First Look: Brewdog launches its first brewpub in North India in the heart of Gurugram

A large antiquated billboard-style menu above the bar lists the specials of the day at Brewdog Gurgaon.

Friday night in millennial city Gurugram is all kinds of lively. Another hectic work week has ended and everyone’s in the mood to go out, have a nice dinner, grab a few drinks and let their hair down. So, even though there’s no dearth of restaurants and pubs in the city or in neighbouring Delhi, something new is always welcome.

Which is how we found the just launched Brewdog, when we dropped in there on a Friday night. This latest entrant in the nightlife scene of Gurgaon has been creating quite the buzz, even before its launch a few weeks ago. It is, after all, the first itinerant of the much-loved Scottish craft beer powerhouse in north India. With over 110 bars across the globe, the multinational Brewdog entered India in March 2021 with their first outlet in Mumbai’s Lower Parel, followed by a second one in Bandra. Its arrival in Delhi NCR was, thus, highly anticipated.

Brewdog Gurgaon

Located at the upscale One Horizon Centre, Brewdog Gurugram isn’t massive like its Mumbai counterparts, but it is cozier and more intimate, with a high ceiling, exposed brick walls, leather-cushioned sofa or high chair seating and pub-style wooden tables. Their signature graffiti octopus is sprawled on one wall, while a bright neon sign urges you to “Live fast, drink slow”. A large antiquated billboard-style menu above the bar lists the specials of the day, and an al fresco area with outdoor seating and smoking zones completes the dining space. Also, being the first pet-friendly brewery in Gurugram means that it isn’t unusual to find a furry friend chilling amongst the humans, at any given time.

We seated ourselves at one of the sofa booths inside and asked for a taster of the obvious—the beers that they are known for. Like their other outlets, Brewdog Gurugram too will have a lineup of 24 craft beers on tap, but at the time of our visit just after the launch, they only had six, all of which we tried. I particularly liked the Hazy Jane and their famous Punk IPA. But being a dark beer lover, I definitely missed the stouts, which they promised will be available soon along with the rest of their brews.

Besides their own crafts beers, Brewdog also features a Guest Beer lineup of regular favourites as well as upcoming beer brands. We settled with our craft choices and scoured through the food menu that replicates their popular items worldwide, with the addition of some regional twists. To begin with, we opted for their 'world famous’ crispy buttermilk chicken wings, but with the local flavour twist of tandoori spices. Downing those hot wings with cold beer was definitely the highlight of the evening.

Another local addition worth trying is the Naan Bombs that come with the filling of your choice; we tried the Chicken Cheese Jalapeno Naan Bombs and found them to be quite a delicious complement to the beer. The only item, however, that could smoothly replace that beer and wings winning combo was the Salchipapas—fries topped with grilled sausages, beer cheese sauce and a fried egg. Coupled with a fresh lager, this South American street food was a crowd-pleaser for sure.

Given that Brewdog Gurugram is still in its teething phase, it was nice to see that the service was fast and attentive, and the staff eager and knowledgeable enough to answer your queries about the food, drinks or the brand in general. Such as, when I asked them about the writing on their T-shirts that said “This bar is carbon negative”, and they told me about some of the green initiatives the brand employs.

In 2020, Brewdog officially became the first carbon-negative beer business in the world, courtesy a £30 million investment launching a series of initiatives to remove carbon from the atmosphere and help fight climate change. These include, amongst others, a Brewdog Forest in the Scottish Highlands, green infrastructure projects, wastewater recycling and shortened supply chain of their local brewing sites.

Brewdog Gurugram, on its part, is a good representation of what the brand is known for and warrants a visit, especially if you’re a beer-enthusiast and wish to try out some fresh brew flavours.

Address: One Horizon Centre, DLF Phase 5, Gurugram, Haryana

Price for two: INR 2,500 including alcohol, taxes extra