Bartender's Bottles Or Alcopops: Drink More And Pay Less At This New Bar In Phoenix MarketCity

The latest bar to hit Phoenix MarketCity, Bar Bar is a cool place to fuel up because the more you drink the cheaper your drink costs. Savvy?

Pork Sausage Three Ways, Zucchini Parmesana, Manglorean Mutton Sukka, Cheesecake

Bartenders’ Bottles — they’re convenient versions of pitchers in different flavours.

Novelty of the ‘drink more, pay less’. Plus, the presentation of some of the drinks are interesting.

Weaving in practically every trending interior decoration concept — from the industrial look to hanging flower pots, Bar Bar is very current. They have an outdoor section that overlooks the Phoenix MarketCity courtyard, and also has a live grill station. Inside, it’s mostly grunge with wooden tables and benches for large groups. Smaller groups can tuck themselves into slightly more private spaces that are divided by trellises. Be sure to look up, there’s some cool hanging rail tracks and on the walls light holders that look like fans. Oh, and they have a locker at the entrance if you’d like to just dump your laptop, shopping bags or any valuables. Nifty, eh?

All those bar nibbles and pub food you’ve always liked? Yup, they’ve got it. We had the Pork Sausages Three Ways which was Bratwurst, Weisswurst and Buckhurst in a sweetish barbecue sauce. While tasty, we wish they’d used different sauces to switch things up a bit. The Zucchini Parmesana was a table favourite — sliced zucchini which was batter fried, and to be had with a chilli cheese dip. Yum! Chicken Tikka and Achari Prawns were as expected, but in the Indian food department, Mangalorean Mutton Sukkha wins hands down for the piquant marinade and melt-in-the mouth meat.

Mains comprise Fish ‘n’ Chips, burgers {including a Mac ‘n’ Cheese and Bourbon beef one, pastas and heavier dishes like biryani, Laksa and pork vindaloo}. We tried the Sundried Tomatoes and White Onion pizza that came with balsamic vinegar and sea salt. A thin-crust pizza, it was rather cheesy though the sea salt didn’t quite come through. In fact, I’d recommend you stick to the starters here — greasy, a bit spicy and exactly what you need to pair your drinks with.

Make sure to end with the baked cheesecake — just as we like it, not too sweet and just that bit salty.

These guys certainly raise the bar, but lower the price. This one is all about the drinkies, and unabashedly so. They even encourage you to order many drinks as that’s when you save money! Each table is equipped with a tab that has an interface with all the drinks — popular, premium or luxury. And each order in a 30ml peg, the more you order, the lower the prices become. So, go on, get glugging. As fun as that is though, the Bartenders’ Bottles was a greater hit. Served in carafes, you can pick from LIITs, Fruit Loops {tequila and fruit juices}, Steely Dan {loaded with rum, vodka, gin, tequila, Blue Curacao} and Sunshine {the same as Steely Dan but with orange juice}. You’ll get the drink in a crate, along with three glasses and bar nibbles — Haldirams Tasty Nuts, for us!

We’re not in awe of the food, but we do love the quirky drinks and system of ordering. We can’t wait for the tuck shop {in the centre of the bar} that will serve sweets, paan and cigarettes at MRP.