The GRID — Restaurant in Kolkata

One of the best pub in Kolkata! Very International, very unique. The GRID has an atmosphere like none other. With an impeccable interior and an immaculate brewery, this is the place to be.

A lounge-cum-brewery, GRID serves North Indian, Pizza and Italian delicacies. The menu has been crafted keeping in mind the global customers it attracts. It has put the name of Kolkata on being truly global. Starting with the interiors, they have a huge Lego-Bar, a microbrewery serving amazing beers, high chairs, a toilet in a shipping container and an electric atmosphere. The crowd and music here is maddening.

Their home brews include 7 offerings, Estuary, Piedmont, Caldera, Tombolo, Tundra, Towhead & Eskar, each with a distinct flavor and aroma. You can sip and choose the beer to your liking. My take would be the Caldera & Piedmont.

Their alcohol menu is exclusive with more inclination towards select cocktails. They have unparalleled cocktails served with exquisite taste. You can choose your poison for the evening.

The food menu is restricted but globally curated. We had the Juhu Gymkhana Spicy Green Noodles, that had a great taste, thanks to the spicy sauce in which the noodles were stir-fried. It had the perfect balance of flavors and aroma.

Next up was the GRID box for Vegetarians, which included wedges, ladyfingers, baby corn and crisps. I never had ladyfingers like that in a restaurant anywhere in India. The baby corn was the least better option out of the 4. All things spicy, all things nice.

The Amritsari Bhatti Ke Aloo were up next, served in an elongated wooden plate, along with mint chutneys and pickled onions. The potatoes were evenly cooked, not too dry and not too gooey.

Once done with the starters, Pasta and Lasagna were ordered. We had the Penne Alfredo. It was perfect in texture and prepared in a creamy sauce. A good pasta indeed. The Lasagna Al Horno was baked properly to give out amazing flavors. Everyone liked this dish.

Then came the Pizza. It was a disappointment as the toppings were too oily and greasy. Although the Pizza was crispy, yet the taste lacked behind. For the finale, we had the Tandoori Platter & Garlic Naan Rolls. The platter was a very unique combination of North Indian food juxtaposed with Tandoor items. So you have Tandoori Aloo and Paneer as a compliment to Dal Makhani and Kulcha, all in one plate. The Dal Makhani was brilliant here. On the other hand, the Naan Rolls were a disappointment too. The filling was very sweet, although we had chosen the Corn, Cheese and Pepper Masala one. It was not worth the money.

The Shisha/Hookah here is amazing. We had the Royal Caribbean and Melontos ones. Very thick smoke and you can feel the flavors running down your throat. The drinks were a winner too. Especially the Sangria. We had opted for a couple of gin-based cocktails, as there was a Gin Festival going on. It turned out to be average.

To sum it up, the GRID can be pitted to be the best brewery in the International level, such is the look and feel of this place. Its eclectic atmosphere and impeccable hospitality can make the best lounges in the country run for their money. 10,000 sq. ft....

I've been here a handful of times. This visit was on a Tuesday night, the days of the week have a different standard as compared to the weekend.

In my previous post I raved about the food,atmosphere and music but I'm sure I had visited on a weekend day from what I was hearing from Management. The food is still amazing and I'd say better now. The atmosphere is what you'd expect from a cool lounge restaurant/bar outside of India. The music was death by music...

I spoke with one of the floor supervisors about changing the music which had just finished 7 out of the last ten tracks from the 80's and they were all slow love songs. Perfect music for a forty year high school reunion. I was told from the supervisor that "We are experiencing technical difficulties " REALLY?!?

The music kept pushing their 80's agenda so I asked again to please play some new more upbeat music as they have played before. A new answer was given "We play new music after 9pm" so, no technical difficulties at all to play new music you just don't want to.

I asked to speak to the manager on staff for the night but the supervisor then disappeared out of site and then wouldn't come back. I asked a waiter who promptly went and got the manger. I asked the manager, "can you please play some new music, the music that you're playing is all from the 80s and is really bad". The manager said essentially that they were having technical difficulties. I asked if those difficulties would keep them from playing new music after 9pm and he said no. So really there was no technical difficulty as told for a standard excuse to stop the request. I asked again if they would play their new music now (8:15pm) and start it early and he told me the real answer... "It's our policy to play good music after 9pm". His suggestion was to stick around till 9pm to hear new music but that I and everyone else would have to put up with their bad music till then. The conversation was over and a simple request to make the experience better was denied.

The supervisor who I originally spoke with finally made it back to me and gave one more silly suggestion, "Come on the weekend, then you'll hear better music!" That doesn't fix the problem you have now.

Fail... Management and staff can't accommodate a simple request to make your experience a better one.

So the night ended with...

I arrived at The Grid at 5pm on a Saturday, trusting that I would be able to enjoy a laid back pub atmosphere before the inevitable pounding music, dim lighting, and crowds that people seem to enjoy.

The interior decor is nice, with a consistent colourful post-industrial grid pattern of pipes and tubes adorning everything. When I arrived both the music and the lighting were at tolerable levels. The playlist had great nostalgia value for American 90s kids, mostly 2000s R&B. The air conditioning was intolerable. I had to go outside a few times for a warm air break. Bring a sweater. At a few points I was unsure if I could see people's breath or if they were just smoking hookah in this arctic tavern.

Before even 6:00, the lights were turned way down to the point we couldn't even read the menu. Someone at my table asked a waiter if they could turn up the lights and the waiter said, "Actually that's the atmosphere." So I guess the atmosphere they were going for is the time of year in Antarctica when the sun doesn't rise all day.

The beer was delicious. The Biere de Garde was a thick bodied farmhouse ale brewed with jaggery. They also had a fairly standard stout and hefeweizen and a light fruity ale. I think this is the best beer brewed in Kolkata.

The food was also very good albeit a bit pricey. Expect a Bengali spin on the non-Indian dishes as well. An allegedly Italian pasta definitely had chilies and turmeric in it. The lasagna was delicious, creamy, filled with fresh veggies and didn't feature any Indian spin to it. I ordered something called a BBQ paneer naan roll. It was basically a deconstructed paneer roll for ten times the price. I nibbled on a friend's nachos. It was better than other nachos I've had in South Asia but still made with Doritos and not really nachos. I will definitely order the lasagne next time.

The music got turned up just a wee bit every 30 minutes or so. By the time we left we could barely hear each other.

The ambience could be much improved if I didn't feel the need to come prepared with ear plugs, a flashlight, and a sweater next time I go. They could also really benefit from some outdoor patio seating for a more laid back and thawed out experience.

The beer makes it worth it....