Sipping on some old monk while Mogambo stares down at you from above gives you a whole new high. The high of being a thug and that’s why this quaint bar is aptly named Thugs. In the lanes of Daryaganj is Hotel Broadway, most popularly known for its Kashmiri restaurant Chor Bizarre, lies this off the beat bar. As you step up to the floor above, the doors to the bar remain shut probably a way gangsters invite their accomplices for a drink.

Step in and you’ll be set back a few decades to the quintessential “heere kahan hai” Bollywood spy movie scene. Hanging high on the walls and window panels around you are the most notorious Bollywood villain posters that make you feel at home as you partake in some drinks, planning to take over the world. It’s not the kind of place that’ll care about your time or dislike for age old crockery and décor. The staff is courteous but don’t hound you to serve. There’s no music so all you can do is make endless conversations.

Their drinks menu is a regular one with the twist to the names of their cocktails. A rum and coke is called a Kalia, a bloody Mary is Mona Darling and a Whiskey Sour my favourite “Arrey O Sambha”. With extremely pocket friendly prices this place is best to get chillin’ like a villain. The food here is not the best, so sick to basic chakhna and you’ll be good. We did try the Gazab ka tikka which was a good version of a chicken tikka, French fries which were age old home style fries, not too crisp not too soggy. We tried their Chicken Sizzler, and again it seemed like the time in early nineties when mom was trying out sizzlers at home with the ingredients then available. But the best off the menu was the papad, plain or masala style, a drink accompaniment that has been lost and remains only in the shadiest of watering holes today. It was a pleasant surprise to find it here.

Clearly not a place to satiate your taste buds this bar is meant for some serious conversations and drinking, to be set on an evening where you might want to go someplace else after, either for some good food or a night of crazy partying nearby in CP. But whatever you do, let the Bollywood mafia vibe of the place take over you and be a part of it while you’re there. It is more about the experience and the feeling one gets while inside the bar. Heading out of the Hotel later in the middle of the night, makes you see the city with different eyes, ones full with vigil and suspicion.

Where: 4/15A, Hotel Broadway, Asaf Ali Road, New Delhi

Nearest Metro Station: Chawri Bazaar

Cost for 2: Rs 1000