Editorial
India's cocktail capital. Mumbai has overtaken Delhi, Bengaluru and Goa to become the country's — and arguably South Asia's — most technically serious bar city. Two World's 50 Best entries in 2025, a generation of returning Indian bartenders trained in London and New York, and a domestic-spirit programme that finally takes feni, mahua and Indian whisky seriously.
The Indian cocktail revival is a Mumbai story. Bombay Canteen, Soda Bottle Opener Wala, and the early modernist-Indian restaurant wave taught the city that Indian ingredients deserved serious technique; the Bandra-and-Colaba bar wave that followed (Bastian, The Bombay Room, Tesouro) translated that into a drinks programme. Below: 10 rooms.
Bandra has the bar scene now. Lower Parel runs second; Colaba runs third. The South Bombay heritage rooms (Leopold, Café Mondegar) are tourist territory; the serious drinkers head north.
Distances matter. Mumbai traffic adds 60–90 minutes to any cross-city move at peak. Pick a neighbourhood, drink it. Don't plan an evening that requires moving between Bandra and Colaba.
India has gazetted dry days — Independence Day (15 August), Republic Day (26 January), Gandhi Jayanti (2 October) — when alcohol is not served. Bars close. Plan around it.
Holi and Diwali are not dry but are quieter for bars — locals drink at home. Mumbai's peak bar nights are Thursday, Friday, Saturday, with Sunday brunch as a parallel programme.
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