names of the dishes in the multi-cuisine menu that uses double entendre.
What gives this pub an edge over many of the existing players is its unusual range of handcrafted cocktails concocted by mixologist Zac Abbott, who employs an array of gastronomic techniques including sous vide, dehydration, distillation, fermentation and maceration to come up with unique flavour pairings.
We also heart the way he presents them and Bath With A Stranger is a case in point. Served in a mini ceramic bathtub, this funky cocktail with a foam-like frothy topcoat has a mix of in-house shrub of green apple, litchi, organic green tea kombucha and gin. We had it with a 14-day whiskey-cured tenderloin served with baby carrots and confit egg yolk. The well-done meat retained all the softness and the mild taste of caramel sauce.
Cafe Brulee too is quite a head-turner. It’s made with pure Arabica coffee, jaggery and brown sugar with in-house aromatic Effingut bitters, sous vide at 55 degrees for four hours before being shaken over ice with vodka and egg white. Served with toasted marshmallows in a glass coffee cup with saucer, we simply loved sipping it with succulent Pork Ribs sourced from Belgium and glazed in Barbeque sauce.
Zac also has a variety of distinctive in-house syrups like the Darjiling tea syrup that’s made with first flush leaves, non-alkaline water, date jaggery and citric acid. Used in their signature gin cocktail, I Love Yuzu, this one might even give teetotalers a second thought. Once their brewery is functional, you can also get their IPAs, dark beers with real depths and Zac's personal favourite, cider.
Among the other entrees, Bunny Noodles, a one-of-a-kind, filling, all-day dish tops the list. The scooped out burger bun holds a generous portion of zesty chicken keema that turns the bun soft, lending it a ‘street-side food’ streak, faintly reminding us of keema pao. You can also order Maharashtrian Thecha Chicken, Tangra Style Chilli Chicken, Kosha Mangsho and Grilled Bhetki with Caramel Mash, Fennel and Orange Salad that are equally delectable. If you can’t end a session without a must-have sweet note, gorge on the Sizzling Brownie with Ice Cream that’s flambéed at your table.
Meal for two: Rs 1,200+ (without alcohol), Rs 2,000+ (with alcohol)
Noon to 10 pm.
Twitter: @sharmidas