The second act of the upstairs bar at Tote on the Turf highlights the best parts of the original – luxuriously long bar, clusters of red roses on every table, Ferrero Rocher walls – and addresses some of its pain points, turning what used to be an awkwardly long and narrow floor plan (remember how getting to the restroom from across the room would take half an hour?) into an open, welcoming space. The split-level floor has been flattened, the deck taken out and replaced by leather seats and barstools. There are kebabs on the menu now, attentive wait staff. All good changes.

Ruby Tuesdays

We went on a rainy weekday for cocktails and a post-dinner snack, and were heartened to find that Tote’s super deal on shots – a rack of six for Rs 1,800 plus taxes – had survived the revamp. This made for a more debaucherous Tuesday that we had planned, but the hangover was (mostly) worth it.

Our batch of cocktails included Ruby, a vodka, pomegranate and cranberry concoction that tasted unpleasantly greasy and seemed to coat our throats with a thin layer of plastic –  must be avoided at all costs, despite how highly your server recommends it. Try instead Juvenile, a happy mix of orange juice, orange liquor, mint and vodka, or even Tic Tac, which can best be described as an unusual but appealing apple caprioska. Sangria here is delish too, smoky and spicy and laden with fruit.

Open Plate

Mopping these up were Karachi chicken kebabs and lotus roots patties, plus a dish of customary paneer tikka (how could we not)? The paneer ended up being less standard and more appealing than we had expected, thick cubes of cottage cheese charred on the outside and split down the middle, slathered with chutney and served with a side of tart pineapple  and yoghurt chutney. Chicken kebabs gleamed with what we learned was a beet marinade, succulent on our tongues.  Lotus root patties were the least successful of the trio, crumbly and tasting overwhelmingly of ground spices. Dessert of rabdi and  gulab jamuns from Neel, we skipped, an excuse to go back again over the weekend.

For go back we will, for wide open spaces and cheap shots, good music (we hope) and a fun crowd (we predict). Find us at the bar, and we’ll buy you a drink!

Getting there: Tote on the Turf, the Race Course, Mahalaxmi, Rs 465 for a cocktail and Rs 385 for paneer tikka.