The old pub city is always awaiting the opportunity for languorous, informal drink. And the Watson’s outlets provide the cozy, comfy space that let you relax, frill-free, with a tipple. The many-strong outlet in the city, is planning Pune and Chennai soon. The new menu, which prompted this visit, is a combination of old favourites and recent additions, with a cornucopia of Indian dishes, a few continental and a slew of touchings to send that tipple down nice and easy!
Our first bite was the cheeseling bhel, which we ‘walloped’, as it was crunchy and tamarind-infused,if slightly salty. Nice idea. Works well and stays crisp longer than regular Rice flakes. The next was a very basic and healthy kandha poha which again had a nice homely touch.
We graduated then to the ‘pullings’, a new addition to the menu, according to Rahul Korgaonkar, CEO, Shilton Hospitality. Burger buns infused with meat and cheese and baked in strips make for a nice hearty bite to go with your drink. The kheema one could be moister and more spiced. The chorizo pull apart was delicious, plump buns (made in-house we hear), the tangy spice of chorizo — cheesy, perfect and toasty. We also had Takatak Beef, which someone on the table was so impressed by that he even joked that this dish is something worth fighting for, given beef’s status in today’s touchy climate! We agree. It was a nice juicy and succulent shredded mixture blended in Indian spices with a hit of welcome chilli, with curry leaf flavour, delicious and perfect with the rasam vodka we slurped, which was interesting as well —a mix an affable Tamilian uncle could have gorged on.
There were pakoras which were average, and a slew of main course options like thukpa, mutton chops and Naga pork curry that we eyed licking our lips. The thukpa was wholesome and stocky, with bits of juicy chicken, no momos (again controversial) but with noodles and crunchy vegetables: simple and just what the doc orders after a few drinks.
For dessert, it was cheese cake and an unbaked chocolate cake. Both were very good, better, in fact, than the usual Watson’s dessert fare… and we learnt from Amit Roy of ThinkTanc that Shilton Hospitality has recently started an in-house bakery that supplies fresh bread, pasteries etc… “We have a centralised bakery in place now, and are also working on a centralised kitchen to make marinades and gravies for consistency, and also to reduce the load on kitchens, thereby making it more efficient,” says Amit, answering our question about the regular packed house Watson’s sees most evenings that might delay service a bit. The very young and talented Sunayana, the bakery chef and a patisserie chef helm their desserts, which is great, since Watson’s desserts did need an amp up. We tried the cheese cake, perfectly creamy, cheesy and delicious in its tiny jelly blanket. The base was nice and crumbly but not too much. The unbaked chocolate cake is a must for cocoa lovers, rich and chocolatey, interesting and delicious!
Must haves: Cheezeling bhel, Pull apart Chorizo bread, Takatak beef, Masala fried prawns, Thukpa, mutton chops and Naga pork curry, cheese cake and other bakery items
We even tasted some short bread that Sunayana had baked and it was happy-granny-cooking-in a-pub wholesome. Amit adds, “I decided to revamp the menu after two years; the idea was to be refreshing and trendy without losing what makes us so loved - the neighbourhood pub atmosphere. We have new dishes like pull apart bread— with stuffings like Kheema and chorizo. We took a burrito and gave it Indian flavours, brought in bhel with cheezelings, kanda poha and even the good old American chopsuey,” explained Amit.
Corporate chef Ashley D’Souza has incorporated a desi swagger to the taste trail and says that the Bendekai mor kozumbu, a throwback for guests, has been well-appreciated. Ashley adds, “While we carried forward about 55 items, we have added soups, salad, burgers, burritos - a lot more in the mains. We have also added Chinese and north eastern dishes like naga pork curry, south Indian classics and more.”
The main course’s mutton chops curry and naga pork curry and masallan beef curry are our next tries, and Rahul adds, “We added a Goan Ros-omlette pav (with a Xacuti tinge), Goan styled chilli chicken, tadka kalamari, masala rawa fried prawns and our pull aparts are the latest and most popular dishes.”
The food is alright: pub grub served in a breezy ambience. It can get a tad noisy as the sun sets and the young oorean descends, but given the city’s need for a homely pub that just IS, it’s great for a tipple with friends.
Watson’s : Skywalk Building, Assaye Rd, Pulikeshi Nagar, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560008. Call 08553074847 for reservations. Also in JP Nagar and Vasanth Nagar
