TOIT - A must-visit brewpub in Bangalore

Whenever we think of Bangalore, we think of traffic, of a booming IT industry, of cool evening breeze. But what many of us don't know is that Bangalore has a fantastic, thriving nightlife and a happening pub, bar, and brewery ecosystem. I discovered this recently and made it the main agenda of my Bangalore visit this year, besides my day job of course. 

When you talk of pubs in Bangalore, TOIT's name will almost always crop up. Be it in google searches, in discussions with friends, in evening plans, TOIT is probably the most-discussed name.  The pub opened in 2010 and it's conception and coming alive is an interesting story in itself. Click here to find out.   

Indeed it seems that the founders' initial vision has come true. While it is close to impossible to get a table at short notice on the weekends, on the weekdays too, you have to wait for 10-15 minutes. However, there are bar counters you can head to till the table is available. 

We did just that. We were asked to wait for 10-15 minutes, so we chose to seat ourselves at the bar counter on the second floor. About 20 minutes later we received a call from the booking counter and were informed that a table is free. However, we were far too comfortable where we were, so we left the table for someone who wanted one more than us. 

It is my personal opinion that conversations on a bar counter are usually more engaging than the ones on a table. The bartender pays more attention, the setting is cozy so you don't need to shout at the top of your voices, and yet almost no one is interested in listening in on your conversations. There is more privacy despite the more open setting.

I was there with my cousin and we were catching up after a long time. This was also the first time that we were sharing drinks. We decided to start with cocktails and ordered Lusty Chocolate and long Beach Iced Tea, and for starters we ordered TOIT Baked Nachos and Baked Potato Wedges. The drinks and the food were really good, and made an already perfect evening even more perfect. Then we ordered TOIT's beer samplers, which is a tray of six beers, and at times the bartender is kind and throws in the sampler for a special beer. We were lucky in this aspect too. We tasted all beers on the tray and each had distinct flavour. If most people in your group are beer drinkers, it may be a good idea to go for the samplers and then choose the one that you like the most.

It was only when we were leaving did I notice the ambience. With wooden interiors and quirky artifacts, this really is a cool place to hang out after a tough day at work. We were there only for about an hour and half, but one can easily spend an entire evening there with a group of friends.