The roof top gastropub – Hokey Cokey
One of the many
reasons I love Bangalore is its beautiful weather, specially the cool breeze in
the evening. This is exactly where Hokey Cokey scores very high over others. Blessed
with ample terrace space, Hokey Cokey comes as a relief for many who want to
hang around with gang of friends for beer and good music after a tiring day at
office.
I don’t really know
what Hokey Cokey actually means but after visiting this place, for me it means
fun, lip-smacking food, out of the box drinks and beautiful ambience. I haven’t
come across many places in Bangalore, which pulls a full house crowd grooving
on the dance floor and munching its way on the dining table in its very first
month after launch.
I along with my
five other friends visited this place a week back. Knowing that it is a new
place, we didn’t have much expectation in terms of food and service but as the
time progressed we were surprised big time.
As we entered this
place, the in-house DJ had started his trance with some lovely peppy numbers on
an outstanding elevated dance floor and the natural breeze giving us a grand
welcome. The seating is arranged in a way, it looks very neat and spacy.
Rolling to the next
chapter, i.e. food. To start with, we were given the drinks menu to choose from
the array of some most innovative names I have come across. Here are few names
which made us love this place even more: Paanwalla ka Ispeshul (vodka, rose syrup, rose water,
gulkand, sweet & sour mix), Lipstick on my collar (vodka, fresh pomegranate, passion
fruit, basil), Indian Bloody Mary (Vodka, tomato juice, Indian spices) and Newton’s Law to
name a few.
I always had hatred
towards Physics during my school days but at Hokey Cokey, ‘Newton’s Law’ attracted
me to try it and trust me, it is one of the best cocktails I have had in Bangalore.
The mix of vodka, coconut syrup, green apple, cranberry juice and pine apple
juice will leave you asking for more.
Newton’s Law
To start with food,
we were served platters (both veg and non-veg). I am a non-g guy and my review
will be accordingly. Chicken dominated the platter with a special guest
appearance by prawns and fried fish. The grilled chicken marinated in red sauce
topped with green onion was my favourite here. Not to miss out on the fried prawns,
it was delicious.
Non-veg platter
Next on the table
was ‘Chicken Nachos’. Well, the name would sound very familiar
but the taste completely kicked by taste buds. The Mexican nachos put together
with lots of cheese and other goodies makes it a must have when you visit this
place. Who doesn’t love cheese? And when it makes its presence felt in every
bite, you don’t care for anything happening around. Just keep calm and indulge
in the sheer bliss of cheese and chicken.
Chicken Nachos
Up next, crawling
on the table was ‘Chilli Pepper Garlic Prawns’. My second weakness is fried prawns
and the mere appearance made my tongue wagging. To say the least, it really
matched up to my expectation. The spicy Asian prawns
marinated with chilli garlic were very well balanced by
Chef.
Chilli Pepper Garlic Prawns
And then enters the
veggies delight, ‘Something Corny’. This Asian style
fried American corn kernels tossed with spices was delightful munch along with
my favourite Newton’s Law.
Something Corny
Next up was ‘Beiruti Mezze
Platter’ which includes assorted Middle Eastern delicacies: Hummus,
Tabouleh, Falafel and Baba ghanoush. I wouldn’t elaborate much, this was
nothing extra-ordinary.
Beiruti Mezze Platter
Back again on the
table, it was ‘Fried Chicken strips’. A bite of it and I say it was cooked
to perfection. The colour, the aroma the softness of the chicken, everything
was just perfect. The deep fried battered chickens were marinated with a peri
peri sauce and chilli garlic mayo.
Fried Chicken strips
Lately, I have been
eating too many pizzas and here it was, ‘Vegetable Garden’ which had Basil pesto, corn, and
mushrooms with sundried tomatoes. Mushrooms completely dominating the taste and
I would say it was better than the mainstream pizza joints.
Vegetable Garden
Moving on, we were
served ‘Hokey Cokey Broccoli’. The stir fried broccoli with burnt
garlic, red chilli and olive oil was pleasing to the taste buds after having
the likes of chicken, prawns and mushrooms.
Hokey Cokey Broccoli
Up next was ‘Yankee Chili Fries’,
which has been very popular lately. These French fires
drowned in their in-house sauce and topped with melted cheese was simply
lip-smacking. The best thing about this was, in spite of fries being burdened
by melted cheese and sauce did not lose its crispness. Many places I have tried
this, was disappointed as the fries becomes soggy. This was the highlight of
the evening.
Yankee Chili Fries
The last item on
the front was ‘Fried Squidy rings’. The crumbed fried calamari rings were
served with their in-house spicy dips. This was something
new to me but unusual as well. I tried chewing the squids but weren’t able to.
But in terms of taste it was a knocker.
Fried Squidy rings
May be for the
first time, we were all full by just eating the starters, not even stepping in the
main zone. Chef Naveen wanted us to try the main course but we neck deep and unfortunately
had to say no. But definitely would again and indulge in the main course next
time.
Chef Naveen
Be it a celebration
or just evenings meet up, at Hokey Cokey you are always sure to have a great
time with the perfect ambiance and a superb set of food & drinks to chill
and enjoy.
Verdict:
4.5/5
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