Enjoy Some Insane Cocktails at Asado the Cocktail Street In Mumbai!

We love when a restaurant decides to take itself on a sabbatical and comes back with a revamped menu and look. The latest case in point; Asado, off SV Road in Bandra. Previously known as Asado Bar & Grill, the restaurant decided to up its cocktail game (and how!), thereby rechristening itself Asado the Cocktail Street.

Customers stepping into Asado 2.0 will be happy to see that it still retains the European charm it was loved for; dotted with wooden furnishing, and pastel colors, the most magnificent part of the restaurant remains the beautiful wall murals that resemble the meandering streets and scenes in a small European township. Despite being fairly spacious, Asado is a great destination for an intimate date thanks to the dim lighting. Of course, Asado’s latest cocktail menu makes it an even more perfect destination for a first date; there’s nothing like a little liquid courage to fight any awkwardness, right?

We stepped into Asado last week to find that others seemingly agreed with us; at least four couples were holding court at various tables in the eatery. Balancing things out was a large, rowdy group (celebrating someone’s birthday, we believe), who had taken over a section of the outdoor area and were clutching some interesting looking tiki cocktails.

Down The Cocktail Street

While we were enamoured by the look of the tikki cocktails, after consulting with the server and telling him our liqueur preferences (tequila, vodka and white rum, please!), he suggested that we try out cocktails from their ‘The Unusual Concoctions’ range instead. Being tea drinkers, we decided to try the ‘Terrific Tea’, a delicious, refreshing concoction of tequila and black tea, infused with orange flavours and quirkily served in a teapot that poured smoke into a glass.

We also tried (and loved) the equally refreshing ‘Herbal Intoxication’, a blend of vodka and white rum, served in a traditional tea press, flavoured with an infusion of herbs.

Despite being only two cocktails down, we started to feel that familiar buzz and realised just how potent the cocktails really were. And, as we always say, all booze and no food makes Jack a drunk boy, so we opened the food menu and called for a plethora of starters; the Caramel Pork Belly salad, the Steamed Balinese chicken satay, the Kataifi Prawns and the Tex Mex Potato Skins. We particularly enjoyed the chicken satay, a fresh dish in which steamed banana leaves nestled tender chicken with aromatic lemon flavours.

The caramel pork belly salad was a beautiful balance of indulgent and healthy, with succulent slices of crispy pork belly served on a bed of fresh greens with a zesty caramel sauce.

For the vegetarians, we’d recommend the potato skins which are loaded with a variety of vegetables and a creamy mushroom and cheese sauce.

The Main Event

Generally, when we talk about the main event, we’re referring to the mains of the meal- i.e the food. While we did enjoy our mains (especially the subtle Herb Garlic chicken breast), the true main event for us was the cocktail that arrived along with our mains; The Pain Killer.

The Pain Killer is a mix of white rum and orange, which arrives at a table on a bed of dry ice, scattered with orange peels. Adding to the fanfare, the server preforms what seems to be an illusionist’s trick, setting fire to absinthe in a glass and pouring the absinthe into the drink. We were given the vial of absinthe smoke to sniff just before we took a sip of the drink, which added to the strength of an already potent cocktail that maintained a heady balance of flavours.

With a few sips of the pain killer our buzz was back; an awesome feeling that we coupled with a plate of creamy Dulce des Leches for dessert.

Even as we finished off the last few spoonfuls of the Dulce des Leches, we replayed the Pain Killer experience in our mind. It was then that we remembered Asado’s ‘catchphrase’; “we don’t only serve cocktails, we create experiences!” And, after trying out their cocktails we see what they mean. So head over to Asado and experience their cocktails for yourselves. Pair them with some of their tasty fare and we guarantee your night will be golden!