The word Hoppipola strikes a near nostalgic connect as this place was frequented a lot during my engineering days. It was the preferred destination because of its exciting and energetic ambiance in a funky rooftop setup, combine it with brilliant pricing and you have very less reasons to skip visiting this place. I have visited the Indiranagar and Church Street outlets umpteen number of times and when I heard that it has now opened in Kalyan Nagar it was good news, mainly for people who stay close by as there are very few happening joints in the vicinity.

I was here on a weekend at a pretty odd time, around 4ish in the evening and the place was relatively less crowded.. This worked for me as I had no one staring when I pulled out my DSLR to start clicking food 😀 The interiors here are super colorful and there are so many elements that are out of the box – there are telephones hanging on the wall in one corner and plants suspended in the other. There is a quirky section where you can pick up your favorite board games or books to kill time, do that when you come solo!!

We spoke to the manager in charge and asked for the signature cocktails and food items that make this place stand out from competition. The menu here is huge as usual and covers a lot of items which can satisfy a vast range of palate.

We started with two cocktails from Tall and Taller section, well the drinks here came in with a lot of drama in term presentation. Rumble in the Jungle is a rum based drink which is spiked with spices, Auckland Ice Freeze is Kiwi infused cocktail in Rum base, Malibu in this case. The cocktails come in two sizes, a large 400 ml tub and an even larger 1000ml portion!

We then had the Hoppipola special – IQ and Da VinciTini. IQ reminded me of Farzi Café’s Farzi Idea as even that came in a bulb like glass. Expect a lot of fruity notes as IQ here is a mild concoction of Vodka, watermelon, passion fruit and cranberry. Da VinciTini is a DIY drink (Vodka Espresso and Baileys) and it reminds you of Chemistry lab, you can choose between dark/white or caramel chocolate which will eventually cover the walls of your glass to give a sweet after flavor.

While we were gulping down these fancy cocktails we had a lot of interesting pub grubs as well. OMG is a mushroom balls sitting on a bed of Mayo and topped with Chipotle sauce, it is super cheesy and will surely go well with beer.

Next up was Chicken Trilogy is chicken strips in assorted flavors, a good buy if you are in a mood to experiment with your order… Am sure it won’t disappoint you. Fishful thinking is the traditional fish fingers; this deep fried preparation is crisp on the outside and deliciously soft on the inside.

We then had Chiseled Prawns, well-cooked prawns tossed with basil and chili, and it seemed liked a healthy choice as there are no heavy layers of masala/spices over it.

 

 

We were stuffed by now and decided to share main course, the manager suggested us to try Peri Peri Biryani, Rich Basmati rice along with Caramelized Onions and cheese is served covered in a layer of egg/omelette. Mind you, this is not your typical Biryani and don’t expect layered rice which is spiced unevenly.

Dessert menu here is pretty limited as you just got two options, we tried both! Rum Pum Pum is rum soaked pie loaded with rich toffee sauce. The base is made thick and gives the much needed change in texture on every bite. We ended our meal with Fudge Block which is basically fresh chocolate Brownie topped with vanilla ice cream and an extra dash of chocolate sauce.

The experience was nice in terms of food and drinks, the innovative twists and styles make you feel like coming back for more, the place definitely has fun brewing at every stage. The prices here are value for money for the quality and quantity you get.