Lets go out...its saturday night!!. Review on Censo's, Delhi

'You'll love it Megs, 'senso's is THE happening place in Delhi!!' '' The crowd is just wwwooooowwww'' '' Trust me Megha, the place is quite nice...different...not the usual...give it a try!!!' ''its owned by JADEJA!!!!!!!!!'.....(huhhhhhh)

• these statements and others forced me to try out this 'kewl hotspot' in Delhi. Delhi's freezing winter night, fog and new year revellers on the road and past experience of my friend's taste in pubs (read deafening noise, slinkily clad women and toestepping space on the floor) made me doubt my sanity in agreeing to go to this...this 'cenco's place....'CENSO's' screamed my friend...ok ok ...its SO..??? (hehe)

It was my birthday and I had planned a movie and then a lovely quiet meal at home..but not to be....the saturday night fever took over my loving friends and ....well there I was, bundled up in 3 layers of clothing, car heater on full blast and crawling ( dont forget the fog) to the Basant Lok complex at 10:30 Pm on a saturday night. 'hey, wont it be realll crowded..I mean, if the place's that good, its sure to be packed!! can we catch a movie at Priya's instead??'....a glare from my friend...'listen Megha, just relax and if you wanna move out after 45mns, we will..ok??'

Basant Lok Complex, familiarly known as 'Priya Cinema market' to delhiites had changed since my last visit. Barista's, Pizza hut and Punjabi by Nature existed side by side with TGIF and.... that's Senso's?? It looked unassuming enough....in the lane opposite Priya Cinema and bang opposite PBN, a 2 floor white thing with a gold illuminated sign 'CENSO's' (ok so thats how u spell it!!) A white (??) carpet welcomed us and we had to go through a line of gold plated railings before the hostess (clad in white) smiled and said ' welcome to censo's'.

And then I stepped in.. White marble flooring, White leatherish velvet covered sofas, gold and glass tables, gold light holders...even the bar table's top was of glass (the rest was...u guessed it ..white!!)...a sort of a french window (looking into the street) ...Censo's was elegant, sophisticated and not very nightclubish....hey wait...you move on...sofas become comfortable loveseats and high chairs....you move up the , err, gold railing and glass banister with marble steps....and on the left there is a small area with cushioned and straight back chairs for ppl who wanna be away from the crowd but still in it....on the right are the loos (i can write an entire review on the loos itself!!)

We started with the bar table....since I was treating, the main thing were the prices (:-)....a 100 bucks for a bottle of beer ...50 bucks for a bacardi breezer...200 for a rum and coke...'right so how many for the breezers?'i queried expectantly!!...obviously was told to move away from the bar and leave the booze to the experienced!!! Drinks in hand (orange juice was steep...40 bucks!!!) we moved to the back area...well yes, by then the crowd had increased, the music had increased its tempo and people were dancing everywhere...did feel a little cramped....found a corner (loved the innovative cutwall nooks to keep the drinks in)..and had a BLAST!!!

The music changed from britney spears and remixed english love songs (when we entered) to truth hurts, hindi and popdance tracks (till around 12ish) and harcore trance and requests till the end (around 2:30)

Censo's is an amazing mixture of sophistication and fun....the decor speaks of the 'uppah class' , the price -of ordinary hardworking folks (ok ok got carried away there)....the music is popular amongst both the delhi and the international crowd....the food (we didnt have it...it smelt good though...the lady dancing next to me was holding a plate of chicken fingers) was relatively better priced than the Pluto's, floats and djinns of the city...

Its a place which is open and inviting...no dingy dark corners...dimly lit with white uniformed waiters and boxers moving stealthily around, its a place where you'll feel comfortable going with yor friends, girl and your wife....I saw a middle aged couple jiving in one corner and a cozy twosome waltzing in another....nobody gives you a second look cos they are too busy doing their own thing...

you dont feel weird cos its not the 'deafening loudspeakers, disco lights, dark dancefloors and small bar with everyone crowded around it'....

The service is brilliant and the people at the bar are friendly and informative (some of the cocktails sounded wicked!!)....

Do give it a try (there's no entry fee...atleast till 31st Jan'02 there wasn't!!)....and if you dont care for it too much or for too long, the restaurant on the second floor is, I have heard, very very good!!!

By the way, did I mention the gold and silver potted christmas trees with gold and silver ornaments on them??....hehehe...jadeja's artistic taste is showing????