A Bengal connection in the top spot, and two rankings from Kolkata in the top 30, featured in the annual list by bar ranking platform ‘30 Best Bars India’. The 2023 rankings, released on January 15 at an event in Goa, were determined through a voting process by a jury panel comprising over 200 members.
Taking the top spot was Sidecar, in Delhi’s bustling hub of Kailash II, “an easygoing day space” with a bookstore by Hachette on the first floor, and a buzzing bar on the second. It is led and co-owned by award-winning mixologist Yangdup Lama from Darjeeling, West Bengal.
Kolkata’s big winners
The Kolkata bars that claimed spots are The Bar, The Oberoi Grand (#18), and Olterra (#23).
The Bar, which underwent a rebranding in 2017 following the closure of Chowringhee Bar in May 2016, is the highest ranked bar from east India, and made its inaugural entry into the Top 30. The Bar is known for its classic cocktails like The Chowringhee and Babughat, odes to the city of Kolkata, though the best-selling cocktail is The Herbalist, an amalgamation of gin and tonic and botanicals.
The Bar at The Oberoi Grand, the ‘Grand Dame of Chowringhee’
“We are honoured to be recognised by 30 Best Bars. We may not be the newest bar in the city but what really makes a difference is crafting not just cocktails but unforgettable moments and memories,” said Shashank Kapur, F&B manager of the star hotel.
At #23 ranks Olterra, a little over two years young, offering signature cocktails from its 100-foot-long island bar in Stephen Court, Park Street.
“One of our distinguishing factors is that our cocktails tells the story of ingredients and flavours of Bengal and beyond, be it mihidana and Gobindobhog rice from burdwan or the Bhuira jams from Himachal,” shared Subhobrata Majumder, beverage manager, Olterra.
The list of those who almost made it, holding bar rankings #31 to #50, were also shared, with Ristorante Sorano in Kolkata’s Harrington Mansion on Ho Chi Minh Sarani, at #31. The bar’s head mixologist, Manoj Singh Rawat, was also one of the Top 15 India finalists for global bartending competition Diageo Reserve World Class 2023. At #38 is The Grid, a 10,000sq ft brew-pub in Topsia, which opened doors in 2016 and quickly became a party hotspot, and at #49 is six-year-old Ping’s Cafe Orient on Middleton Row.
Find the complete list of 30 Best Bars India, 2023, here.
