With our first trip to Assam and Shillong now finished we can reflect on doing a whole heap of cool stuff, like seeing rhinos and visiting the wettest village on earth.
We also really embraced some epic Indian cuisine, inclusive of slightly weird, but extremely good spicy Indian fusion cocktails at The Socialite in Guwahati.
Never had a spicy Indian cocktail? Get ready to have your life changed.
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What the Guwahati?
Despite being the capital of Assam Guwahati is a relative village by Indian standards having but a mere 1 million inhabitants. Being that bit smaller also means that it has a bit of charm to it without the craziness of say Delhi, nor the abject grime that you get in Siliguri.
It is also a huge intersection in north east India, as well as being the tourist gateway to the rhinos of the region as well as all the cool stuff in Shillong. Nightlife here is decent without being crazy, with there being a few bars, few clubs, nice restaurants and at least one great rooftop bar doing cracking cocktails, namely the Socialite.
What the Socialite?
Basically its one of the two main rooftop bars that are located all past the traffic in downtown Guwahati. Mainly it is a restaurant and chilled bar for the middle classes that have a budget above street food joints in Guwahati. Food wise it has mostly Indian fare, but also a fair international selection including north Indian takes on Chinese noodles, pasta and nachos. For some reason Indians up here seem to be really into and good at making nachos.
Overall though a good menu and while expensive by Indian rural Indian standards, still an absolute steal compared to the western world.
Sample menu items
- Butter Tandoori Roti ₹69 / $0.80
- Butter Naan ₹75 / $0.87
- Paneer Kulcha ₹90 / $1.05
- Chilli Garlic Cheese Kulcha ₹100 / $1.16
- Green Salad ₹149 / $1.73
- Non Veg Manchow Soup ₹199 / $2.31
- Non Veg Hot and Sour Soup ₹199 / $2.31
- Chinese Bhel ₹270 / $3.13
- Veg Smoke Spring Roll ₹350 / $4.06
- Loaded Nachos ₹350 / $4.06
And the cocktails at Socialite
Usually at YPT we would not be as frivolous as to write about things like cocktails, but when it is both culturally significant and extremely good we make an exception. And this is the case with spicy Indian cocktails. And yes many nations have their own takes on cocktails, but it would appear that in India they have created a whole genre.
Basically the take is this, in that much how Indians have added spice and the like to things as diverse as mangoes and coca cola, why not do the same with liquor? I’ll give a few examples! So the first cocktail that I got was called a “Tea Top”. This consisted of vodka, sweet and sour mix, hibiscus tea and “magic masala”. Served in a cocktail flute it not only looked the part, but quite literally tasted of the street food pani puri. If you know this street food you’ll realize just how crazy this is as a concept.
And it did not stop there, with them having a plethora of other drinks, which included one called a “Lip Burner” that was essentially tequila infused with chillies. Indeed you could even be super kinky like me and have a Magic Moment vodka with some masala coke! Of course they also have “normal drinks”, which is good as honestly spicy Indian cocktails it would appear at least from our visit are not for everyone.
Tastes aside though, it is not just well worth a try, but helped end a cracking day of us exploring Guwahati and Assam.
Where the Socialite Assam?
Address: 3rd Floor, Purvoday Building, GS Road, Christian Basti, Guwahati 781005, Assam, India
Phone: +91 84719 39703
Opening Hours: Daily 11:00 am to 12:00 am
Facebook: The Socialite Guwahati
Instagram: @the_socialite_pub
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