The Sky Kitchen
It is a sultry Friday night but it is Chennai after all, humidity and frizzy hair comes with the territory. Twinkling city lights, the cool sea breeze, circling planes, a cold glass of your favourite drink and your besties can transform an ordinary night into something spectacular. RITZ takes a breather at Hilton’s rooftop bar and grill, Q-Bar
‘This is one ‘Q’ that you won’t mind waiting at,’ we are told, as we make our way past the bar counter, DJ system and sink into the rather large lounge sofas. As international as Hilton is, Q-bar prides itself in catering to the local palates. “Our menu is carefully curated, picking out local favourites and recreating the dish with our unique distinctive touch,” says Achal Aggarwal, Executive Chef. Q-bar aims at providing and promoting colloquial flavour to a diverse audience that includes both city folk and expatriates.
The food menu is generously peppered with local favourites – Chicken 65, Naan, Podi Idli, Milagai Bajji, Chicken Shawrma etc – all dishes preceded by the letter ‘Q’. “These are our signature specialities presented with a Q twist,” chef Aggarwal smiles. If you’ve had a long week and need an incentive to loosen up, try the Long Q cocktails and you are hit with a rather generous tall glassful of the drink of your choice. This house speciality is a double dose of your drink – be it the Long Island Iced tea, or a Classic Daiquiri.
The grill section offers diners some of the finest choices of meats – both imported and local, sea food and even vegetarian options. Alongside the set grill menu, diners can also customize their grill to be a mixture of meats, seafood and the veggies. “We’ve noticed that the ‘mix and match’ option is a crowd favourite. People seem to love their pork chops, lobster, baby octopus and even their cottage cheese and tofu,” says F&B manager Devendra Kushwaha. He also lets us in on a little less known fact, “Q-bar encourages you to try your hand at the grill.” For the adventurous cooks Q-bar sets up a personal grill outside your cabana, however, cooking is kept under supervision.
While this Al-Fresco bar has its regulars, for the uninitiated, the bar also has a Sundowners cusine which opens at 3.30 pm. The menu is designed as a ‘thirst quencher’ which has a diverse choice of coolers and smoothies. “Guests can either detox or retox based on their preference,” laughs Kushwaha.
As we munch away at the Q-specialities, chef Aggarwal reminds us that the Sundowners menu is modified constantly and cool salads and some scrumptious finger foods are on the menu for June. Beside the appetising menu, we love their style of service – drinks served in a fish bowl as you watch the sun set.
Despite its laidback and personal ambience, Q-bar is the one of the hippest night spots in town and hosts boutique events, bachelorettes and other parties. “We’ve had almost 830 people at Q-bar on a single night and these parties pack a punch,” says Kushwaha. As tempting as the offer sounds, for tonight we prefer the cozy cabana, Q-bar’s intimate setting and our own heart-to-heart.
Address: Jawaharlal Nehru Rd,
Guindy, Chennai
Phone:+91 44 2225 5555
