Bisi Bengaluru: Elementary, my dear Watson!
The partners Amit Roy, Sameer Chib, Jitesh Kanani and Vishal Wadhwa have struck upon an idea that is brilliant.
Watsons and Puma Shuffle, 777/H, 100ft road indiranagar, Bengaluru (Above the puma showroomroom)
Call: +91 88614 33660
Meal for two at Watsons: Rs 1,200
Meal for two at Puma Shuffle: Rs 1,600
The stage is set. Even though it’s not a stage. The props are buffed and ready to spring into action. And in a Broadway kind of about face the vibe, colours, music and ambience of this first of a kind dual entity - pub and night club in town turns corners, changes garb with alacrity. Each comfortable in its identity, like alter egos who become each other’s muse. Shilton Hospitality that gave us Watson’s and Puma Social has now opened a double volley - Watson’s, that friendly neighbourhood watering hole by weekday, and Puma Shuffle by weekend! This shuffle has the most exquisite design ethics and ideas packed into one address that dons different avatars: to kill two birds with one carefully thoughtout stroke. The partners Amit Roy, Sameer Chib, Jitesh Kanani and Vishal Wadhwa have struck upon an idea that is brilliant.
Taking the tippling junta by storm is the New Watson’s on 100 Feet Road that plays a jukebox full of yesteryear melodies and serves comfort food, dressed in a rugged European countryside with sunlight beaming in, and when the weekdays are done comes this laser spurting party avatar straight from the party district in Amsterdam. As eureka moments go, this deserves kudos. Making the best use of the high priced real estate with two fully souped up places!
From a pulley system on the bar that removes the comforting Watson’s logo, and the over hanging iron bar to the paintings that are removed to unearth Puma hieroglyphics. Fabulous idea.
We started the meal with the menu from Puma Shuffle and then switched to Watsons. “We decided to close Puma Social, our first venture before we came up with the Watsons brand. First, we thought we should do Puma Social by Watsons. The idea was to have both run parallelly which has never been done before. Watsons works well as a weekday hangout, and Puma had already set the precedent as a weekend party place with a great menu. The idea is to have one place which is an alter ego of the other,” explains Sameer, adding, “On a Friday and Saturday, it turns into an underground night club and so the vibe is such, and then during the weekdays, the vibe flips. It’s what we set out to do, pulling the techno and party crowd on Fridays and Saturdays, and the friendly Watsons revellers on the weekdays.”
From the comfort picking of Watsons to the gourmet swirls of Puma Social. The interiors are whimsical. As the Watson artworks watch over you during weekdays, it turns turns technicolour on Friday and Saturday with silhouettes of a Puma cat with techno projections up the party beat!
It’s been two weeks since they opened, and it’s been an intense stage management. Even the façade of brick, that is fast becoming a norm in the city gazing over a sea of Gulmohars is wonderful. There are some subtle new cocktails to be had at Puma Shuffle. We liked their simplicity, the twist on the whisky sour was light. The gin-based cucumber Liquid Cell was refreshing. Amit and Sameer informed us that the names are based on various Puma projects. Our favourite was Jamming on ice, the olden chuski in blue curacao kiwi, strawberry with a dash of chaat masala. Slurp-Slurp.
You can also order the Suede, with curry leaves with a pineapple stick in a short glass, delicious. From the PS menu, we had the Mushroom on Toast, mushroom pate, cherry tomato and rocket leaves. Yummy. Unique and interesting. The Honey Glazed Sesame Tofu marinated with spiced coconut milk, were crunchy with honey, sesame, was good, even for our non-tofu leanings. The Crispy Lotus Stem had the thinnest of slices. The chips version was good. The famed fried idlis of Watson with Pudi and ghee were good. We also had a Kafta Arayes (PS) which we loved, pita bread with lamb mince with a yum garlic aioli. The new addition, Tuna cutlets were ok, they were a bit dry though. The Beef rolls (PS) were perfect, very innovative and we loved the whole play with a juicy tenderloin with herbs stuffed with zucchini.
The Rustic Mexican tomato soup was a good pick me up before or after one too many. For mains, we tucked into meal bowls, served like a bibimbap, a chilli paneer that was alright and a lemon chilli prawn that was good with fried rice, fried onion, pickled vegetables and spring onion. Yummy. Nothing fancy, just salt of the earth Asian.
Their new desserts are a must-try, a spiced carrot cake laced with butter cream, garnished with caramel popcorn and caramel drizzle was moist, with the caramel complementing the cake perfectly... and that welcome crunch of popcorn. Must have. The Brownie cheese cake was good too. From its transformed bar to its refreshed wall art and Puma’s edgy street vibe, architect Amitha Madan, founder of TreeLight Designs, has done such a brilliant job. The stage is set… to tipple away with retro and comfort food… and then suddenly as the day turns to Friday night, Amsterdam awakens with its LED lights, techno beats, signature cocktails and gourmet swirls. Wow!