Tuesday, May 27, 2014

A Perfect Sunday - Barrio's Boozy Brunch

What's your idea of a perfect Sunday?

My "Perfect Sunday" can be many things... A rainy day spent curled up at home reading a book or watching my favorite TV show; a Sunday spent experimenting in the kitchen with some new dishes and then feeding family and friends; or a Sunday that starts with the perfect lazy brunch followed by a dip in the pool and a couple of hours at the beauty parlor getting a massage and a pedicure!

When the gorgeous and bubbly Amrita (The Bacon Jam Girl?) pinged me about Barrio's Boozy Brunch, I knew it was the perfect way to unwind on a Sunday with the husband and our friends G&A.


Barrio's is located inside the "Inch by Inch Body Temple" in Versova, Andheri. And honestly, I had no idea a place like this existed! Started just a couple of months ago, the Sunday Brunch is definitely a great pull.

We were told the Brunch would be on from 12 till 5pm and we reached the place around 12.30pm on really hungry stomachs! I think we were probably the first people to arrive. Though we were welcomed warmly by the PR team, everyone else looked a little lost. Most of the brunch dishes hadn't been set up and the cooks at the pizza and waffle counters looked a little baffled whether to start serving us or not! 

But thankfully, within 15 minutes, the place started buzzing and how! By 1.30pm there was live music, people were milling around the bar, the pizza counter had started serving warm pizzas to everyone and Barrio had transformed into one of the most chilled out yet fun Brunch places ever!

The Bar
The Seating Area

As soon as you enter, to your right is the bar and straight ahead the pool. Tucked behind the bar is an open-air but covered seating area with fans and in spite of the summer heat, it was pleasant for most part of the afternoon.





The bar was serving wine, beer, mimosas, sangrias, caprioskas, and other cocktails. We tried quite a few of them! The Mimosa was bubbly and nice. The Red Wine Sangria, Melon Sangria and the Watermelon Caprioska were decent too. But the winner was the Green Apple Caprioska! It was truly yummy and refreshing. One weird thing though... The mimosa and melon sangria in the first round were served in proper wine glasses, but all subsequent drinks were served in plastic glasses. Was it to prevent glassware breaking? Or did they just run out of glasses? No idea. But it kind of took the fun out of the whole "Fancy Brunch" feel :(

Melon Sangria and Mimosa
Watermelon and Green Apple Caprioska



















The spread was quite good. There were eggs to order and the omelettes were perfectly done and served with little slices of delicious multigrain bread. The buffet had 2 kinds of salads - the Roasted Peppers and Chickpea salad with Feta was a total winner! I went back for seconds... But the Prawn and Avocado salad was a letdown, kind of bland and mushy. It needed more acid in the dressing for the flavours to pop out.
Herb Omelette
Prawn and Avocado Salad
















Roast potatoes, Grilled sausages, Beetroot & Feta risotto, Fettucine with Romesco sauce and Grilled chicken with pepper sauce were the other dishes on the menu and they were all good. The only problem with the grilled chicken was if left to warm for too long it turned dry. But good flavours nevertheless. The best part however was the Grain Mustard Grilled Basa. It was delicious and cooked just right! There was also some ice cream but didnt get around to trying that.

Roast Potaties, Beetroot Risotto
Grilled Sausages, Fettucine


















Now for the Live Waffle counter! Yummm... There were some great options for sweet and savoury waffles. And surprisingly, the savoury waffles with spinach and sundried tomatoes won over the Nutella waffles! A must try.
Chocolate Waffle

Savoury Waffle with Spinach and Sundried Tomatoes















The Pizza guys also kept coming up to our table with various options and were nice enough to make one without any mushrooms for the husband. The cheesy but light pizzas went really well with the cocktails...

After stuffing ourselves, we went into the pool for a quick dip. Unfortunately I had a meeting after the brunch so did not go for a swim, but the others did and really enjoyed it. Drinks by the poolside, a cool dip, and live music playing (he was taking requests, guys!!) - it was just the perfect lazy Sunday brunch ever!

All you Mumbai people, do head to Barrio's every Sunday! Priced at Rs 1500/- per person, its worth every penny and you can hang around there and keep going back for unlimited drinks and food till 5pm. Its the best Brunch deal ever!

Its open on weekdays too with an all day breakfast menu. Am planning to check it out one of these days.

So tell me... whats your idea of a Perfect Sunday?