With football season at its peak, I was looking for a place to chill out and watch the games. The euphoria of being in the stadium could not be matched with Brazil being far away and way too expensive; a fairly affordable neighbourhood sports bar was therefore, an obvious choice. The place of choice was the newly opened SBX Sports bar and Grill at the Neptune Magnet mall in Bhandup.
The place is on the top level of the mall right across the entrance to a multiplex called Cinepolis. Given the massive size of the mall, it is quite easy to get lost and keep searching for the place if you are not aware of this particular landmark (as it was in our case). Once you spot the multiplex, the SBX is quite easy to identify with its massive glass windows and American décor.
The first thing that hit me on entering the restaurant was the high decibel level of house music. I requested the DJ to reduce the volume which he happily obliged, but after half an hour the music was back to being loud as apparently some customers had requested so in an almost empty place. A couple of pool tables in one corner, a foosball table in another, a giant screen and several smaller ones are pretty much the elements which give the place a sports bar feel, otherwise with the loud music and resident DJ, it might as well be a disco/lounge.
The menu has an interesting mix of cuisines focusing mainly on pub grub and the cocktail menu has a few drinks with fancy sporty names. We tried a cocktail called Maria Sharapova (Rs.249) which was muddled apples, mint and vodka cocktail, I didn’t care for it much as I didn’t relish the muddled fruits coming in my mouth with each sip and dint think that they married well with the mint. The whiskey based cocktail which they call Magic Johnson (Rs.249) was comparatively much better.
The finger food choice was of JD Buffalo Wings (Rs.185), a Murg Tikka Angari (Rs.195) and a day special Veg Kurkurey. While the veg kurkurey, a potato and beans filled crunchy balls was spicy and nice and the Murg Tikka, cooked well with its predominant spicy flavours, The Buffalo wing platter was a misnomer as it was more of a barbecue wing rather than a buffalo wing. Though the chicken was cooked well, the overload of rosemary was too much to handle.
The main course saw us going for Shrimps in butter pepper sauce (Rs.225) plus Chicken Chilli garlic fried rice and a Mix and Match Italiano Sizzler (Rs.195). I was scared that the shrimps may come overloaded with cornflour and was quite happy to discover that it wasn’t the case. The Chilli garlic fried rice, looked quite bland in appearance but was packed with flavours. The Chinese selection here tastes more like the Punjabi Chinese which in itself has quite a different set of followers. The sizzler was a mish mash of fish with pasta and fries, individually each element was delicious, the fish despite being oily was quite juicy and tasty, but it didn’t work together as one single dish. I believe the chef has to rework on this dish, keeping the taste quotient alive and changing a few elements that can complement each other.
Since the focus here apparently on pub grub, the management has kept two basic desserts, a Sizzling brownie (Rs.135) and your choice of Ice cream which at best can be termed average. I had left on a loo break when the brownie was served and when I came back the whole part where we were sitting was covered with smoke. I discovered to my utter amusement that it was a result of the sizzling brownie which apparently had seen a bit too much of liquor.
SBX Sports Bar and Grill has put in a brave effort to create the right ambience and offer the right prices for their products, however the location can be a bit daunting since the mall usually sees its main footfall only during the weekends. Though an interesting option for people living around the area, does it have the required draw to pull in clients from farther areas like Andheri or Powai, perhaps not! Introduction of interesting drink deals and aggressive marketing can surely turn that around. Here is wishing the best to this new kid in the block! Cheers!
Food: 3.0 | Ambience: 3.0 | Service: 3.0 | Overall: 3.0
Meal for two: Rs.1000 (Without Alcohol)| Alcohol: Yes | Credit Card: Yes | Timings: 11.30 am till 12.00 pm
Address: Neptune Magnet Mall, Lal Bahadur Shastri Rd, Ganesh Nagar, Bhandup West, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400078.
Tel:022- 66711693-67421878
