Sunday, February 7, 2016

Chilling at historic lawn - Fairlawns!

Located at Sudder Street this place is absolutely cut out from all the din and bustle of the infuriating crowd of the urban city, the madness that you'll find a few steps away at New Market is non-existent at this piece of lush green heaven! I was here with one of my fellow foodies to have some laid back conversation sitting amidst the trademark greenery and openness of Fairlawns. The place has a feel of colonial Calcutta in its veins and is still standing strong embracing the new generations and the old loyalists all at the same time. 


When we were here a couple of days back, the present owner was in town back from London for a month-long holiday. She has been kind enough to keep this open-air beer bar running for public for ages now that sits right on the lawn of this heritage building cum hotel. 


The place has got heaps of history behind it, I just came to know a few of them – it was built by some William Ford in the year 1783 (so it is now nearly 232 years old!) and then the possession kept on passing from one person to another. At present it lies with Mrs. Jennifer Ann Fowler and few years back in 1994 the place was converted to a private limited company, so now Mrs. Jennifer is the MD of this place. Many famous personalities have stayed at this place in the recent years like, Sting, Eric Newby, Sir Tom Stoppard, Patrick Swayze, Julie Christie, Ian Hislop, etc. Famous Bollywood star actor Shashi Kapoor married Junnifer Kendal (one of the longest staying guests at Fairlawns) and they had their honeymoon here at this hotel. So the place has got a lot of stories to tell, and when you are here you might get teleported some 200 years back!


There is one private non-smoking dining area indoors at the ground floor where we just stepped in to click some pictures, otherwise we were seated at the outdoor section that is of course non-AC and close to the nature. 

We were here at 4:30 pm when it was not so hot outside, so we had a great experience, would have been much better if it was drizzling outside! You can smoke and have beer here at this place while having some great starters and mains. My friend ordered for Crispy baby corn with Sauce, and since I was more interested in that one-of-a-kind lovely outdoor ambiance (with that old world charm) I did not put forward any food preference of mine. And I am glad I didn't, since the Crispy baby corn was probably the best of its kind that I had in years. It was the full length babycorn sliced length-wise and tossed with bell peppers, onion rings and tangy sauces, it was awesome to taste along with some beer. Only one note - The beers served can be even more chilled, since they come to normal temperature pretty fast because of the outdoor seating. By the way, though the place is basically on the open lawn but it has got a roof on top, so sitting at this place during the rainy season is not an issue. 


The place is green everywhere, so soothing for the eyes and amazingly soul satisfying. Apart from natural plantations, the fences, the ceilings, chairs, other furnitures all are painted in green. Really sensed peace when I was at this place. Paradise on earth! 


Only the service can be improved a bit, it is bit slow and the waiters were less interactive. Though the prices are quite reasonable here, but please keep in mind to carry cash since they do not accept cards. And there is no extra taxes charged.

So here are my granular ratings for this legendary eatery -

Food Quality: 3.8/5
Food Quantity: 3.9/5
Food Presentation: 3.7/5
Ambiance: 5/5
Service: 3.1/5
Value for Money: 4.2/5






The old world charm will surely bring me back several more times at this place for the rest of my life and who knows if this place can give me some greater memories in future, since it has got all that potential!


Cheers!

Fairlawns Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato 

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