Just a short wait before attentive servers come to greet diners at the tables of Baar Baar. Looking around, one can see the anticipation on their faces for the tastes that await.
Appetizing dishes of Homemade Crisp with Avocado Pachadi made with dosa crisp, Kori Roti, and sweet potato, and Sunchoke and celeriac galouti with Ulta Tawa Paratha, mint, and Cilantro Chutney grace the tables, giving taste buds a tour of the culinary mysteries of India brought to them by the talented Chef Sujan Sarkar.
Photo by Neil John Burger
Crystal chandeliers hang above the main courses of Chicken Malai Tikka, which include Amul cheese fondue, walnut khurchan, and crispy garlic. Bites of Lamb Keema Hyderabadi, made with potato mousse, green peas, masala pao, and other unities of curry, coconut, and sauces, exceed expectations, proving time and time again that Baar Baar, when it comes to favorable Indian cuisine experiences in DTLA, wins hands-down.
Popular background music is gently interrupted by live entertainment on most nights, while Baar Baar’s floor-to-ceiling windows, covered in sheer white cloth, allow only hints of the room’s pleasures be exposed to Flower and 8th streets.
The bar stands as it has always been for long-time patrons who once flocked to the location formally known as Faith and Flower.
Its shelves still shine in silver and gold, with mirrored glass and juxtapositions of bottles filled with sacred spirits. The only difference is that at Baar Baar, mixologists create cocktails inspired by Bollywood films, like their unique take on classic milk punch named after the Oscar-winning RRR, with Old Monk rum, crème de cacao, chocolate, coffee bitters, and milk wash. In addition to cocktails, the restaurant also boasts its own wine cellar.
Photo by Keri Freeman
Separated from the main dining hall, just a few steps away, Baar Baar’s busy kitchen serves its purpose, releasing a flow of flavors from India while members of the Baar Baar family and maître d’ pay each table a humble visit.
Family owned and operated, the location celebrates one-year center stage, successfully providing downtown with their curated experience of innovative cocktails, contemporary dishes, superlative ambiance, and hospitality.
But just how is the food so good at Baar Baar?
From the gastropub Baar Baar in New York, Michelin-starred Indienne in Chicago, and ROOH in San Francisco, Baar Baar marks the latest opening in Los Angeles for legendary Chef Sujan Sarkar.
Raised in a suburb of Kolkata, India, Chef Sarkar has brought his expertise stateside to share his version of modern contemporary Indian food.
Chef Sujan Sarkar – Photo by Neil John Burger
While in India, Sarkar traveled the subcontinent, learning how to create something completely new from traditional Indian flavors, only later to work in London at the top restaurants in the city for over 11 years.
Since then, Chef Sarkar has opened a roster of modern Indian restaurants in the United States, taking his European culinary training and merging it with traditional Indian flavors to showcase Indian food in a new light, and downtown is all for it.
Not only does chef Sujan Sarkar’s diner cuisine look beautiful and taste wondrous, the chef presents dishes that make one question everything, like their Whole Sea Bass, baked in a banana leaf, topped with shallots and curry leaves.
Photo by Neil John Burger
Baar Baar also offers a new Bollywood brunch on Sundays from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., filled with the sounds of a live DJ bumping Bollywood beats, with an entire new list of amazing dishes like Paneer Kathi Rolls and a list of traditional sides including Saffron Rice, and Garlic or Plain Naan so don’t be surprised if diners bring the Bollywood party to the dance floor in a celebrating of flavor – again and again.
Baar Baar is located at 705 W. 9th Street, LA, CA 90015. www.baarbaarla.com
