Curry Up Now, established as a food truck in 2009 by husband-and-wife team Akash and Rana Kapoor, rapidly became a brand known for its approach to Indian street food, growing in locations with its first brick and mortar location in 2011 in San Mateo. Now in 2023, Curry Up Now is launching their new Indian sports bar concept, Mortar & Pestle Sports Lounge at City Center Bishop Ranch.
“We wanted to create a space where the community could gather to celebrate Indian street food and sports culture,” said Akash Kapoor, Founder, CEO and Chief Troublemaker for Curry Up Now in a statement. “We’ve created a new eat-with-your-hands bar menu, revamped our space with LED Flat Screen TVs, and created a lounge atmosphere where sports fans can catch their favorite teams. The bar will also be hosting a by invitation only late night cocktail and whiskey dinner curated by Chef Bikram.”
Next door to the Curry Up Now restaurant at City Center Bishop Ranch, the sports lounge is adorned with colorful street art, accented by contemporary design elements from cozy banquettes to velvet high top stools that line a long marble bar. Throughout the week, the lounge will highlight the biggest names in sports, from international cricket matches to rugby and football (soccer) along with all the major sports in the US. Weekly programming will take place in the form of lively game nights from sports trivia, hindi and english karaoke, to beer pong, carrom board night and a selection of board games from the game library like Backgammon, Chess, Bagatelle, where friends can meet up to socialize and unwind. Mortar & Pestle bar concepts currently exist at three Curry Up Now locations (San Jose, San Mateo, and Salt Lake City). Mortar & Pestle Sports Lounge is a new bar concept that differs from its sister Mortar & Pestle establishments under the Curry Up Now umbrella.
Pulling inspiration from the food carts of India, Corporate Executive Chef Bikram Das’ new bar snacks menu features handheld dishes that are easy to eat with a drink in hand. Chef Das pays homage to India’s rich food history in dishes such as Shrimp Koliwada, Chicken Tikka Kabab, and Masala Papad with Pico and Gujarati Dust. More snackable menu items like the Chakna Platter (an assortment of booze friendly Indian snacks), Firecracker Corn Morsels (spicy fried corn), Makhana (Fox Nuts), and Chef’s take on Patatas Bravas are bright and playful on the plate. As part of the launch, the bar team will be serving Pani Puri and other street foods in the bar patio on weekends as weather permits.
The laid-back sports lounge offers a selection of handcrafted cocktails and a curated selection of Indian whiskies and beer. The cocktail menu of Indian-inspired libations showcase unique cocktail combinations like Air India Spritz with aperol, sparkling wine, seltzer, and butterfly pea flower air, Matcha Latte with vodka, ginger, green tea, yuzu, milk, and lace, and Summer Whip with light rum, pineapple, and coconut cream. The drink list also offers a selection of zero-proof cocktails and a vast list of international whiskey sourced from India and Japan.
Mortar & Pestle Sports Lounge is located at 6000 Bollinger Canyon Rd, San Ramon, CA 94583. Hours of operation are Monday-Thursday 12:00-10:00 pm, Friday & Saturday 12:00-11:00 pm and Sunday 12:00-9:00 pm.
