The Bizaar World of Ba Baar
Seems the Majestic has a bit of knack of creating novel dining destinations. The first visit out there was in an effort to find Miss Wang, I didn’t find her but had a great night all the same.
Speaking of finding things, if you were trying to find the Music Room, well you’re out of luck but what you find in it’s place is Bar Baar - an eccentric Desi street food spot that’s part bar and part nightclub.
From Dosa to Samosa, Momo’s to Biryani the menu has got you covered if Indian street food is your thing. There’s dozens of items to choose from making it almost overwhelming. Perhaps the best way to take it all in is their now famous Thela Baar Brunch.
This visit though, was on a Saturday night and it was an interesting encounter.
The interiors are really quite an eclectic mix of street art and exposed elements and wall hangings. There’s a so called VIP area with some witty couches made from old cars and reclaimed furniture in an elevated section that is overseen by the open kitchen. Quite a few battles and altercations were seen with people trying extraordinarily hard for some reason to get into this empty section.
On the main floor you’ll find regular table and bar seating of various types bathed in a trillion Edison bulbs. The bar itself is pretty cool and is jam packed with glasses and bottles stored in wire cages all over the place. Off to the side lies the main stage which after 9pm comes alive with either a DJ or bands belting out their favorites.
It’s quite unique has a vibe all of its own with a nice sense of energy about it all, so much so I was keen to take some nice shots but was promptly stopped dead in my tracks by a burly security guy that told me in no uncertain terms that taking photos is strictly prohibited. So I guess the ones I got are a rare treat so please enjoy them….
Moving on and we tried for some time - like 20 minutes - to get the attention of the servers to make an order, finally they took notice and upon asking for recommendations we were met with a fairly simple - “everything”. Ok then that clears that up.
It was pretty obvious at this point that there seemed to be some sort of aloofness mixed with minor level hostility for reasons unknown and the staff kinda didn’t care too much about offering any insights or service. So we picked a few things from the massive menu that sounded good and gave it a go.
The dishes that arrived we're all ok without being amazing. Some of it heavily spicy and that comes from a chili lover and purveyor of Indian food.
Anyhoo, you win some, you lose some and that’s all part of trying new places out.
I really want to love Bar Baa, because I kinda dig it and I can see where they’re going with it and on the basis that the service next door was really great but I’ve never been a big fan of heavy handed security so I guess I’ll be back at some point but who knows when.