India's
first permanent bar made of ice, "21 Fahrenheit" has opened up in Oshiwara. The
bar is kept at minus 6 degrees Celsius all year round. 21 Fahrenheit is created
by three Indian partners, Vaibhav Tandel, Aalok Purohit, and Harshan Dharmadas.
Guests are given a navy blue furry Parka coat, insulated moon boots and
gloves to wear before entering. A bartender in a similar coat serves guests,
while house and hip-hop music plays.
Ice bars already exist in other countries, but apart from serving drinks,
this bar is unique because it also serves hot food and some of the food is
served flambeed. The bar is lit up with red and blue lights giving it a jazzy
vibe. And far from being just an ice bar, there is also a general bar outside,
and above it, there's a swish modern pan Asian restaurant, which seats 46
people. The restaurant has a live kitchen serving Japanese, Sichuan Chinese and
Lucknowi cuisine.
The 820 square foot bar holds 45 people. Vaibhav Tandel said, "We only
expect people to stay inside for 30 minutes. The bartenders also rotate. Ice
bars have to be small so people feel cozy inside them. Huge ice bars have
failed so far. Often ice bars open for three or four months and then they close
down because it's just a gimmick. It's very important to make sure that doesn't
happen. But we will change the interiors every three to six months. The whole
beauty of ice is that you can do that. And our service will be second to none".
"The idea is to give people somewhere
to spend the whole evening so they don't just spend 30 minutes in the ice bar
and leave," Tandal adds, who expects the ice bar to be an instant hit with the
college crowd and tourists. "We chose this area because it is central to the
western suburbs of Bandra, Kandivali, Juhu, Malad and Goregaon, where you get
the corporate and college crowds. In any case it will be a destination bar," he
adds.