Hoppipola, Galleria-Powai; A playful pub in Powai.

A queue at the door waiting to be seated, Mediterranean style white and blue interiors, blackboards as table tops, great music, an extensive starter menu that spanned across four pages – these were my first observations as I stepped into the recently opened bar called the Hoppipola in Powai’s Galleria mall.

Hoppipola takes its name from a Nordic song about playing and jumping in puddles and has extended the same playful feel to its interiors. There are board games for patrons to play while hanging out with their group of friends. There are also games to be played to win shots and freebies from the restaurant but above all, all the tables double up as play boards for patrons to indulge in a quick game of tic tac toe while they wait for their orders.

On the food front, at the cost of sounding repetitive, I was amazed by the starter menu which spanned over four pages while the mains covered only two. This was indicative of the fact that the restaurant focuses on its snacks and drinks. With the menu aggressively priced on both the beverages and the food front, it wasn’t a surprise to see that the average crowd in the restaurant was that of young office goers in the age groups of 20 to 35.

Our tasting started off with a Kaffir Lime n Lychee Mojito (Rs. 225) which has a nice lime flavour but got progressively bitter due to the kaffir lime peels in the drink. Our second drink, the classic Whiskey Sour (Rs. 195) was strong and tasty, had the right balance of sweet and sour and was quite delectable.

Quite aptly, we focussed our ordering on only the snack dishes and ordered Chiselled Prawns (Rs. 265) which tasted similar to Prawns al Ajillo and was served on a piece of toast. Garlicky with a slight hint of chillies, this dish was finger licking good and made us ask for a second round.

The Harissian (Rs. 215) was a grilled Tunisian spice marinated fish which was crispy on the outside with soft juicy flesh. The flavours were perfect and the nice peppery aftertaste from the tomato pepper mayo was quite delicious.

The few average or below average dishes were the Cheese Filled Mushrooms OMG (Rs.170) which were heavily breaded and dripping with oil and the Chicken based Aila Aioli (Rs.195) which didn’t have any major flavour quotients to write home about.

A very interesting dish for the evening was the Lambda (Rs.230) which was cheddar stuffed lamb balls on pita bread. One could call it an Indianized version of an open burger. With the meaty, spicy and juicy flavours, this works as an excellent dish to accompany hard liquor but can get a bit clumsy to eat.

Our rosemary based Chicken Wings (Rs. 195) were served along with a very spicy and tangy Guava Balsamic Bloody Mary (Rs. 195) and a very sweet and a bit Indianized Apple and Curry leaves Caprioska (Rs. 225) both of which were very nice and addictive.

We also tried the Fish n Chips which was nice, salty and crispy and the batter quite light and the Wassa Tokyo Wasabi Prawns (Rs.265) which was bit peppery but quite nice to go with our drink.

Amazed by the expansive snacks menu, we focused our tasting only on the snacks and I must say we were not disappointed. With the menu priced aggressively, it is clear that the restaurant is targeting a much younger audience and is doing a fine job of it. The menu, the décor, the music – all give the place a very vibrant feel and makes Hoppipola one of the best hangout places in Powai at present.

Ratings (Out of 5)

Food: 4.0 | Drinks: 4.0 | Ambience: 4.0 | Service: 3.0 | Overall: 4.0

Meal for Two: Rs. 1200 (Without alcohol) | Credit Cards: Yes | Alcohol: Yes |Timings: 12 pm to 1.00 am  |Wheelchair Access: No

Address: 136 & 138 A, Galleria Shopping Centre, Hiranandani Gardens, Powai, Mumbai| Telephone:022 40150436

Disclaimer: This review was done on an invitation from the restaurant. Due judgement and care has been applied by the author to remain objective and unbiased in the review, but readers need to consider this review keeping this fact in mind.