Drama Queen Cocktails, Pretty Terrace Scenes And 80s Throwback: Set GPS To 612 East

Two floors of chill vibes, decent food and great music, Rohit Barker’s new place, 612 East is a total tribute to the 80s and 90s.

Baked Broccoli with cheesy sauce, Oakwood Smoked BBQ Chicken Pizza, Twice-Cooked Pork Belly

Whiskey Sour and The Bubble Bath

The bar is spread across two floors. The rooftop overlooks Indiranagar and is really pretty at night with sofa-low-table set ups as well as regular seating. Mini trees with fairy lights add a dreamy touch. The lower level is chic yet casual giving off Grecian cafe vibes on the balcony, and that of a trendy bar inside. The highlight however, is the music wall at the terrace, which plays music videos. Don’t be fooled though, the music you hear isn’t always the video you’re watching. We were briefly confused with Ed Sheeran’s Shape Of You video playing to Madonna’s Material Girl! And true to DJ Rohit Barker’s {who is the man behind the bar} word, the music is everything from Janis Joplin and Coldplay to Bon Jovi and Maroon 5!

Ambience, ambience, and ambience.

The menu is massive. No, really. It’s so extensive that it’s a bit overwhelming. And since it’s a mix of cuisines, it’s also a tad confusing. But when there is pork belly, one must have it. Twice-cooked chunks of pork belly arrived in a Hoisin sauce and vanished rather quickly — testament to its good taste. Next was the Lava Stone Grilled Pathar Ke Kebab. The meat was flawless mutton, but it lacked the fiery spice that meat marinated in kalpasi {an exotic flower spice} should have. The smokey croquettes was supposed to come with bacon, prawn and potato. But alas, the prawn was MIA.

For mains, we had Hickory Smoked Chicken Tikka Masala with garlic naan. The smokiness from the hickory really came through but lost out to the tikka masala by the end of it.  Do try the broccoli in cheesy sauce if you like a crunch veggie with a tangy zest in the cream sauce. The pizza, thin crust and 10-inch, didn’t give us much to complain about, but it wasn’t as smokey as promised. They also have burgers, sandwiches, grills, and then a host of other mains {see, I told you it’s massive!}.

Dessert was Churros, the saviour for the night. Just the right texture, albeit slightly thinner than what we’re used to, a rather large basked it of it came accompanied by chocolate and white chocolate — an all round winner.

Cocktails are dramatic as they come. The Chique — cranberry and lime juice, Triple Sec and gin, arrived smoking on dry ice, making for a great Insta story, but lacking on alcohol. The old school Whiskey Sour however, was spot on, egg whites et all. The Bubble Bath is also all about winning an Oscar, and is a fun drink for a girls night out.

We’re definitely going back to the music and good vibes. And also possibly to explore the rest of the vast menu.