Ever walk into a restaurant or a clothes shop or a shoe store only to leave after a minute because you’d rather be hungry/naked/barefoot than listen to ‘Summer of ‘69′ over a PA? We know that feeling. Hearsay brings you an inside listen to the tunes played in everything from restaurants to restrooms, all over the country. That’s a lot of restrooms.
Woodside Inn
What: Bar/Restaurant
Where: Colaba, Mumbai
Woodside Inn’s been one of our favourite watering holes in Mumbai since Leopold decided to go Bollywood. It also helps that their one-two of a pint of Stella and the barbecue chicken burger makes for an evening. Add to all this free Wi-Fi and you’re stuck explaining to your friends why Colaba is a great place to meet, and get a beer, and just hang.
Woodside’s playlist has evolved over the past year. Where earlier one would hear predominantly mainstream, radio-friendly alt-rock staple (think Coldplay, Nickelback), one can now catch the occassional Modest Mouse single (‘Float On’) and some of Death Cab For Cutie’s more accessible material (think ‘The New Year’, not ‘President Of What?’) thrown in the mix. This is interspersed with more ’90s alternative a la Matchbox Twenty, Counting Crows and Train. Luckily, the random shuffle keeps it fresh (some places *cough*Hawaiian Shack*cough* haven’t changed their playlists since the turn of the century).
We’re yet to find a place in Mumbai where the ambience and ambient music meet at the perfect spot, but you’d be hard pressed to find a closer match in the city than at Woodside Inn. Move over Ghetto.
Hearsay: B
9 Comments
I absolutely dig this place…they have the best food in south bombay.
great new feature!!
other walk-in observations on music playing at places around the city –
they play the cat empire sometimes at the sunday brunch at olive. tht’s minorly impressive.
this clothes shop called outfits opposite the waterfield road zenzi plays electronic music tht… i’ve always… noticed . manages to penetrate my consciousness in my clothes hunting mode also :p
the bandra shoppers stop was playing radiohead in rainbows the other day! was nice buying bathroom towels with house of cards playing.
hmm looking forward to more of these reviews :)
@Ekadish Thanks for the heads up. Our to-check-out list grows longer!
@Ekadish – I think the Shopper’s Stop programming is done by Malini and Nadir (Radio One/ex-Radio One) and they’ve both got a decent ear. :)
@Arjun – Great feature idea. :) Also you’ve not been online since I’ve been back. *Shock* Why come??
Woodside also has Vampire Weekend in its mix…impressive! Been to Ghetto twice…their playlist is for balding men with ponytails and uninteresting women who get tattooes to make themselves interesting. The selection of music there is as old as corruption in the indian government.
Also, surprisingly, i’ve heard a couple of EEls tracks playing at the Mocha in Powai.
Mumbai/Bombay isn’t the only city in India.
Dear God, Saturday night at HQ, I died a thousand deaths when they were playing:
1. I’m Alive – Celine Dion
2. Nothing’s Gonna Change my love for you
3. Hero – Enrique
4. Cloud No. 9 (off all the Bryan Adams songs you could play, right?)
5. “Let the reason be love” Boyzone
6. Some Ronan Keating Song (despite already having played Boyzone)
Why I was sitting there, I don’t know. Only place I got a table on a Saturday night. Now you know why.