Food

The Chug – Garage Bar @ Nagawara, Bangalore

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The city of Bangalore has seen a growing population of people turning to become bikers.  There are plenty of the gangs that you can join up to depending on the bike that you possess like – Harley Davidson, Triumph, Enfield and many more.  But is there a place where the bikers can call it as their when it comes to having food and drink while being on the go.  Their answers have been answers with the opening of ‘The Chug’ @ Nagawara in Bangalore.  It is also called as the ‘Garage Bar’.

 

I was wondering if the name of the restaurant was kept rightly.  Then I had to browse through the dictionary and found that ‘Chug’ actually stands for ‘vehicle or boat that move slowly making regular muffled explosive sounds, as of an engine running slowly’.  That’s a brilliant name to be given for a ‘Garage Bar’.  But it surely does not limit only bikers, coz it is also meant for people who aspire to be bikers and also general public.

 

The launch of this place needed to a huge event. Owners for sure realized the need for calling celebrities for the event.  They sure did by calling the stars from Sandalwood like – Diganth, Aindrita Ray and Prajwal Devraj.

Apart from these, they also had the best DJ in town, DJ Ivan to play some of the wonderful music to let people groove to the music.

It was great to see that the celebrities felt at ease and were there throughout the evening along with select group of guests who were invited.  Let me share more of my experience.

Ambiance
The name sounds good; the place sounds fine but then how about the interiors.  I think even here the owners and the designers have thought long & hard to design the place.  It can be seen by some of the striking features at this place.
  • Entrance of this place is quite unique coz it has got the complete dissection of a bike.  Infact, every part of the bike can be seen.

     

  • There is also a chart at the entrance that’s list the DJ/Music Artists who are going to be performing this place.  So, its place where all music lover would want to come.

     

  • The light at this place just don’t have lampshades but they are the actual head-lights of a bike.  Something like a bullet with the handle. That’s pretty unique.

     

  • Rustic looking interiors is also something unique about this place.  Coz it does not neat to be all sheikh, it needs to be more chilled out and relaxing.  They seem to have got it perfectly right.

     

  • Huge bar counter can be seen with the display of all the alcohols where you can see the bartender showing some of his magic.
  • Seating arrange is also quite relaxed, not being overly cramped and letting people move around quite easily. There are high chairs where people can sit up and take a drink.

     

  • There is a section right at the end where they would be DJ performance happening almost on a daily basis.  I am sure there would some of the Bollywood Nights, DJ night, Ladies nights that would happen at this place.

     

  • A good space has been given in the front where people can dance and make merry to the tunes.  On the day of its launch, most of us for dancing away while DJ Ivan was playing some wonderful DJ mixes.
It is a very unique place which needs to be visited to know more about.  And sure the words I put are not going to be sufficient.
Location
The place is quite strategically located next to the Outer Ring Road.  Now, if you are to start from the Outer Ring Road from KR Puram junction, you drive along until you hit the flyover before the Manyata Tech Park.  Instead of taking the flyover, take the road that goes along side and then take a right turn which leads to ‘Thanisandra Main Road’.  ‘The Chug’ appear in hardly 100mts to the left-side.  There are 2 other places for reference i.e., Zaica and A2B.  You will need to take the lift to 1st floor and take left as both ‘The Chub’ and ‘Zaica’ share the same floor space.
If you are coming from the Hebbal Flyover side, you will need to cross Manyata Tech-park and then avoid taking the next flyover.  Instead taking the road that goes along the flyover to the left.  Taking left leads to the ‘Thanisandra Main’ road and you will find ‘The Chug’ appearing to the left-side as described above.

 

Food
The place has everything working for it in terms of location and ambiance.  But it is very critical that the food served at this place is also equally good.  And I think they seem to have got it all sorted out coz the food is quite good at this place.  There are few dishes I had at this place, let me share my experience.

 

Nachos – This for is one of my favourite items to be taken when I go to a pub.  Coz it’s not just about the Nachos, they also add cheese, tomato, onion and garnish it.  The taste comes to be quite good.  Well, the Nachos here for sure is simply brilliant and a must try when you go.
Bruschetta – Garlic bread topped with Tomato, Mozzarella, basil and olive oil is always one of the quick snacks that is good to eat.  It goes along quite well with a beer as well.
Quesadilla – Guacamole, capsicum, cheese refried beans, salsa and sour cream is the combination for this dish which again is one of the snacks that we are all order.  The dish is prepared pretty well over here.
Crispy American Corn – Crispy fried American corn with chilli flakes and yellow soy bean sauce.  The starter has the right amount of spice and the corn was well cooked.  It is a good item to be had when you go out for a drink along with friends.

 

Cheese Cigars – Finger cut paneer, wrapped in wonton sheets.  This for sure is one of my favourite starts coz the paneer is quite soft and the wontons sheets makes it quite crispy.  The sauces given along with it made the dish all tastier.

 

Wild Mushroom Risotto – Shitake and oyster mushroom with red win reduction.  This is a dish which can be made only by the experts and for sure the Chef here is quite an expert, as the dish came out to be quite tasty.

 

Vegetable Pasta – Don’t we all love this dish.  I mean, there are various combination of sauces that can go into it.  Whatever it is the variant with Penne with the white/red sauce is one of the good dishes.  The chefs have done a great job in cooking the pasta well and presenting it.

 

Vegetable Noodles – Among the items I had in the main course, for sure this is the best dish.  You might had read my review and found that I have mentioned that many of the items were good.  But then I have saved mentioning about the best for the last.  The masala, garnishing and noodle itself tasted yummy. Infact, many of my friend who are non-veg lovers also loved it.
Deserts
This for sure is one my most awaited section in a lunch/dinner.  I was quite keen to see the items that were there on the menu.
There were 6 items in total and I will tell that it is hard to say which is the best.
  • Snicker Bar – This is a desert which will make your mouth just water like crazy.  The moment you take 1st bit you would just want to keep working on it, till it gets over.
  • Apple Cinnamon Pie – A super tasty item which for sure was loved by me and other as well.

     

  • Deconstructed Tiramisu – This is a tough thing to do coz the taste should not become too bitter that people can’t consume. I think they seem to have got it exactly right.

     

  • Chocolate Truffle Cake – Among the other deserts, this was relatively the commonly known cake.  This meant that everyone is aware of the taste and it needed to be right up there.  And I thought it surely was good.

     

  • Checked Cake – Checked cake comes from there are different coloured cakes which have chocolate layer between them.  The taste for sure is quite yummy.  It isn’t too sweet or creamy, its right there.

     

  • Walnut Brownie – Wow! Another awesome desert which is hard to describe in words.  You will need to come and just grab a bit.

     

Among the deserts my favourite ones includes – Checked cake, Apple Cinnamon Pie and Walnut Brownie.

Drinks
The most important part of a bar is the drinks that you get to enjoy at the place.  It is something that lets people stay on and on, while they listen to some good music.  I tried a few cocktails and a beer, let me share my thoughts.’
Blue Frog
This for sure is one of the strong drinks that I have tried.  The drink might look quite nice to look at but then it surely is quite potent.  You should try this one if you love to make a strong drink.

 

Mojito
A drink that love to try wherever I get a chance.  Pretty well made drink that has the right proportion of Rum and Lime in it.  There were ice-cubes instead of the crushed ice that you find at some of the places.  May be a little more of presentation was needed but otherwise drink was pretty fine.
Apart from these 2 cocktails, I also tried a few that my others friends were trying which included – Long Island Ice Tea and Himalayan.  They also have the bottle beers and among the available options, I was able to get hold of a Budweiser.
Overall Experience
It was a great evening spent at ‘The Chug’.  Got an opportunity to meet many celebrities, listen to some wonderful DJ mixes and also dance on the floor.  I am really glad that this place has come up coz it is situated very close to the place where I stay.  It would be very convenient for me to go and have a drink along some good food.  I think going forward we will find that many of folks who go to Koramangala & Indranagar for partying, would end up coming here.  My current rating for this place is 4.0/5.  I am sure the rating would just up in next 1-2 visits.
Rating in other departments.
Food – 4.0/5
Drinks – 4.0/5
Ambiance – 4.0/5
Service – 4.0/5

 

Food for 2 considering you would want to try a drink along with some good food will come-up anywhere between INR 1200-1600.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sharing some of the pictures I took with fellow foodies, owner, manager and celebs.