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!
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