Pop colours by day, warm lighting by night! The izakaya (Japanese concept of the dive bar) has lights that resemble Oriental fans and the chairs, with their tightly-woven patterns, recreate the vibe of a Japanese tearoom. Panels of origami artwork and motifs can also be found. (Picture left) The decor highlight of TFB is this Lantern Wall that has 27 lanterns at varying heights and distances.
FATTY BAO FACTS
Check-in: Fort Knox, 8th floor, 6 Camac Street.
Timings: Every day from noon to 3.30pm and 7pm to 11.30pm. Only guests 10 years and above permitted for dinner.
Covers: 75.
Cuisine: Asian dining and bar experience... small plates, soupy noodles, hearty bowls of ramen, signature baos, sushi, dim sums, chargrilled Robatayaki skewers.
New on the Calcutta menu: Chinese Chorizo, Bacon and Egg Sheng Jian Bao, Tempura Bekti Bao and more.
Bar: Inspired by izakaya, a Japanese gastrobar.
Other outlets: The Fatty Bao, Calcutta, will be the seventh outpost of the brand after Bangalore (Indiranagar), Delhi (RK Puram) and Mumbai (Bandra, Lower Parel, Powai and Andheri).
Meal for two: Rs 1,500 without alcohol, excluding taxes.
Manu, what’s new about this Fatty Bao?
When we did the last Fatty in Andheri, we gave it a spin of izakaya and the noodle shop, which is essentially what we wanted to bring to Calcutta. Here, it’s more vibrant and colourful than some of its previous avatars and the space dictates the design to a large extent. One thing that is constant is natural light. Fatty is a great lunch space, everywhere, and for that we do need nice, airy spaces.
Avantika, as local partner for both Monkey Bar and TFB, a floor apart in the same building, how does one not bite into the other’s pie?
I feel it will be a nice sort of overlapping. We’ll get people at TFB who have still never been to Monkey and they’ll end up going because they are here. Or the other way around! I see a lot of people getting drinks upstairs and coming down to eat or vice versa depending on what night it is and the mood.
Chetan, you look after the business side of things. How have you done the pricing in Calcutta vis-a-vis Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore?
It depends on the whole dynamics of the city, what the overheads are, what the raw materials and staff cost. All that plays a part in the pricing. I would say there’s not that much of a difference in the pricing… the rates are slightly lower, maybe 8-10 per cent here. Some dishes will be on a par, some will be cheaper.
If Monkey Bar has Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne on the walls, what Calcutta element does TFB have?
Avantika: The view of the Calcutta skyline! Though it’s just 12ft below Monkey Bar, there’s a different romanticism here. And everyone’s like, ‘Will you have an open-air there also?’ And I’m like, ‘For some things you have to come to Monkey!’ We have also worked hard to bring more vegetarian items on the menu.
Text: Karo Christine Kumar
Pictures: B. Halder
