08 January,2014 10:21 AM IST | | Hassan M Kamal
Located right opposite Borivali station, Vakaoo offers a chance to catch your sporting heroes with great music, wide tipple choices and zero worries about the ride back home or hygiene
Vakoo, Life & Style, Food, Restaurant reviews, Mutton Tawa, Whisky Sour, Infusion, Borivali
Vakaoo
Food: Average
Service: Courteous
Ambiance: Sporty
For those living in and around Borivali, there is finally a great place where you can relax, catch your favourite game and sip onan interesting tipple, rest assured about the train journey back home.
Interiors of Vakaoo. Pics/Hassan M Kamal
Vakaoo, a sports lounge and bar is all about hygiene, good music and a big screen to catch your sports heroes. It also lets you enjoy female company without any stares.
The place -- a stand out in the area -- is a near-perfect choice. Although, it lacks sporting memorabilia, flags as well as posters and signage, and thus, failed to create a complementary ambiance. Also, having a baseball-inspired theme for a sports lounge in a cricket-crazy country is a bit hard to understand.
Mutton Tawa
What we liked
The sports lounge offers a wide range of foreign and Indian alcohol choices along with a few signature cocktails prepared by the bar's manager on request. We started the evening with two classic white rum drinks -- Daiquiri (Rs 300) and Mojito (Rs 300) -- and Mutton Tawa (Rs 290) and Veg Kurkure (Rs 180) for the starters.
While the Daiquiri stayed true to its reputation, the Cuban highball was a bit bitter for our taste. Unimpressed we went to the bar asking for something refreshing and received a complementary shot of Smirnoff vodka infused with lemongrass, orange and lime (Rs 300), a personal creation. The drink in making, as we were told, did raise our spirits. The manager suggested a cocktail called Infusion (available only on request) prepared with 60 ml of flavoured vodka (Rs 600), lime juice and sugar syrup. Served in a tall glass with a garnish of lime and orange slices, it was a robust mix indeed.
Infusion was a tasty cocktail
A few misses and hits
Meanwhile, the Mutton Tawa, a sizzler, arrived on hot plate. Prepared with optimum spices, and cooked perfectly to our liking, it went well with the drinks. Veg Kurkure, our second choice, was a dampener, being bland and gooey.
Whiskey Sour made in Bourbon
Next, was Whiskey Sour, comprising 90 ml of Bourbon, lime juice and an optional egg white. The one on the menu (Rs 300) is served with regular whiskey. Deciding to go traditional, we chose 60 ml of Jim Beam Black (Rs 600), the only Bourbon available. A bit expensive for our pocket, but the Whiskey Sour served over cracked ice was the best drink of the evening. To get us munching, we launched into the Veg Biryani (Rs 200), and Chicken Hakka Noodles (Rs 200). Both dishes failed. Sadly, for a lounge located in a vegetarian-dominated area, Vakaoo's vegetarian offerings are very sub-standard.
The place is currently running a one-plus-one-free offer on all Indian and IMFL liquor, an offer we were told about at the end. When our disappointment was conveyed, two complementary cocktails and two of Fire and Me, a flaming shot prepared from vodka and served with a slice of orange and a ball of chocolate were our compensation. A perfect ending to our spirited evening!
time 12 pm to 1.30 am
At: First floor, Goyal Shopping Center, Junction of SV Road and LT Road, Borivali (W).
Call: 28902850
Vakaoo didn't know we were there. The Guide reviews anonymously and pays for meals.
