New Delhi:
Head straight to restaurants, bars, and cafes around the country that have decided to give themselves a makeover with fancy menus and football themes, and get a taste of the FIFA World Cup without spending for a ticket to Russia.
For Waled Adnan, a Kolkata-based football fan, watching a match at a sports bar is the closest one can get to being at the stadium.
"It's the feeling of unspoken camaraderie that you go for."
The kick of walking in and getting to know who is supporting who, and then connecting with them drives Adnan to a bar instead of watching a match at home with friends.
"Usually, a missed goal or a foul or even better, an actual goal, is a good way to find your team, if they're not wearing jerseys to begin with, that is," he told PTI.
Now, restaurants have come up with creative ideas to ensure a new experience for thousands of fans like Adnan.
'After Stories' in the city has come up with a pizza menu inspired by popular teams -- Peppy Portugal, German Magic, Belgium Rush, French Connection, Argentinian Ooze and Brazilian Treat being some of the options one can check.
Big screens, happy hours, pocket-friendly finger food and a whole lot of cheering is what Pune-based software project manager Subhabrata Chattopadhyay looks out for.
And the celebrations go a notch higher when you have supporters of two different teams under a single roof, he says.
'Monkey Bar' in Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi and Bangalore has introduced a 'half-time' menu for the month long tournament.
Football snacks from around the world including 'Football Farsan', 'Mexican Wave', 'Kahn's Hot Dog' and 'No. 10' and some irresistible deals on beer and drinks will add to the fun quotient at the gastropub.
The menu is designed to encourage community dining with easy to consume dishes that complement the beverage selection," Dheeraj Varma, Head Chef, Monkey Bar, said.
They will also be splitting their space in two, for football fans to pick a side to root for.
'The Park' in Hyderabad has also curated a special menu with dishes inspired by legends of the game.
There is the Lev Yashin pigs in blanket (Russia), Muller's striking sausage and sauerkraut turnovers (Germany), Neymar's free kick chicken and palm heart pasties (Brazil), mesmerizing Messi's corn and cheese empanadas (Argentina) and a lot more.
Chaibreak in Kolkata too has named items on their menu after players -- Messi's magic calzone pizza and Ronaldo kick Mexican quesedilla.
"The city of lights resonates its love for the game and this season we bring out the fervour in terms of our specially crafted menu," corporate Chef Sudipta Saha said.
While Social in Bangalore won't be doing a special menu, it will host tournaments of its own to set the mood.
"There will be foosball tournaments, FIFA PS4 tournaments and FIFA quizzes during the season," Anuj Sama from Social, said.
So, get ready for a roller coaster ride, FIFA World Cup madness has already touched sky high and it will only rise!
