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Powder your noses, because Escobar has arrived in Bandra with select stash and a fancy entourage. Probably named after the infamous drug lord, this swanky new terrace club boasts many superlatives: the city’s longest bar (77 feet), yummiest coffee cocktails (Mochatini), coolest female DJ (Priyanjana’s house music kept the fit on their feet), and most number of has-been celebrities (Poonam Dhillon and Shekhar Suman were at the opening party last night!).

Preview Predictions
In Escobar, we predict that Bandra’s hippest will find a new favourite drinking hole. Starting at Rs 235 and conceptualised by bartender Shatbi Basu, the cocktails here are innovative and fabulously intoxicating; avoid the too strong pepper-infused Margherita and get the Watermelon martini instead. And if the starters are anything to go by - mini falafel, thin crust olive pizzas served with chilli garlic sauce, cheesy chicken, duck crostini, pepper prawns, avacado sushi- a meal here will be worth your money as well.

Let’s Go Outside
Although the covered space is easy on the eyes - all wooden and classically white, al fresco is the best option this time of the year. Just concentrate on your perfectly mixed drink and cool breeze, and you can almost ignore the three in-your-face hoardings advertising the upcoming Svayamwar of Rahul Mahajan. Trashy reality dramas not withstanding, it’s clear that Escobar is here to spread magic dust on the neighbourhood’s nightlife, which, with the closing of nearby hotspot Zenzi, was beginning to lose a bit of its lustre.

Getting there: Escobar, 4th floor, 199 VN Sphere Mall, 4th Floor, Linking Road, Bandra (W), check out the Facebook group here.

From Manchester to Mumbai
Try as we might, we just can’t see the brand new Manchester United Cafe Bar in Mumbai playing host to a bunch of crazed soccer fans, faces painted, hands switching between beer mugs and belligerent gestures. The football team’s official café, opening in the city next week, is too slick for spills and too cold for cusses. On the flipside, it does have a 19 feet television screen that will telecast live sporting events from all over the world. Score!

Gold Trafford
During our sneak peek at the Man-Utd space yesterday, cut outs of the “Glory, Glory, Glory” tagline and Sir Alex Ferguson’s pictures were still being pinned to walls. The red and black interior with its smooth glass bar, long community table, and large television screens struck us as generic, and a far cry from traditions of Old Trafford, which is apparently the main inspiration. But details like a tunnel-effect entrance (the kind players use to get on the field) a dugout –shaped Player’s Table’and the Manager’s Bench were charming. Also for kicks, check out the leather football poufs and bottomless beer tables with built-in coolers.

Footsie
The menu is being kept under wraps for now, but a bit of scouting revealed that it will include player favourites, English dishes like fish and chips, and no beer on top (alas)! A Man-Utd information counter for the clueless, private party room with Nintendo Wii and PS3, and a merchandise wall are other additions.

Getting There: Manchester United Cafe Bar, Palladium, Phoenix Mills, Lower Parel.