Besides good weather, Bengaluru is also blessed with great bars. Microbreweries may dominate the drinking scene in the city, but cocktail bars aren’t far behind. Some new and some old, these places serve inventive cocktails that leave patrons thirsty for more. Whether you like fresh flavours, regional ingredients or a drink that’s very potent, we recommend the top four places to grab a cocktail at if you’re in Bengaluru:
Toast and Tonic
A dedicated gin bar that prides itself on using local ingredients, Toast and Tonic is part of the Olive Group. Their tonics are made in-house and include flavours like orange and basil, vanilla and cinnamon, jasmine tea and elderflower, and pomegranate and cinnamon. Paired with gin, these are used to create experimental cocktails like herbalist (gin, and orange and basil tonic water, served with coriander-orange ice), and diablo (gin, and kaffir lime and bird’s eye chilli tonic, served with kaffir lime leaf ice).
Three Dots And A Dash
Known for cocktails served in skull-shaped glasses, Three Dots And A Dash calls itself a cocktail tiki bar. Tiki bars are bars with a Polynesian theme, and this place adheres to it with a passion. The Polynesian cocktails (made mainly with rum) here are quite popular. Choose from tiki tower (gold rum and Caribbean rum with fresh melon), missionary’s downfall (white rum, peach syrup, pineapple juice and ginger ale) or pineapple paradise (white rum, Caribbean rum and pineapple juice).
Drava
Drava in Koramangala is known for its long island iced teas, which are strong and use innovative ingredients like olives, jalapeno, gherkin and hibiscus tea. Other cocktails include kamasutra (vodka, homemade ginger puree, fresh lemon, cayenne pepper, blueberry and strawberry), kala khatta (vodka, kala khatta, chaat masala, coriander, chilli, mint and lemon juice) and aamasutra (vodka, sweet lime juice, aam panna, fresh lime juice and sugar). Try the food too, which is a mix of Indian and Chinese dishes, along with pizza.
The Permit Room
With a beautiful verandah that has wicker chairs, The Permit Room used to be an appealing space. Now a delivery and pick-up service and also occasional pop-up, it specialises in cocktails inspired by South India. Try paati’s magic rasam (whiskey, curry leaves, ginger and green chilli), fizzy kosambari (a drink version of the traditional salad, made with gin, cucumber, pomegranate, grated coconut, coriander and soda) and Mallu delight (tender coconut water, fresh cream, passion fruit and white rum).