Let’s eat and party – Bollywood Brunch

I was invited to attend Bollywood Brunch which is a brunch that revolves around Bollywood culture, food, entertainment and cocktails.  To say the least it was interesting.

Bollywood Brunch

Bollywood Brunch is a company which provides pop up Bollywood style brunches provided along with entertainment which pop up in various restaurants in London.

Each brunch guests get supplied unlimited cocktails for an hour between 12:00pm – 1:00pm, a 3-course Bollywood meal from 12:00pm – 2:30pm, entertainment of drummers, dancers, henna artists along with a DJ who turns things up and gets the party started all the way through to 5:00pm.  

Bollywood Brunch comes to DUO

After hearing so much great news about the food and entertainment from past bloggers I was looking forward to this event.  

So I was invited to attend their last pop up brunch for the Summer which was held in the basement of DUO which is a pizzeria restaurant in Camden. 

Me and my friend Steve were very excited to discover about Bollywood Brunch and was looking forward to the food and entertainment.  When we arrived we were given a card each which had a table number marked upon.  We was very pleased to discover when we headed down to the basement of DUO that our table was situated in a nice comfy booth next to the wall.  On the table were some blown up microphones.

After about five minutes another couple then also joined us and we started talking to them and was having a really good chat before we was interrupted by one of the staff members and told us that we were sat at the wrong table which we was not as our card clearly stated table 9 and the other table was also marked table 9.  Anyway she then picked up the table number from our table and swapped it with another table number from a table in the middle of the restaurant and made us move.  We were now sat in the middle of the restaurant on hard benches.  The other people who was sat in the booth area which we initially sat in thought it might of been because they were regulars or celebrating a birthday or something else which would of made sense in the change of table however it did not look like it at all as the four of them just sat there throughout the night not looking very happy.  So the change of table for them did not make sense to me.

I loved the whole basement area of DUO as was it was very spacious and I loved the quirky mirror section to take photos at.  I would certainly recommend DUO event space to hold private events.

Anyway the music from the DJ started dead on 12:00pm.  Even though he was entertaining and the music was great it was so loud from the off that I could barely hear what my friend Steve was saying to me let alone what the people opposite me were saying.  I personally would of thought it would of been better for the DJ to play the music at a normal level and then ramp up the beat after eating our 3 course meal but unfortunately this was not the case so it was hard to have any sort of conversation.

Plus for an hour we were sitting their with the music blaring out and no entertainment not even the food just bottomless cocktails, well actually that is a lie as it was bottomless punch.

So with that in mind we just had to try and entertain ourselves even though we could barely hear each other so selfie time to kill the time was in need.

However the groups of people who were celebrating their birthday or on a hen night all of them were most certainly having a good time.  So I would say this is the type of brunch to attend if you are celebrating something and just wanting to party.

The food eventually was served just after 1pm to everyone, but still no sign of any entertainment from the drummers, dancers, Henna artists which was advertised just the music from the DJ was playing.

For starters we was served Chana Saag Aloo which consisted of Indian spiced chickpeas, spinach and potatoes).  Served with Naan.

For mains we was served Chicken Tikka which is chunks of chicken marinated in spices and yogurt, then baked and served in a masala (spice mixture) sauce. Served with rice.

During our mains each table was given a Bollywood quiz sheet.  Let’s just say as we don’t know Bollywood music or movies nor did the other couple on our table we probably most likely scored a big fat 0 but nerveless was a fun quiz with images of movies, questions and quick bursts of music from songs to guess, the winners though did receive a bottle of wine.

For dessert we was served mango ice-cream with some little chunks or should I say crumbs of cakes.  Seriously this is what it looked like when it was served to me.

The food all in all was ok but nothing special as was not spicy, luke warm and the portions were small.  However the combination of the different textures sweet, savoury and sourness really did work well together.

After eating our dessert there was then a lipsync battle about to happen but then the music seemed to be getting even louder and louder so we decided to leave around 3:30pm.  However before leaving I gave it a little go by myself.

Whatever happened to the drummers, Bollywood dancers or Henna artists? I am unsure and disappointed as I was looking forward to seeing them.

Verdict

Overall The Bollywood Brunch in my opinion was not what I expected.  The music was far too loud from the start and with the lack of entertainment it did not meet my expectations.  However saying that the DJ was great and he had so much vibe about him.

So if you are looking for a brunch to attend with your friend or as a date night I would not recommend this brunch popup as you won’t be able to hear each other speak.

However if you celebrating a party or seeking something fun for a stag/hen party then I would highly recommend Bollywood Brunch as the DJ really does know how to get people in a good vibe and dancing.  Thinking about it though if I was in a group of people celebrating something I might of enjoyed it better.

To book

We attended their last one for the Summer season but there might be some others popping up in October so keep an eye via their website by clicking here.

 

Thanks to Bollywood Brunch for the experience.  All views are of my own honest opinion.

Click below to read the blog from Steve a community member of Love Pop Ups London who joined me on the night. His view are of his own honest opinion.

Bollywood Brunch