Restaurant Review: Resto-bar makes socialising more fun with quirky food offerings

Or how about the longest long island iced tea you would’ve come across to quench thirst of all your friends after a long day at work? Social, a café-cum-co-working space that has been drawing millennials to work, socialise and dine glocal favourites across cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Chandigarh, has opened doors in namma Chennai as the 27th outlet in the country.

Mount Road Social, located at Express Avenue, comes as a breath of fresh air among the city’s ever-expanding resto-bar choices. It’s casual with a vibrant neon-vibe, chic with its private cabana-style seating choice for more intimate gatherings, as well as a bright and airy space for you to sit down and work while sipping on a drink. The minimalist interiors, along with greenery, help in cheering up the mood. Food and drink offerings stay true to Social’s signature style that elevates local flavours with contemporary cooking and presentation styles. The thalaiva breakfast tray places all south Indian brekkie favourites like dosa, idli, vada, masala vada and filter coffee on a tray, while dishes like podi idli, (Yes, you can get filter coffee and podi idli at this resto-bar!), gunpowder calamari, nethili tacos and pork belly pops with karuvepillai (curry leaf) powder bring together the best of different worlds. Even the goli soda here is no ordinary and comes loaded with flavours of mango and vodka (the drink seemed to be a favourite order among many thirsty shoppers dropping in).

As we sipped on the flavoursome and heady long island iced tea, we tucked into nethili tacos — which has crisp batter-fried anchovies on a fresh tomato and onion salsa and a garlic aioli, blanketed by a taco shell. It’s all local flavours wrapped in a globally-loved taco. The street-style momos get a spice boost by being sautéed in a pepper sauce. Crisp-fried calamari tossed in a lip-smacking podi are the kind that will vanish soon as they land upon your table. Besides a wide range of munchies, poutines, kebabs, and platters of shawarma, mezze, barbeque boards, and sausage plates (which are great for sharing), the menu also has Thai thali (with Thai curries and rice), Punjabi kadhis, Parsi mutton dhansak, Burmese khao suey, biryanis, Chinese boxes and a Chennai-style thali, with a Chettinad chicken curry, vanjaram fry, a chicken pepper roast served with rice and parotta. Remember the viral Instagram videos of deep-fried chocolate bars we all loved watching? We couldn’t help but try out ‘Ramesh Suresh’, a punny dessert of deep-fried five-stars. It’s simple, yet so sinful to have you coming back here on each cheat day.