BENGALURU: These watering holes truly embrace the ‘Garden City’ tag of Bengaluru; serve food and beverages with a side of lush foliage
Brahma Brews
Complete with clay tiles and stone pillars, Brahma Brews has quite the reputation for its ambience and beer. The micro-brewery is interspersed with lawns and dotted with low trees, but the star is the aquatic garden that overlooks the tiled roofs of the restaurant. The ponds are lined with numerous lotus flowers and leaves. It also has fish that help with the cleaning. “When the land was acquired, it was barren, except for one small mango tree. We made sure to retain it and grow grass around it,” said Nikhil Sharma, the general manager of the place. The micro-brewery is also host to a number of indoor plants that sit in pots and create divisions, and creepers that make the arches – a common feature of the place – prettier.
Byg Brewski Brewing Company
Designed to feel like an oasis in the middle of a busy road, Byg Brewski Brewing Company houses over 75 different species of plants and has more than five experiential zones spread across 65,000 square feet. At the heart of this sprawling campus is a massive pond, built in the likeness of a river, ending in little falls. One can also find ducks swimming in the pond, dotted between the tall blades of grass. “We wanted to give our customers the feel of being in a Scandinavian mythical tale of the yesteryears, which is why we have numerous plants, trees and even special mosses growing on our walls,” said Parvesh Pandey, director of operations at the brewpub. When the land was acquired by the group, special effort was made to retain the trees that came with it. A towering eucalyptus tree and five mango trees that the architecture is moulded around stand testament to this effort. The pub is also home to various edible medicinal herbs,
plants and roots like ginger, turmeric, spilanthes and mint.
Fat Owl
Fat owl has a big surprise once you walk through its doors. Situated in the middle of the restaurant is a sprawling mango tree that has been on the property for more than 15 years, giving it the feel of a treehouse.Guru Shivaram, part-owner of the gastropub, has been an agriculturist for years. So when he saw that the tree came as a part of the property, he did not have the heart to cut it. “South Bangalore has so many trees, so we wanted to bring some of the outside inside,” he said, adding that maintaining the tree proves quite difficult. “When it rains, it usually means that we can seat only a few people, but we make do because the tree is the spirit of the restaurant. The fruit from this tree is used to make pickles, soups, marmalades, and soup,” he added. The rooftop of Fat Owl has ample space for plants as well, housing herbs like rosemary, thyme and cilantro.
Stories – The Brew Chapter
Stories – The Brew Chapter is a pub that is home to 40,000 plants. “There is a 2- 3 degree drop in temperature when you walk into the place,” said Akash Agarwal, part owner of the restaurant. Divided into four experiential zones, the entrance is called Amazon and has the densest concentration of plants in its vertical garden, which lines the entirety of the wall with 9,000 plants. ‘The maze’ is open to the sky and is below a stone pergola lined with creepers. Here, people sit with their friends with their faces turned to the mist. The staff usually plays sounds of birds and crickets chirping and monkeys shrieking for an immersive experience. Agarwal remembers growing up in a Bengaluru that was true to its ‘Garden City’ tag, which is why he always had an affinity to plants. “Now that the city is changing, we want to remind people what the city was all about,” he said, adding that by the end of October, they plan to give away plants to customers.
Koramangala Social
Affectionately nicknamed ‘the jungle’, this Social outlet is modelled after a glasshouse and is crowded with plants, both small and large. Ranveer Sabhani, the business-head south, explained that years ago Koramangala had great plantations. “The ideal ratio is eight plants to one person, but unfortunately in cityscapes, we have seven human beings to one plant. So at Koramangala Social, we wanted to bring in the beauty of nature,” he added. The 40-foot-high glass ceiling helps the island of plants below, which divides the restaurant into two portions. “People from different parts of the country who have been to other outlets say this is one that has the best layout,” he said. The gastropub has more than 1,000 plants and has several gardeners that maintain them. Pieces of construction waste line the walls, adding to the rustic charm of the place. “This also ties in with our policy of minimum intervention and maximum upcycling,” he explained.
Uru Brewpark
Step into brew park-bistro-café Uru, and you’ll find that instead of chandeliers, succulents and plants hang from its rooftops. The walls are made of rammed earth and cement, similar to a Sri Lankan construction style. The seating areas have been confined to the middle of the property and the sides are lined with plantain saplings and blades of lemongrass, which is a natural mosquito repellant, said part owner Karthik C. “If you have so many plants, it could become a breeding ground for mosquitos. But nature has its remedies,” he added. When the land was acquired for the brew park, it came with boulders and a large ficus tree. “We wanted to add to the beauty,” said Karthik, pointing to the top of the mango tree that pops out of the roof of Uru. The pub also houses an edible-vertical garden of rosemary, thyme, basil and lemongrass, which are used as a part of their gin bar – Gin Garden.
Reporting: Varsha Gowda Pics: Meghana Sastry, Pandarinath B