When one has to write about a place one has heard of numerous times and has visited other outlets of the same chain all over the world, one thinks it would be a ‘been there, done that’ experience, so when IFF was invited to review Hard Rock Cafe, Andheri and I was to tag along as as guest, the excitement level was a tad ho-hum. Still, the thought of trying out new tastes in LIITs was tempting enough and there I was, bang on time!
Located in a lane off Fun Cinema, I thought it would be a smallish place. And it is with this is mind that I entered. The first impression…wow!! This is not at all what I expected it to be! Wonderfully spacious with lots of room for easy movement, I loved the way it looked and felt. The walls were nicely decorated with instruments and clothing associated with well known musicians, a big screen with some music video playing added to the ambiance. I particularly liked the fact that the tables were not set too close to one another and gave the place an uncluttered feel.
We made our way to the elevated bar which was well stocked – I was all set to try out their LIITs. The shot glasses were brought out, one must note that it is mighty difficult to mix LIITs in tiny shot glasses…extremely easy to get the portions a touch more or little less with huge variation in taste. The gentleman at the bar took on the challenge and was raring to go…so were we!
The vodka, bacardi, gin base was poured out carefully and as the remaining ingredients were added, slowly but surely a tinge of lavender colour appeared…the Lavender LIIT, simply beautiful to the eyeturned out to be a little too sweet for me although I am sure it will appeal to those who enjoy the extra sweetness in their Iced Teas. Then followed the Texas Iced Tea – with its topping of Blender’s Pride was just right for me. Must say it had been mixed very well despite it being in a shot glass. Perfect! The Boston Iced Tea which followed, didn’t work very well as the combination of coffee flavour from the coffee liqueur was not in a happy zone with the sourness from the lime and the coke. We quickly moved on to the next, and what a delight it was – the sweetly named Love Is In The Air was charming visual treat with lychee laced LIIT topped with beautiful red wine, and itall tasted great!! Then came the Aam Panna Iced Tea – it was flawless and with just the right notes of sweet and sour in it; the plus was the innovative touch of adding a paan leaf in the drink..interesting to say the least.
We also tried the Kala Khatta Iced Tea – adding some chat masala and a dash of lime made it taste just like the ice gola I relish, with the added zing of the Vodka, Bacardi and Gin of course. The Jalapeno Iced Tea was quite good too with the right amount of pungency and spice.
Hard Rock Cafe, Andheri, serves their LIIT in pitchers (INR 2100 per pitcher as against INR 525 per glass) which makes good sense to order when in a group or when in for many Iced Teas.
Well, while all those variants of Iced Teas had us mellow and soothed aplenty, the desire to try out some of the food had us move away from the bar counter to one of the tables. We began the tried and tested Hard Rock Cafe favourites, Original Hard Rock Onion Rings (INR 290) which were nice and crisply breaded – delicious! The Hard Rock Nachos (Half – INR 345; Full INR 525) didn’t disappoint at all, nicely loaded as they were with cheddar, beans, tomatoes, jalapeno, with a nice big dollop of sour cream. I washed it all down with a nice Kala Khatta Iced Tea, which along with the Aam Panna Iced Tea and Texas Iced, were the show-stoppers for the evening.
For the mains, we asked for Bar-B-Que Ribs (INR 1040). The pork was a bit off, and rather than ponder over it, we switched to the burger Hard Rock Cafe is famous for – the Legendary Beef Burger (INR 475). The beef was perfectly done, juicy and tender and spiced just right. Nicely stacked up with cheese, fried onion rings and the works, it was soul food and we sank our teeth into it with gusto. Just then, there was excitement on the dance floor right in front og the large video screen – to my delight, the entire staff started dancing to the peppy number YMCA!! Completely charming! To carry on with the mood the dance and music set, we tried out the Calypso Iced Tea – a pretty looking, refreshing, chirpy, fruity iced tea; if I had to drop by during the day, this happy iced tea would be my pick!
Although I was stuffed, I was encouraged to try the Chocolate Cake – rich cake with toppings of vanilla ice cream, a swirl of fresh cream, fudge sauce, a sprinkling of nicely and a cheerful cherry right at the top! After all that, I didn’t have room to try anything more – not even if ambrosia from paradise was laid out in front of me!
Hard Rock Cafe, Andheri, with its fun filled ambiance and ample room to move around, is a place which has something for everyone, be it families with children out for a meal or a place to hang out with friends over colourful Iced Teas. I had a lovely time there and I’m sure so will you – with its music inspired theme, and cheerful upbeat vibes, Hard Rock Cafe is one place that lives up to its world famous name.
Ratings (out of 5)
Food: 3.5 | Drinks: 4 | Ambience: 4.5 | Service: 4 | Overall: 4
Meal for Two: Rs. 2200 (With alcohol) | Credit Cards: Yes | Alcohol: Yes |Timings: 12 noon – 1 30 am| Wheel Chair Friendly: Yes
Address: Sharyans Audeu (Ground Floor), Fun Cinema Lane, Near Balaji Telefilms, Off Veera Desai, Andheri West, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400053
Disclaimer: This review was done on an invitation from the restaurant. Due judgement and care has been applied by the author to remain objective and unbiased in the review, but readers need to consider this review keeping this fact in mind.
Post Contributed by : Ms. Rupa Purkayastha Roy
