A Calm Bar But It’s Not Cheap

Village Market has changed. I worked there in 2005 when it was the place to be. Before malls became a thing, Village Market was already a thing. Then they built Tribe. There is a new wing at Village Market that looks like a marketplace for the rich and famous. I went back recently for a meeting in one of the cafés and then later went upstairs for a drink at Karel T-Lounge.

Downstairs, there is a lovely restaurant and upstairs has a terrace bar. I sat upstairs which has an air of open air. It has short “trees” and low seats and the music seem to trickle softly below it. It has that calm bluesy club feel before things go to hell in a hand-basket. It’s a chill space, in short. A place of drinks and banter and watching the sun go down. (Not literally).

I ran into a waitress I used to know from Dari Restaurant. She informed me, she was engaged. She was happy. I said, “Isn’t love a beautiful thing? Congratulations!” I watched her bouncing from table to table, offering smiles all over, spreading her infectious love, laughing when someone said something funny and cooing when someone offered a compliment.

You haven’t been served until you have been served by a waitress in love. It’s magic. Suffice it to say my time there was marvellous. I ordered burger and fries. The burger wasn’t half bad. The pricing of the drinks is what would you expect from the decor and ambience and a waitress in love. To mean it’s not cheap. At least the whiskies aren’t.

But it’s not a place you stay for too long as I discovered because the music was in a loop and the slow bluesy songs that were fun just before the sun went down were now threatening to put me to bed. So we left shortly after 8pm.