Brass Monkey, a new lounge along the Western Express Highway, wants to give drinkers along the Eastern horizon something to cheer about

What does a new lounge along the Western Express Highway have in common with a premixed cocktail, an English folk band, a 1948 film, a track on the Beastie Boys' debut album, an Australian sitcom and a character in the Salman Rushdie novel Midnight's Children? They are all called Brass Monkey, a colloquial term that could mean anything from "an extreme of cold" to "something solid and inert that can only be affected by extremes".
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The namesake lounge hoisted on level 2 of a scruffy mall, stays true to its name. On the Wednesday night that we traipsed in, the well-stocked backlit bar glowed with glazed promise. The loud music undid the seduction of the warm, dim lighting and velvety sofas. The monster-sized TV screen blaring in our faces ensured a mood-kill.
Things brightened up with the cocktails and nibbles. The food ranges from the usual French Fries to cheeky experiments like Italian Chicks (Rs 290), spicy barbeque chicken pieces paired with salsa sauce. If you are headed there in a group, share a Cheese Fondue.



At Rs 260, the delicious melting pot of cheese teamed with bread cubes, mushrooms and broccoli is a fun communal appetizer. It went well with our refreshing Green Apple Breeze (Rs 225) and burning hot Chatka Mary (Rs 225) a mirchi version of the Bloody Mary.

The management (that also runs the line of Golden Chariot restaurants) hopes to fill in the nightlife void on the sleepier eastern side of the western suburbs. Minus the visual and aural bombardment of the senses, Brass Monkey would make a pleasing stopover.

At Level 2, Hub Mall, near Bombay Exhibition Grounds, off Western Express Highway, Goregaon (E)