What’s in a Name?

A lot.  For example, if a man is named Donald Trump, you know there is something Donald Duck-ish about him. 

This truth was not lost on rock bands. Not on some at least. So in a world of The Beatles, Beach Boys, Yardbirds, Cream and The Doors when a band with a name like Queen, Pink Floyd, Crimson King, or Jethro Tull showed up, you’d infer that their sound would be different and kick-ass. And you’d be right too. 

Which brings us (don’t ask me how) to bars. 

I’ve always thought that bars and clubs in Goa have the best names. 

Check out these beauts – Shiva Valley; Curlies; SinQ Nightclub; Flotsam and Jetsam; Mango Bar; LPK (short for Love, Peace, Karma); Lilliput (long for short?)…. This is a short list out of a vast sea of cool Goan bar names. 

Which brings us to Bangalore bars. 

Once upon a time, Bangalore’s bars and pubs had names that rarely strayed out of the box. We had Pecos, Guzzler’s Inn, Downtown, The Cellar, Victoria, Tavern, Jockey Club, etc.

But when the 21st century showed up, more than few sexy bar names showed up as well. Here are a few of them. 

Love Shack in Domlur. A chill joint owned by Himesh Arora and his brother Tarun Arora who also happened to be an actor. It offered karaoke nights once a week and insanely good times every day of the week. 

Monkey Bar which had the most delicious raw mango martini served, rather innovatively, in a little pickle bottle. It shut doors years ago but there now is a hip, sorry, swinging Monkey Bar on Museum Road.

Sly Granny – what a cool name! This posh place in Indiranagar is a self proclaimed hipster hangout. It has a secret, slyly-hidden second bar somewhere inside, a room almost impossible to find, and always packed with people having a better time than you are. 

One Night in Bangkok, a genius of a name. A name that promised exotic times and perhaps the possibility of a naughty night. They moved from Indiranagar to UB City and then they moved into retirement. For a while in their tiny cramped space they offered a vast universe of expensive booze-sponsored fun. 

Gawky Goose – quirky name, great place off Old Airport road, great Sunday brunches and prices that make you think – ‘hey maybe Old Airport road is probably a bit too far off’.

JW Marriott’s cute, leafy resto-bar Bo Tai (sounds like what James Bond would wear to a cocktail party). 

A few metres away from Bo Tai is Shiro – a posh bar in UB city. It has in its interiors a statue of Buddha so big that after a few drinks you begin to entertain thoughts like how in the name of Gautama did they bring this 30 ft sculpture through their narrow staircase. But then after a few more drinks you realise that this is not the time for complex logistical thoughts. 

Then there are also these two freshly minted, or if you will, freshly brewed spots, in Bangalore. Both hugely popular with the kids coz their prices are far from huge. And, as hundreds of Instagram reels made by these kids will tell you, their ‘vibe’ is ‘super cool’.

The first is named Quarter Peter. To Sandhya Mendonca (the lady behind The Good City) this name brings to mind the image of a random, perpetually-drunk Anglo Indian dude named Peter Bentley, the tip of whose snout is tinted crimson from constant drinking, staggering along the roads of Cooke Town at noon, occasionally stopping to retrieve a quarter bottle of Old Monk from the hind pocket of his ragged pants, and taking a greedy sip before he totters along. The prices at Quarter Peter perfectly suit our drunken Uncle Peter’s nearly empty wallet. And the ‘vibe’, as the kids’ reels have assured us, is ‘super cool’. 

And finally, by the creator of Quarter Peter, Mr. Desmond Rice, is another popular place called Mini Bar in Indiranagar. Every little thing in this tiny place is mini – the sizes of the plates and bowls that food is served in, the sizes of the beer and cocktail glasses, and finally the bill are all mini. By the way, in the loo of Mini Bar is a red button that says, Don’t Press, being Indian the first thing I did was press the damn button, and I watched in pleasant surprise as disco lights started flashing and techno music erupted and the loo got converted for a few seconds into, you guessed it, a mini disco.