Toro Lounge & Dine

Critic´s Review

• Buzz: 2.5 / 5
• Service: 0/5
• Decor: 2 / 5

-By Rinku Madan

Grabbing a bull by its horns would literally mean raring to go despite any hurdles whatsoever. And a brand new bull in the arena called Toro has opened its 'puerta grande' in Khan Market.

In Spain people design their trips around the popular sport, bull fighting. And after the bull dare in a current Bollywood flick where our heroes take up a challenge, Toro is in the news. And this time, it's got to do with India. But our Indian Toro is seemingly tame. There seems to be hardly any inclination to gore or even be amongst the dreaded — they have Mamagoto right across and a host of other popular nightspots all around them. Arush Malik, the good looking financial hottie from Boston owns this place, so no killing rentals to affect the turnover. Yet it misses it, there is something not quite there.

Though the name is Spanish, don't go looking for tapas or paella; the only Spanish items on the menu are the pan-seared king prawns and the fish vellutata. As for the drinks they have some good cocktails and wines, like the sangria which, as you would know was originally from Spain, but the one I tried did not seem to be the Spanish version. The cocktails, however, were very good, especially the 'old fashioned', made with bourbon, muddled with orange peel and brown sugar. Bijon the sweet bartender did a great job, even the whisky mojito was nice and different.

The lounge area is like walking into a haunted Edwardian manse, only not as expansive. Dimly lit, a little shabby, the owner says the teen brigade is responsible for its state. I wonder what uncultured clan descends here. The orange table tops are sweet but the seating is extremely uncomfortable. The tables scratch the knees. Either the couches are too high or the tables are badly designed, whatever the case they should revamp asap.

Like the cocktails the food was good in parts, the highlight being the super fresh and well presented bruschetta. The chicken teriyaki was good too and reminded me of my time in Manhattan.

I know my mother always told me that nice people entertained at home, but seriously I do want to be able to go some place close where I can desire to keep landing with a friend for a drink or two. I would consider Toro, but as I said before the decor is a bit random especially the leather and faux fur wall. Anyway the tiny outdoor terrace is cute, with three tables. A nice place to sit and enjoy their signature fresh fruit sheesha which they serve in fresh watermelons, very nice and and I could see youngsters enjoying it a lot all around.

So Toro does have a winner on its hands in terms of location, just they need to fine tune their act and I am sure they'll get charging. Until then take your senorita for the sangria and I hope someday when I find my personal Javier Bardem, I will come back for the 'old fashioned' and bruschetta.