Superb Food and Delicious Cocktails at Bunta Bar, Janpath

Bunta Bar is easily the most chilled out, chic and relaxed place in town right now. With a concept that revolves around bunta bottles, you will find it envisaged in a lot of elements of the interiors, and to some extent to the drinks too. Situated right on Janpath, bang opposite the Janpath market, the place is spread across 2 floors, and is just huge! Also, they have both an outdoor and indoor seating.

I tried several dishes from the menu with the Hari-Mirchi Chicken Taco being the highlight out of all the tacos. It's spicy but delicious, you can taste the flavours and the green chilli doesn't overpower them. A great dish! If you're nibbling on your food while sipping on your drinks, you must order the Bunta Fries with Mutton Keema. They aren't exactly fries but fall somewhere between fries and potato chips. A thin crisp masala coating on them, lots of cheese, different sauces and minced keema, and all this baked in the oven. Quite interesting and different! Mangodi Vada and Hara Bhara Kebab were two dishes that took me by surprise. The Mangodi Vada was really well made, just how the authentic crisp flavourful mangodi vadas would taste like. The Hara Bhara Kebab was even better. They had a surprise element inside- a center of hung curd. A must try for the vegetarians. 

 
If you're a pizza lover, Bunta Bar is a one-stop place for you. Their pizzas are desi pizzas, called pijja. I tried the Chicken Tikka Masala and the Palak Paneer Pijja, and I can't choose which one was better. They were both mind-blowing, with a thin crust, generously put toppings, and the best part was that whatever the menu showed, the pizza tasted just that. A lot of gravy based sauce in both the pizzas, which made it even better for me. 

Their Kerala Chicken Nuggets are damn good an option, but they don't taste anything like 'Kerala'. They have a great juicy stuffing of chicken. One of the best things about the food at Bunta Bar is that the accompanying dips with each dish haven't been sidelined. The dips in fact add more depth to the dish and bring out the taste better. You find coriander chutney, garlic chutney, mayo based dip, curd based dip, and all taste lovely!

Their drinks made a mark for them even before their food did, and the classic bunta bottles is what everyone saw first. I tried their Kala Khatta Vodka and Aam Panna Vodka, and both tasted great, but I still have my inclination towards Kala Khatta. Bunta LIIT will win your heart even before you start sipping it. A kickass presentation with the turned around straw, a pouch in which the drink is served, and of course the superb taste then. The taste worked fine, but this particular drink wasn't as potent as an ideal LIIT should be. Mausam Masala is damn good and you must give it a try! Has a kala khatta flavoured popsicle inside, and is a gin based cocktail full of masala! There's the sweet and sour mix in it, basil, masala soda and mausambi. Too delicious and refreshing. If you like to experiment with flavours in your drink, you must try Pehchaan Cone and Babaji Ki Booti. Pehchaan Cone is primarily flavoured with coriander and that is going to be dominant here. Also has a little bit of cardamom flavours, and is vodka based with pineapple juice. You have your drink both with two sensory organs at work here- smell and taste. Babaji Ki Booti is gin based with elderflower in the drink, and amla. It's a little on the sweeter side, but the elderflower really outshines everything else here. The mix is then topped with tonic water and the drink is served in a beautiful kettle and teacups. 
 

Bunta Bar doesn't have anything going wrong for them with respect to food and drinks, they're damn good. The food will keep you wanting for more, and you'll need multiple visits to try the entire menu out (which, believe me, you will definitely want to after your first visit). The menu is one that will be easily liked by all, dishes that take care of different kinds of taste buds. The pricing is modest and affordable, so that's an added plus. Both the food and the drinks have a very different take on them and you can see the conscious effort made for evolving their menu and bringing fusion into it. The only thing that lacks here is the service. If something spills on the table nobody comes to clean the floor- you're stuck in the mess, the airconditioning wasn't working and the staff didn't have a clue what to do, there were so many flies but it was hardly getting resolved even after communicating to the servers several times. This was a review on invite, and instead of what I ordered, the management and staff got whatever they felt like, the dishes they wanted to promote. I understand from a restaurant's point of view why they were doing this, but they should get it from a guest's point of view too. Nevertheless, I will definitely go to Bunta Bar again, and I haven't stopped raving about their offerings to my friends ever since. Must try out this cool chilled out place!
Address: 2nd Floor, 76, Janpath, New DelhiTimings: 12 Noon to 12:30AMContact: Disclaimer: The review was done on an invitation from the restaurant. All views expressed are unbiased in nature but readers are advised to exercise their own discretion.Connect with me on:Twitter: @sahibagursahaneInstagram: @thetastingforkFacebook: www.facebook.com/thetastingfork Snapchat: @thetastingfork