Bangalore is beautiful at this time of the year and there are so many things to do in Bangalore. Yes, it is Summer and Bangalore is witnessing one of the hottest summers ever. Still, if you look beyond that, the whole city has just become so colourful. Flowers are blooming everywhere and every day I see shades of pink, orange, yellow and purple all over the place. This is the time of the year when the ‘Garden City of India’ truly becomes mesmerizing.
March has always been an exciting month. After all the 3 sisters celebrate our birthdays in March. This March I went all around Bangalore, going to some places I have never been before and some others I have visited countless times before. For all Bangaloreans who complain that there is nothing to do in the city, you are wrong. Since it is Summer, it is really difficult to find outdoorsy places that you will enjoy in spite of the sweltering heat.
Table Of Contents
- 1 Things to do in Bangalore
- 2 Riddle Room – Koramangala Bangalore
- 3 IAmGame – Koramangala
- 4 Jain Farms, Bagalur
- 5 Breakthrough, Bannerghatta Road:
- 6 Girias Children Explorium, Domlur
- 7 Activities I missed this month:
- 8 Food
- 8.0.1 Hole in the Wall, Koramangala
- 8.0.2 Samarkhand, Infantry Road:
- 8.0.3 Mr Beans – Home Café, Koramangala:
- 8.0.4 Russh Gastropub, Church Street:
- 8.0.5 Time Traveller, Sai Vishram, Electronics city:
- 8.0.6 Barleyz, Koramangala:
- 8.0.7 Mynt, Taj Westend:
- 8.0.8 Smally’s Resto Café, Ulsoor:
- 8.0.9 Café Marzipan, Ulsoor:
- 8.0.10 BiteMe Cupcakes
- 8.0.11 Ice creams
So where all did I go this month? So there you go in no particular order:
Things to do in Bangalore
Riddle Room – Koramangala Bangalore
I have been hearing about Escape room for a few months now. But never could go there. It was a lazy Sunday evening when a bunch of us decided to go try it out. Unfortunately it was fully booked and that is when we saw another similar option called ‘Riddle Room’ on BookMyshow. Riddle Room is located in Raheja Arcade in Koramangala. However it is not very easy to find since it is located in the basement of the building.
Even though we were few minutes late, the girl in the reception was very understanding. They give lockers to keep your stuff. Then the entire gang is blind folded, hand-cuffed and taken into a room. You are then given 60 minutes to figure out your clues and get out of the three rooms. Riddle room is Egyptian themed and it was too much fun trying to figure out the riddles. They do give you extra clues if you are stuck at a particular point for a long time. Do give it a try if you are ever in the vicinity. The five of us had fun.
Things to Note:
Price: Rs500 per person
Max Group Size: 6 members
Getting there: On the road opposite Forum, Koramangala. Building Name: Raheja Arcade. Parking is available in the small lanes outside the building. Located in the Basement.
IAmGame – Koramangala
Even though Paintball is loads of fun, it was a very painful experience for me. Have you ever got shot by one of those paintballs? Bruises stayed with me for a while. However the perfect alternative to this is Laser tag and I tried Laser tagging at IAmGame for the first time in Bangalore last month.
You are formed into teams and then you are sent into a room. Stay alive and you score points. Shoot others and the console with your laser gun and score points. We played around two rounds and we had a nice time. There are other activities like a shooting range too.
Things to note:
Price: Around Rs 200 per round per person
Getting there: It is right opposite the Koramangala police station on 20th Main road. Parking space is available for around 5 cars inside the basement parking.
Jain Farms, Bagalur
We had a team outing planned last weekend for members of my dad’s institute and family members were invited too. Technically this is not in Bangalore and it is around 75 minutes by car. We chose Jain farms since this was the only vegetarian resort that was available for pure vegetarians. But you cannot exactly call it a resort.
They have modeled it on an Indian village and all activities are centered around this. They have pottery lessons, Horse riding, Bullock carts, Mehendi applying, Tarot reading, Magic show etc. However we were not very impressed by any of this. Even though the food was vegetarian, it was nothing notable. We even found worms in the water dispenser and that spoilt the entire experience for us. However the kids enjoyed Horseback riding and the magic show. Swimming pool was too crowded and the scorching heat was so unbearable that many of us fell sick the next day.
Things to note:
Price: Not sure since it was sponsored.
Getting there: If you are directionally challenged like the rest of Bangalore (and us), please use a GPS. Else there are chances of getting lost.
Breakthrough, Bannerghatta Road:
We went to Breakthrough as part of IIMB team building activity. Let us just say that I have been to better team building centers. But all the activities planned were good and special mention to Linda (owner) and Tim, our group trainers.
Things to note:
Price: Not sure
Getting there: This is on the other end of Bannerghata road. Keep going past Royal Meenakshi mall and then take a right. It is around 500 meters from there.
Girias Children Explorium, Domlur
2019 Update: Took my nephew and the place is quite badly managed these days.
My 10 year old niece was in Bangalore for her summer vacations. So we had to come up with a list of places to take her to. She and my 10 year old second cousin are really close to each other even though they meet only handful of times every year and their only connection is through us. Since I had classes, my sister took them to V R mall where they have few rides for kids inside the mall.
On Monday, I took off and took both of them to Giriyas Explorium near Domlur. I should say that I was pretty fascinated with the place. The whole area is divided into multiple galleries like Explore, Invent, Build, Create and Live. But the biggest USP of the place is that it promises learning alongside with playing. All activities are built in such a way that the kids learn something while playing. We learn something too. The kids loved it and I was impressed with the staff as well. They handled the kids so well and were always so patient in answering the kid’s questions. If you have kids and you are in Bangalore, do take them here.
Things to note:
Price: Rs 600 for a child and Rs 200 for an adult on weekdays. Rs750 for a child and Rs 250 for an adult during weekends.
Getting there: It is right opposite the Embassy golf link park in Domlur and you cannot miss it. For more details about the activities, check my friend’s Ami’s post.
Activities I missed this month:
Since it was a pretty busy month, I missed few activities too. I missed Kitsch Mandi this time. If you love Sunday markets, then do visit Kitsch Mandi next time. It is not as crowded as the Sunday Soul Sante but both are similarly themed.
I missed the Food Truck Street Fiesta 2016 too. Many food trucks around Bangalore were parked near the Swami Vivekananda metro station on all Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays all through March. I pass by this place every day but still could not make it this time. Hopefully, they will repeat the event soon.
Lalbagh walking tour: This was just laziness to get up on a Sunday morning. And from what I heard from my friends post the event, was that it was pretty boring too.
Food
Bangalore is known for its pubs and restaurants. There is no dearth of fine dining restaurants in Bangalore. There are too many and we as foodies keep finding little gems all around the city. We also went back to many of our favorite spots again. Yes, eating is an integral part of every Bangalorean’s life. So where all did we go this month:
Hole in the Wall, Koramangala
Even though I have been here many times before, it was the first time I was going for breakfast. I think we tried everything there and we fell in love with whatever we had. If you have never been here before, drop everything and go right now. They make the best waffles in town.
Samarkhand, Infantry Road:
I have lost count of the number of times I have been to this place over the past 9 years. It is still a legendary place and my non-vegetarian friends swear by their mutton biriyani. Vegetarians like us also have plenty to choose from and our stomachs are kept happy.
Mr Beans – Home Café, Koramangala:
We stopped here on the way back from office one day. I liked the ambience of the place. Food was also good. But need to go once more to give a proper verdict of this place.
Russh Gastropub, Church Street:
My friend Anoop gives a good review of our experience here.
Time Traveller, Sai Vishram, Electronics city:
I don’t know why this place is rated so high on Tripadvisor. It is just decent. We went for lunch there and found the buffet lunch to be pretty mediocre. Also it is definitely not the best vegetarian restaurant in Bangalore. Please take it from a vegetarian.
Barleyz, Koramangala:
I went here twice last month. The first time, we just went for appetizers and it was pretty decent. However the second time we went for buffet dinner. It is highly overpriced and the food is nothing to rave about. Service staff is slow compared to other similar restaurants. Alcohol is also overpriced. My friends kept asking for chicken and they kept bringing us fish which no one wanted.
Mynt, Taj Westend:
My dad is a huge fan of Masala Klub in Taj Westend. We used to frequently go here but considering the distance and Bangalore traffic, it has been a while. Since dad is a member of the Taj inner circle, we got few coupons and we did not want that to go waste. So for my birthday, we decided to head out here for a quiet and family only birthday dinner. Since none of us were interested in going for a buffet-style dinner, we went to Mynt instead this time. The food was quite good and filling. Also, it is a nice place to have a quiet dinner. Bill was also pretty decent even without the discounted price.
Smally’s Resto Café, Ulsoor:
I loved this place and I will definitely go back here for the food again. It is a little cramped though.
Café Marzipan, Ulsoor:
Ah, the new entrant. My cousin had bought me a Banoffee cupcake from this place and I loved it. So my sister decided to get my birthday cake from here. It was really good but nothing exceptional. We need to try something else to give a proper verdict for this place.
BiteMe Cupcakes
As usual I got a bulk order for cupcakes from here and everyone loved it.
Ice creams
It is Summer and that means we will keep going to many ice cream parlors around the city. Corner house is still a favorite. But others like Stoner, Indira Nagar and Milano, Indira Nagar will be a frequent haunt this summer.
Oh boy, we do eat out a lot and I am pretty sure I missed few restaurants and activities. And the only exercise I have is swimming. It is definitely the right time to go swimming in Bangalore.
Since classes have started at IIM-B, my life has become super hectic. It has been a good experience and our campus is one of the greenest campuses in Bangalore. Also pretty stoked to be back in School at the Best Management institute in the country.
So that is it from me this time. I have some pretty exciting news for you guys but that has to wait for a while.
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Lot os interesting activities.
The worms in water can shocked me.
Well captured. I missed quite a few of these events too 😀
After all we are human, we can't be everywhere. 🙂 Thank You
Bangalore is never short of things to do. Worms were definitely not a good experience.
I did miss quite a few events in Bangalore this month! Thanks to your post its a good reminder to all of us that Bangalore has much more than just the malls!
Corner house will always be a favorite! I really used to like the one near the Domlur flyover mainly for its ambiance but tragically that building got burnt 🙁
Great post! Sharing it 🙂
Cheers,
Arun
Thank You Arun for sharing it.
As far as I remember Corner house had already shifted to 12th Main before Carlton towers burnt down. Or did they shift afterwards?