What to do on a Thursday night? (Olive @ Union Park, China House @ Grand Hyatt)

How to get there: Get to Carter Road and take the right turn after the Cafe Coffee Day. Go uphill, past a bunch of restaurants, till you see a white wall. It's right next to a restaurant called Out Of The Blue.


This will be a pricey evening.

Olive will be full--it began as some form of expat night on Thursdays and now Thursday is Olive Day.

Eat beforehand if you want to just drink tonight--the food will be expensive.

If you must eat--get a pizza, less commitment, easy to pick up.

Have a caprioska or a margarita.

Indoors, the A/C's turned up to full blast and you can't hear yourself think.

The dining tables are not where you want to sit. Dining tables are for big groups of non-partiers, people who just want dinner.

Pick, instead, the white cane furniture on the gravel by the outside bar. This has the added advantage of being the smoking section.

Stay till it's nearly closing time, stumble outside, get yourself into a rickshaw for Kalina.

Follow the signs for the Grand Hyatt till you reach the gate.

You'll probably really have to pee by this time, and the walk towards the club is long and seems longer on a full bladder.

Make up a story about being on the guest list. Bat your eyelashes, wait around.

Invest in a little debit card thing for your drinks and spend all of it on one Long Island Iced Tea.

This is huge and should take you most of the night to drink.

Find a small round table, park your things there and dance.

Kick off your high heels and bounce on your bare feet.

At 3 am, the bouncer will suggest you leave.

Satisfy your rumbling stomach by going upstairs to Cellini, the Italian restaurant, home of the BEST pepperoni pizzas in the CITY, serving food all night.

(I told you it was going to be a pricey evening)

Go home against the backdrop of early morning Mumbai, crows squawking, milkmen making their rounds, early morning joggers glancing at you disapprovingly.

Enjoy your long weekend!

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Zenzi Mills vs. Zenzi Bandra

How to get there:
Zenzi Bandra: Get to Waterfield Road and head towards Linking road, away from ICICI bank. It's an orange building with fairy lights on it.
Zenzi Mills: Get to Lower Parel and go under the third flyover (which will take you past Phoenix Mills). Look for the ICICI bank on your right and a gate after it that says 'Todi & Co.' Take the gate inside and it's on your right.

As a Bandra loyalist, I should be all about Zenzi Bandra, but, what can I say, their quality seems to be falling a little bit. And so to help me (and possibly you) out a little bit, I'm going to make a list of pros and cons for each establishment and then we'll reach a verdict. Cool? Cool.

FOR Zenzi Bandra

1. Is in Bandra (Duh)
2. Can smoke in the outside section (obviously, smoking in a bar is all I need these days)
3. Is slightly cheaper
4. Can wear whatever you like, even though some people dress up, there doesn't seem to be an obligation.
5. Used to be able to bump into your whole social circle there, but I don't know if that applies anymore, since no one seems to be going these days.

AGAINST Zenzi Bandra

1. Has become a little bit run down, specially their interiors
2. The outside section is HOT, crowded and basically uncomfortable.
3. No one goes anymore.
4. They did away with quiz nights.
5. Still pricier than a lot of places with better service.

FOR Zenzi Mills:

1. Posh enough inside to justify you spending all that money.
2. Nice little dance floor with hip-hop nostalgiac music.
3. Usually meet lots of people here, and not just townies either.
4. Very nice interiors--just the right amount of darkness and dim lighting and no dining tables which just make me feel like I'm cheating for only drinking and not eating any food.
5. Is in Lower Parel, which, granted, is not Bandra, but if you get bored there are loads of fancy places you can hop to next which are only a stone's throw away.

AGAINST Zenzi Mills:

1. Is NOT in Bandra. I only go to town when I really, really need to.
2. Is more expensive. (So, I make the trek, which means I need to justify it, which means I will drink more alcohol. Q.E.D)
3. Really, really limited seating, which sucks. In Zenzi Bandra, you are almost always able to find a bar stool.
4. AND you can't smoke inside. Boooooooo!

Oh my, I didn't expect that. Looks like all in all, Zenzi Mills (just about) defeats Zenzi Bandra. We'll keep that in mind next time we have a Zenzi craving. That is weird.

Want a place reviewed? Want to review something yourself? Send me an email with the subject line DD review to thecompulsiveconfessorATgmailDOTcom