Here’s something a little different from my normal Delhi reports. Last week I met up with some old high school friends and they suggested a brewpub in South Delhi to hang out at. To be specific, Fort City Brewing, which is located in the Hauz Khas market. Now, I don’t generally drink a lot of beer or hang out in brewpubs back in the US, but I do have an anthropological interest in these developments in Delhi, and so I agreed readily to the location. Named for the large number of medieval forts that iconically dot the landscape of Delhi, Fort City is apparently the only pub/bar in Delhi that brews their own beer. I believe they opened for business in 2023. In less than two years they’ve acquired a strong reputation and a faithful local following. They were named the best microbrewery in India for 2024 by some publication or the other, and have picked up a number of other plaudits as well. They serve a range of their own beers and a range of food besides. What did I make of it? Read on.
Fort City is spread over two floors (not counting the ground floor, where the beer appears to be made). The first floor contains a bar and a number of high-top tables (and is also where the toilets are located). With the slats on the windows down, this was a fairly dark space. We, however, were seated in the second floor space, which feels much more like a lounge, with lots of light coming in through ceiling to floor windows at one end, and a nice green view out of them. It’s a good idea to make reservations, by the way. Aspects of the decor suggest someone trying a bit too hard to be edgy but, on the whole, it’s an attractive space.
Having arrived first, I browsed the list of the eight beers currently on tap and selected a half-pint of the Brut Jowar Lager, made from millet. I rather liked it, especially alongside the rice crackers they put down on the table. Once my friends arrived we moved to the small table along the large windows. It was their first time here as well and so we asked for a tasting sampler of all their beers before making more selections. These samples are presented for the nominal price of Rs. 1 each. My friends each got a pint of the So Was Red, a hoppy red ale. For my second outing I got a flight of four 120 ml pours. My selections were: the unfortunately named Poha Creampie (a cream ale made from rice); Rakshas (saison); Sponge Bob (ipa); and the So Was Red. Later I got a half-pint of the Orange Popsicle (an American-style wheat beer with citrus). These were all more than acceptable and I particularly liked the Jowar Lager, the So Was Red and the Orange Popsicle. Less to my taste—via sampling—were the Bandarweizen (dominated by coffee) and the current special, a rum cask-finished dubbel.
We got some food to go with the beer as well. The menu included burgers and pizzas but we were interested only in the Indian offerings. We got an order each of the Chicken Tikka, Andhra Pork and Tandoori Prawns to start. All were very good, and I particularly liked the Andhra Pork, especially the thick crinkle-cut fries the pork was sitting on, which absorbed the flavour of the masala very nicely. Later we added on a Laal Mass naan from the House Naans section of the menu, which features various stuffed naans. In this case, Rajasthani laal maas meat is shredded and stuffed into a naan, which is served with a small bowl of the laal maas gravy. Quite nice.
For a look at the place and everything we drank and ate, launch the slideshow below. Scroll down for thoughts on service, to see how much it all cost, and to see what’s coming next.
As at most restaurants in India, there was no shortage of front of house staff. They were knowledgeable enough about all the beers and took good care of us. Price? Half-pints come in at Rs. 375 ($4.37) and pints at Rs. 595 ($7). I’m not sure how that stacks up against similar places elsewhere in Delhi/India but this is by no means a cheap place. I was not allowed to pay but the total for all of the above (with taxes and service charge) came to Rs. 9468 (about $110).
Well, there’s no shortage of people in Delhi able to pay such prices and the place is clearly quite popular. It was fairly empty when I arrived at 6 pm on a Friday but by the time I left at around 9.30 pm, it was full. And it seems to attract a fairly diverse, all-ages crowd. There were young couples, groups of middle-aged men, a table of older men and women, and even one large family with small children. On the whole, it’s not anything I’d go out of my way to do again given the limited time I have on my Delhi trips—but if friends wanted to meet here again in the future, I wouldn’t object either.
Alright, what’s next from Delhi? Probably a report on lunch at Cafe Lota, another of my Delhi dining rituals. That’ll go up on Monday (there’ll be no whisky report on Monday as I’ve already reviewed four whiskies this month). I myself will have been back in Minnesota for several hours by the time this posts early on Saturday.