If I were born in the 1970s in Bengaluru ( once ‘Bangalore’, once actually a ‘Garden City’!) I’d be headbanging to a local rock band at a grubby pub on MG Road, with a beer in hand, wiping a chilli chicken stain off my black tee. At Middle Room, Bengaluru’s first audiophile bar, the 1970s has called! And it wants Bengalureans to keep the vibe, vinyls, and the crown of ‘India’s Rock Capital’ soaring high.
Inside Middle Room, Bengaluru’s First Sound Bar
A treble clef tattooed on my forearm should have been my rite of passage to Middle Room, designed for deep listening. Sandwiched between Naru Noodle Bar and The Conservatory, ‘middle room’ was initially a working title, revealed Akhila Srinivas, the force behind Courtyard, a culture-first space in Shanti Nagar, Bengaluru.
The city’s first audiophile bar is an ode to Bengaluru’s erstwhile beer and music-centric culture that has, over the years, been drowned out by swanky watering holes cropping up in the city. Places that keep aesthetics, innovative cocktails and food at the centre. And shove music— in the background (literally!).
Middle Room is different! Firstly, it’s not a restaurant. Secondly, it’s not even a pub. It’s a 33-seater intimate listening room designed for sonic clarity. Think analogue equipment, vinyl records, state-of-the-art sound system (designed by a NASA scientist) and music curated for immersion.
Bathed in red and wood accents, something about the sound bar’s aesthetics, at first glance, seems Stranger Things-coded. It’s edgy and gripping, just like the alternative rock score, I walked into. (If only it was Running Up That Hill!)
A Genre-Rich Vinyl Library That Spans Continents
What excited me the most, was the towering vinyl library at the heart. The handpicked collection (of 1200 LPs) ranges from The Beatles, R.E.M, The Carpenters, Chopin, Nat King Cole, Hermanos Gutierrez to Pandit Ravi Shankar. In front, are the turntables that spin analogue magic, one vinyl at a time, with the in-house selector, Sandeep Raman, dictating the genres and moods of the evening.
Akhila Srinivas, calls her team, ‘The Avengers’, a diverse group of specialists who have assembled for the love of music. In her band, there’s Sri Rama Murthy (Murthovic), a pioneering Indian music producer and DJ, leading the music programme; on the helm of affairs is Avinash, co-founder of Elsewhere India; there’s Chef Adithya Kidambi behind the sophisticated tavern-style plates sent out of the kitchen; Arijit Bose, the head of the drinks programme and finally, Akhila Srinivas, herself the passionate audiophile, and the binding force of the team.
Promising audiophiles, anything but a middling listening experience, Middle Room offers reservations in two-hour slots. While a part of the charge comprises of a listening fee, the remaining amount is redeemable against food and beverages. Having reserved the 7:15 pm slot, I seated myself right in front of the console, where the magic is expertly spun by Sandeep.
What Did We Try At Middle Room?
Food
- Cheese Ball
- Pumpkin Rissois
- Pineapple Chicken
- Butter Garlic Scampi
- Schezwan Fried Rice
- Black Forest Cake
Drinks
- Soju Spiked Iced Tea
- Paloma de Cerveza
Bold Tavern-Style Plates & Beer Cocktails That Sing
Swaying to a jazz melody, I started the tasting with my server’s highly recommended, Cheese Balls and Pumpkin Rissois. The tavern-style menu, while compact, is a fine display of Chef Adithya Kidambi’s proficiency in effortlessly serving up bold yet sophisticated small plates. Incredibly light yet indulgent, the bite-sized Cheese Balls topped with Cheeto dust were highly addictive, just like the whipped garlic-y goat cheese, that came with the bread crumbed Pumpkin Rissois. The Arabic toum-like side took over the tame pumpkin pastry.
For spirits, I leaned into Soju Spiked Iced Tea and Paloma de Cerveza, the listening room’s beer cocktails, concocted by the drinks whizz Arijit Bose. While the fizzy lager-soju cocktail was an instant crowd pleaser, it’s the Paloma de Cerveza that sang to me. Perfumed with grapefruit, served in a tajin salt-laced glass, it was complex yet supremely delightful. Seconds was had!
Grooving To Familiar Tracks While Discovering New Ones
At Middle Room, I realised, you can’t just eat or drink. You’re grooving, swaying, bobbing your head and even singing along to Queen’s I Want To Break Free. My eyes welled when The Carpenters’ Yesterday Once More took me back to my childhood. A while later, between swigs of Paloma, I locked eyes with a fellow diner, who was as breath taken by Parikrama’s Open Skies as I was.
We rushed to the console to familiarise ourselves with the ‘transcendental’ record. You don’t need Shazam to help you with music discoveries. Just walk up to the analogue console, check out the vinyls and strike a conversation with Sandeep! That’s the best part about Bengaluru’s first audiophile bar: singing along to nostalgic tracks while discovering new ones along the way.
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Of course, giving you company on this musical sojourn is brilliantly crafted plates and brews. In the list of highly recommended dishes at Middle Room (read: everything I ordered), there’s a luxurious Butter Garlic Scampi, supple skewered Pineapple Chicken and fiery Schezwan Fried Rice, celebrating Arunachal’s rare peppercorn.
Hanging onto my seat, unwilling to let go off this musical experience, I ended my order on a ‘sweet note’ with the Black Forest Cake. As Zombie by The Cranberries, washed over me, I devoured the dark chocolate sponge, topped with an invigorating macerated cherry compote. Talk about hitting a crescendo, musically and gastronomically!
I walked into Bengaluru’s first audiophile bar as a millennial. Grooved as a boomer. And walked out as Gen X, with Parikrama’s Open Skies now officially on my playlist.
Where: 105, Kengal Hanumanthaiah Rd, Raja Ram Mohanroy Extension, Shanti Nagar, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560027
When: 5 pm to 11:30 pm (Closed on Monday)
Cost for two: ₹3,500 for two | Reserve slots here
Cover Image Courtesy: Supplied
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