Pondicheri unveiled its new bar in early December.
Anita Jaisinghani is at all times wanting for tactics to enhance the shopper expertise at Pondicheri. After greater than a decade of her Indian restaurant being open in Higher Kirby, she determined it was time to reinvent the wheel with an entire renovation of the restaurant’s bar.
The brand new area charms with its checkered flooring, honeycomb architectural design, concrete-like arches, and marble countertop. Solely a month after unveiling the bar, Jaisinghani says it has already been embraced by regulars.
“I really feel like we would have liked a focus,” Jaisinghani says. “It’s humorous, lots of people which were coming for years don’t keep in mind the outdated bar, and that makes me understand that it was prepared for that bar to go.”
The work for the brand new bar started over a 12 months in the past. Jaisinghani labored alongside Gin Design Group, a prolific agency that designs a few of Houston’s prime eating places. Many concepts have been offered to her, however nothing felt proper. Then, a visit to Jaipur, India, modified all the things and helped solidify her imaginative and prescient. Throughout Jaisinghani’s travels, she visited Bar Palladio, which she describes as having a “stunning trendy Indian vibe.” She immediately knew she needed to recreate an analogous area at Pondicheri.
“I needed that essence of what that they had,” she says.
The arches on the wall the place the liquor is held are core to the bar’s design: That includes a concrete matte end, they align with the imaginative and prescient to deliver modernity to Pondicheri. The restaurant and Gin Design Group introduced on native plaster artist Carissa Pleasure Marx, who’s identified for her texture work throughout the Houston space.
Anita Jaisinghani says the arches show the wonder in simplicity.
Jaisinghani says the arches show that simplicity is gorgeous; it reminds her of one other place, one other time. She additionally notes the bar’s wooden paneling is a crucial side of the area. Pondicheri’s earlier bar was coated in wooden, however Jaisinghani couldn’t bear to throw it away, so she as a substitute requested to repurpose it within the renovation.
“We wrapped the bar in that wooden to offer it a reminiscence of the outdated bar,” Jaisinghani says.
Regardless of having such intensive work performed to the area, it was all accomplished inside six weeks. To make sure that the development didn’t intrude with the restaurant’s day-to-day operations, the a part of the bar being up to date was closed off. Cocktails have been nonetheless on provide throughout development. At first, the bartenders have been making them within the entrance of the restaurant, however when that created a site visitors jam, all the things was moved to the kitchen.
With the renovation full, Jaisinghani’s objective is to show Pondicheri into an inviting spot that individuals go to after work to take pleasure in drinks and small bites. Operating from 4pm to 7pm day by day, the restaurant’s joyful hour provides $5 craft beer, $9 cocktails, and 25 % off wine. Mild bites embody lentil dumplings, hen chutney in a cup, and baked oysters.
“My favourite time of the day to snack on meals is round 4pm, earlier than dinner,” Jaisinghani says. “So, Pondicheri is the proper place to come back for a snack, and joyful hour is what I’m hoping folks come right here for, whether or not you’re sitting on the entrance, the patio, or the bar.”
Pondicheri didn’t also have a joyful hour till early December—Jaisinghani says she’s ashamed to confess it took the restaurant this lengthy to begin one. However since its unveiling, the brand new bar has been busier than ever.
Pondicheri’s new bar makes use of paintings to raise the area.
Jaisinghani’s daughter, Ajna Jai, helms the drinks. Pondicheri’s cocktail choices haven’t actually modified, however she says everybody behind the bar is at all times open to exploring new concepts. As an illustration, the inspiration for the Blueberry Sparkle first got here from the kitchen. Typically, Pondicheri serves crepes and pancakes with jam, so Jai says they determined to make a blueberry and rosemary jam to place on the backside of the drink, complemented by gin and bubbles.
Jai says cocktail recipe growth is really a workforce effort. If a staffer comes up with an concept for a drink, they’ll often make it, then do a check style to get suggestions on what may very well be higher—or to see if it’s ok so as to add to the menu. Loads of different drinks have handed the check and made it onto the present menu at Pondicheri, typically reflecting the restaurant’s culinary sensibilities. A chai quaint and a chai sizzling toddy infuse the traditional cocktails with Indian tea, for instance. The Honey Blues cocktail mixes butterfly pea vodka (giving it that blue coloration), lavender honey, ginger, and lemon juice. And the Pollinator is a sort of bitter cocktail made with chamomile and mezcal.
Jai feels that Pondicheri’s use of recent juice units the restaurant aside. If you happen to attempt to discover any of the bar’s staff an hour earlier than it opens, you’ll be out of luck—they’ll be busy juicing away to make sure the cocktails are as much as par with the remainder of the restaurant’s choices.
“I hope that visitors really feel the cocktails are made with plenty of care, consideration, and love,” Jai says. “It’s a labor of affection again there.”
Pondicheri has change into considerably of a vacation spot restaurant, due to native recognition in addition to nationwide award nods from the likes of the James Beard Basis. With the newly added joyful hour, Jai would love for folks so as to add it to their weekly rotation. Ultimately, Jaisinghani hopes the restaurant and bar area will acquire sufficient traction to host a late-night crowd. However proper now, the main focus is on increase the clientele.
“I feel by creating the area, we made room for different folks to come back,” Jaisinghani says. “When it got here to the bar, I really feel prefer it’s sort of the place we fell brief, so we fastened that, and now it’s stunning.”
The bar continues to be a piece in progress. Jaisinghani claims she isn’t a static particular person and feels that nothing is ever completely remaining, so it’s protected to say it’s solely a matter of time till we see one thing else thrilling come from Pondicheri.
