Ice,Ice,Baby

The temperature is set to a freezing -5 degrees,but fortunately,were equipped with an overcoat and gloves to combat frostbite while checking out Delhis first ice bar,The Ice Lounge that opened last weekend at MGF Mall in Saket.

The temperature is set to a freezing -5 degrees,but fortunately,were equipped with an overcoat and gloves to combat frostbite while checking out Delhis first ice bar,The Ice Lounge that opened last weekend at MGF Mall in Saket. The 1,000 sq ft area is demarcated with a huge,crystal clear wall of ice that guests face while perched on bar stools,again,sculpted out of ice. Snazzy blue and green lights concealed in the walls illuminate the ice,and as electronic trance music resonates,the atmosphere is weirdly surreal. A bartender in a cape offers to shake us a kiwi cocktail in an ice glass. (The Ice Lounge serves only vodka based drinks since its the only alcohol that doesnt freeze.)

Since its freezing in here,weve restricted the time limit for guests to 40 minutes. Some people could be affected by this extreme temperature. Even our bartenders work in rotation, explains Julian Bailey,70,a qualified ice architect who has designed this space.

Operational through the year,the minimum spend at the Ice Lounge is Rs 1,000 per head. The 40-seater bar is unique,in its attention to detail; ice blocks have been carved into intricate vases,pillars,braided curtains,even the sofas and the bar counter are made of ice. Incidently,Mumbai already has an ice bar,21 Fahrenheit that opened last year.

Bailey is the founding chairman of the ice sculpting company,Ice Culture,in Ontario,Canada,a family run enterprise that has been designing ice bars for 17 years now. Bailey also helped conceptualising the ice hotel in Sweden. Their first assignment in India,the Ice Lounge was made using 2,000 blocks of ice. We manufacture ice from scratch at our studio in Ontario using Reverse Osmosis water to avoid any impurities from showing in the ice. Each ice block weighs over 300 pounds, says Bailey,whose family has designed over 15 similar bars across the world.

Bailey and his team finished the design process in two weeks and shipped the ice blocks from Canada. Everywhere in the world,Bailey says he incorporates local elements into the design. In Delhi,for instance,the bar counter has two peacocks placed behind. In Thailand we carved tuk-tuks from ice where people could pose for photographs, he adds. There is a tiger family installation at the entrance,a lady standing with hands folded and a Taj Mahal painting in ice made using snow,green paint and ice. An enclosed corridor at zero degree celsius leads up to the ice-lounge. This takes away some of the body heat of the person before they enter the lounge and helps them in acclimatising to the chill, explains Bailey. Two powerful refrigerators maintain the constant -5 degree temperature inside. Even hours of power cuts will not melt the ice, assures Bailey. But overcrowding is a strict no no,and for those who just cant take the chill,can move to an adjoining area with normal temperature that serves a far more exhaustive list of cocktails and world cuisine. And no,theres no cover charge here.

Contact: 011-41017171
Location: First Floor,MGF Metropolitan Mall,Saket

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Ice,Ice,Baby

The temperature is set to a freezing -5 degrees,but fortunately,were equipped with an overcoat and gloves to combat frostbite while checking out Delhis first ice bar,The Ice Lounge that opened last weekend at MGF Mall in Saket.

The temperature is set to a freezing -5 degrees,but fortunately,were equipped with an overcoat and gloves to combat frostbite while checking out Delhis first ice bar,The Ice Lounge that opened last weekend at MGF Mall in Saket.