Taste test: What you need to know about this new neighbourhood bar in Bandra

We are of the belief Home is where the party is Order the booze whip up the dips and put your best pyjamas forward Sixteen33 Bandrarsquos newest neighbourhood cocktail bar is reason enough even for homebodies like us to dress up and show up for a night outRanwar and ChimbaiNamed after its location at the intersection of 16th and 33rd Road the 64seater is spread across 1100 square feet and serves as an allday dining and drinking space that transforms into a sleek cocktail lounge by night This vibe spills onto a top floor mdash a private and cosier box dressed in black burgundy and golden flutes Dim lights set the mood for a more intimate gatheringAlso Read From ambaadi to arbi Indian restaurants are celebrating foraged foods on menusCocktails for the communityThe cocktail menu is an ode to Bandra and six of its famous villages namely mdash Ranwar Chimbai Chuim Pali Sherly and Kantwadi mdash and its earliest residents Chimbai Rs 750 celebrates the Koli fishermen with a savoury muddle of shrimp liqueur which mixologist Denzil Franklin has spiked with vodka watermelon and sea salt It comes with a fruit leather made from leftover waste of oyster and watermelon rinds The drink is palatable with a lingering taste of the seaNext we dive into Ranwar Rs 690 namesake of the East Indian village with a 400yearold history of paddy fields A sweet and potent Indrayani rice liqueur with gin lemon tincture is poured on a block of ice with the finishing mist of absinthe The rice garnish is limp but the flavour of fragrant floral rice unfurls well on the palateBar bites and PaliPali Village oozes character and charming local heritage This is interpreted as a drink in Pali R650 which comes in a cocktail glass flaunting a dramatic stroke of pinktinted cacao butter The drink has a strong hit of rum heightened by citrus along with pineapple syrup Campari and finished with strawberry yogurt For eats we tried truffle mushroom pacircteacute in phyllo cups R370 that have a pateacute of Shimeji button shitake porcini These bitesize parcels line the stomach and open up the palate for more foodAlso Read Diwali 2024 Indian chefs share healthier ways to prepare festive sweetsPatron comes firstConsulting head chef Gracian DrsquoSouza who crafted the menu focused on dishing out the classics with a strong technique ldquoThe food is not experimental but known classics done well Diners appreciate this which is why we are doing thisrdquo he shares His theory is right when we pop a portion from chorizo scorched olives Rs 300 into our mouth The noonecaneatone challenge fails here They are meaty juicy and finish the texture of a deepfried coating The hummus Rs 320 on the other hand is creamy and swirled on a flat plate garnished with ovenbaked chickpeas1633 cheesecake and Miso tofuThey are served with slices of sourdough garlic bread The chicken strips Rs 390 come with a hot sauce we want to dunk all our bites in The bacon wrapped prawns Rs 490 are semifried on the pan here the bacon fat mingles with caper butter The miso buff stir fry Rs 520 is served in a watery sea of Asian ponzu and shiitake mushrooms For vegetarians umami flavours are heightened in the miso poached tofu Rs 570 The 1633 cheese cake Rs 450 by sous chef Anil Gupta is the smoothest cheesecake to round things off Itrsquos served with a fluff of fresh cream and a caramel sauce thatrsquos left on the pan just a few seconds longer to earn a deeper flavourSixteen33At 16th and 33rd Cross Road Khar Pali HillTime 12 noon to 130 amCall 9758999555