The Whitefield Arms: A Tribute To English Pubs But With Strong Indian Flavour

Straight out of a street corner in London, to VR Bengaluru, this pub-cum-café is an ode to Churchill but puts a real spin on Brit pub grub. Indian domination in the kitchen!

Blitz, Sepoy, Alpha Bravo Charlie

Twa Chips, Cheese And Gravy, and Bangers And Mash

An ode to Winston Churchill {we’re also wondering why? apart from the Whitefield connection} and his sense of humour, quotes from the witty PM will lead the way to the typical English pub inside. Bar stools, regular tables, and sofa booths mark their territory inside the dark space, but outside, white picnic benches make it a cheery space. Quintessential England neighbourhood watering hole. And we like it thus far.

First to the table was the highly innovative Twa Chips, Cheese And Gravy. On paper it may not seem so exciting – who’d have thought you could mix chips, Dal Makhani and Cheese, and like it? Hard core French Fry fans may storm off though! Try Twice Cooked Pork Belly. With the Oriental Hoisin Sauce part of the marinade, it’s sweet but the curry leaves and green chillies loaded on it makes it quite like a Chettinad delight. The Dak Bungalow Quak – confit duck, soy chutney, onions and goat cheese make up this dish, but really the plum sauce elevates it. And of course, the cocktails take it even higher!

We especially loved Sepoy, a nod to the army. In fact, the drink is actually camouflage colours and is said to have saved the soldiers from…umm…scurvy.  So in the name of having Vitamin C, we freely guzzled down the tequila, lime, burnt honey and cinnamon concoction. Alpha Bravo Charlie makes the barman right on point. But then again, with whiskey, ginger, angostura, pineapple juice and spearmint, you can’t go too wrong!

The Bangers and Mash came with a very different gravy from what we expected. Meant to be a red wine and caramelised onion gravy, this one strangely seemed like a curry. Classic Fish ‘n’ Chips luckily is pretty classic, and the malt vinegar and tartar sauce hit all the right notes. Grilled Spice Crusted Chicken borrows heavily from Italian food, complete with a side of truffle {we’re not convinced} mushroom rice. Vegetarians, pick the crepes. Filled with a rich ricotta cheese, spinach, walnut and drizzled with a béchamel sauce, you won’t regret this choice.

Go ahead, be very English and finish off with London Trifle. The sherry-soaked sponge cake, layered with jam, custard fruit and whipped cream was delightfully light and only the steaming Sticky Toffee Pudding could get our minds of it.

Still pondering whether we’re completely pro the fusion recipes or have mixed feeling towards them, we’ll certainly go back to this one for the cocktails and the pub atmosphere.

Where: VR Bengaluru, Whitefield Road, Mahadevapura

Price: INR 2,000 for two

Contact: 080 33544044

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