Escobar – Tapas Bar is known for its Salsa Nights every Tuesday. But very few know about their Ladies Night that they host on Thursdays. Started two months ago, the concept is simple but the service is anything but – it’s exceptional!
Escobar offers unlimited complimentary drinks from 8 pm to 10 pm to all the ladies in the house. And they don’t hand out Sangrias to you like most of the bars in the city, instead they offer you 6 options to choose from – White Wine, Red Wine, White Wine Sangria, Red Wine Sangria, a Cosmopolitan and a Martini.
We reached Escobar at about 8:30 pm. My colleague and I were greeted by an extremely sweet and old couple in the lift who waited for us to get in. Little pleasantries later we found out that they were going to Escobar as well. All of us laughed along the way as we arrived at the 4th floor of the building.
Upon entering, I noticed two things. The area was huge with a large dance floor, both indoors and outdoors, and the place encouraged fine dining.
We settled down at a table outdoors and ordered a Watermelon Martini and a white wine. The bar wasn’t crowded at all, with a few ladies hanging out and a family dining on one of the sofa lounges. As we were chatting up, our drinks were served. One sip, and I asked the bartender about the wine they were serving because it was quite good. It was the Indian wine brand Bella Blanc Chenin. (Buy it!) And the Watermelon Martini was the most delicious martini I have ever had in Mumbai! It was so delicious I wanted to keep my wine aside and just gulp my friend’s drink down.
Watermelon Martini 
White Wine
We had just made ourselves comfortable with our drinks when it started to rain. Unlike others, we took our own sweet time to move inside. The weather was good, the mood was being set with some English pop hits, and the wait staff was diligently on call.
Starving by now, we called for the menu and placed an order for two dishes from the Tapas section – Wasabi Waterchestnut (Rs. 425) and Velvety Cottage Cheese Wrap (Rs. 375), the latter of which was the server’s recommendation. While we waited for the food, I gulped my wine down and went for a Watermelon Martini – I just couldn’t resist. The bartender offered to make me a Lychee Martini which I ordered later!.
It had stopped raining and we asked to be moved to our previous table outside. The staff was more than happy to help. The music and the weather complemented the ambiance and the service here.
Our food arrived and it was served by someone who seemed to know the menu in and out. Before we could take a bite, the old lady from the lift made her way towards us. She wanted to be a part of our Ladies Night. Of course we happily agreed and asked for an extra chair and plate. Soon after, her friend, another old lady joined us as well. In 15 minutes, her husband was at our table too. What fun!
We were munching on our food and discussing how much fun life can be. The Wasabi Waterchestnut became the table favourite, reminding everyone of their childhood days. It was cooked perfectly, properly fried from the outside but desirably fresh from the inside. And the Velvety Cottage Cheese Wrap was deliciously soft and flavoursome. The paneer was stuffed with spiced-yogurt and tandoored to mouth-watering perfection.
Velvety Cottage Cheese Wrap (L) , Wasabi Waterchestnut (R)
This was turning out to be a very different kind of Ladies Night, and each one of us seemed to be having a great time. We called our server to place an order for a 4 Formaggi Pizza (Rs. 995), and a Cosmopolitan and a Lychee Martini. Our new friends asked for two Watermelon Martinis.
Our pizza arrived and we asked the server to give each one of us a slice. The pizza was yum! It was thin-crust, cheesy but not greasy, and crispy with no overcooked edges at all. We were being invited to aunty’s house for dinner by this point of time. She promised to make us Rajma, Bhindi Fry and Chicken Curry! Great, right?
Listening to her made us extremely hungry and we ordered a Smoked Penne Alla Arabiatta pasta (Rs. 575) next. We asked for it to be done in white sauce. It was a quick order to arrive. The pasta was lip-smackingly creamy and cheesy. The only downside was that the quantity served was too little for the price, but you can’t complain much with the flavours you taste here.
It was way past 10 pm and somehow, our table had a few extra drinks standing on it. The old gals had bid us goodbye, not before taking our numbers and sending us the address for the planned dinner. We finished our drinks and called it a night.
As you have read, this Ladies Night turned out to be very different from our usual ones. But we enjoyed every second of it. The service was a class forward here, the cocktails were non-diluted and delicious, the food was savoury and we met wonderful people! If you’re in the vicinity on a Thursday, you definitely need to give this place a shot.
Drinks – 5/5
Food – 5/5
Service – 5/5
Music – 4/5
