As far as I remember, Janakpuri had one and only one identity for me – being home to THE District Centre, one of the first and biggest shopping arena before the malls took away its sheen. Till date, I have fond memories of going all the way to DC multiple times a week just to hang around with college friends. It was considered one of the cool places to be at back then with all the brands and innumerous food joints. But unable to match their glitz & appeal, the advent of malls in areas nearby like Rajouri Garden and later Subhash Nagar etc spelled doom for this favorite haunt of masses once. This led to the whole area spiraling down the rabbit hole which saw mushrooming of various hookah joints all over Janakpuri, many of them being operational in just a solitary room just to cash-in on the trend. I had hard time placing when last someone asked me to “party” at Janakpuri and so one can imagine my surprise when after almost a decade one of the friends said so. The venue was The Tipsy Project and I, well, I was perplexed.
All through the drive upto its location on the Pankha Road, in the complex that has yesteryear’s popular movie hall, Janak cinemas, I had images of a dimly lit, smoke filled, two room place offering booze at rates that would shame even those deciding prices at Mybar. What I got instead was a swanky new place, spanning two floors of a building, well dressed crowd, uncluttered seating, quirky posters and a live DJ. Infact the only thing that matched my perception was the dimly lit ambiance :D
Being in a large group we went ahead and occupied the biggest seating they offer, couches under a beautiful aquarium. Despite the tummy growling at its loudest, the eyes were fixated on the booze menu, to see how tipsy the tipsy project can really get us, that too not by chugging one beer after another but by trying a wide array of cocktails and shots they offer, something which will show their creativity and talent. The first round of drinks comprised of all my favorites – dirty martini, LIIT and obviously, whiskey sour. There are primarily two types of whiskey sour, one with an egg and the other sans it. While I prefer the one with the egg, unfortunately they serve it without it. Though I don’t hold that against this place as both the versions are equally legit, but to say that I wasn’t disappointed, would be a lie. Fortunately, that was the only drink that wasn’t to my liking as after that it was all up up & awayyyyy.
Because of the highly potent constituents, martinis I feel, are an acquired taste. Not many enjoy its bitter taste and immediate grabbing hold of your senses by the scruff within couple of sips, but I LOVE IT. The bartender here makes one of the meanest dirty martinis out there and two of these beast can make amateurs & most mid-level drinkers fall flat on the floor. The LIIT, as expected, was made to perfection and sometimes I feel it’s the drink bartenders are asked to prepare in their final exams as this is hands down the most popular and in demand cocktail I’ve come across till date.
Since it was almost lunch hour by the time we reached the place so instead of ordering the usual beer bites like nachos and French fries, we opted for some filling dishes instead. & so an order was placed for Soya chaap, thai spring rolls, mezze platter and mushroom tai chi. Mushroom and soya chaap have proved to be two true life savers for vegetarians all around as otherwise we would’ve still been stuck in that dal makhani – shahi paneer routine everytime we dined out. Both the dishes were well prepared and performed equally well in the taste department, spicy and topped with some fine chopped veggies, just the way I like it. Mezze platter here impressed too not only with its taste but with its slightly different presentation of serving falafel on small disc shaped pita breads instead of the usual pockets most restaurants provide making for a much easier consumption.
In between the binging session of both kinds, there was another impressive thing silently scoring points for the place. The tipsy project serves one of the finest hookahs you’ll find in Delhi NCR and make no mistake of thinking that as an exaggeration. Be it the common ones like AK47 & brain freezer or the specialty ones like Daniel’s coke (they use JD for it), their hukkahs are a definition of perfection. Hooked to their hukkahs I was, by the end of the meet.
The main course was made a short work of by us ordering just two dishes. Keeping with the theme of the place with drinks heady and the food spicy, the talab special noodles were Indianized Chinese at its best. Full on bombardment of spices on the tastebuds ensures that the diner goes for another round of drinks, which works well both for the owner and the diner (hic hic!). TTP special pizza was their version of farmhouse pizza with ample cheese and loads of veggies like corn, onion, bell pepper etc on top. Another foreign import modified for the pleasure of Indian diners.
Being a huge fan of TCB’s bailey’s gulabjamun, the mere mention of it in the menu ensured it getting ordered. Alongwith we tried their special Paan Rabri. Paan rabri had just the perfect amount of paan flavor the dish required as it was light enough to mark its presence but not that much that it overpowered everything else. Baileys’ Gulabjamun here was another good rendition of what is becoming a cult dessert now.
To finish the meet on the high, various shots like zombie brain, jager bomb, kamikaze and red headed slut were asked for. All the shots were amazingly well prepared and delivered the perfect KO punch we desired to end the meet.
P.s. - Don’t go there looking for cheap booze as there is NONE. The Tipsy Project is a classy joint which prides itself in its amazing bartending feats and some great food to go alongwith it and therefore has prices more suited to the fine experience they provide. Finally, Janakpuri has given me another reason to visit.
A must visit place!!!
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