I would not usually order bread and butter at a bar. But here I am at Delhi’s Barbet and Pals pulling apart deliciously unctuous layers of “gol gol” bread to slather with even more butter – one whipped with nolen gur, the other with chilli and fennel. It pairs surprisingly well with the Tickle my Pickle cocktail where gin, pickle brine and soda cut through the richness. I move on to Naga pork sausage with crunchy onions and a gasp-worthy fermented bamboo shoot ice cream; king oyster mushrooms, thecha, and guava jelly on toast; and a bal mithai sundae – burnt butter ice cream, marshmallows and hazelnuts. Each polished plate matches the cocktails in flavour and artistry, a far cry from the unimaginative fare that has traditionally defined urban bar food.
Founded by mixologists Jeet Rana and Chirag Pal alongside chef Amninder Sandhu, Barbet & Pals feels warm and familiar: chatty staff, Gloria Estefan and the Spice Girls drifting through the room. Yet beneath the easygoing atmosphere lies a serious amount of thought and technique — something that reflects a broader shift underway in India’s bar culture. Food is no longer an afterthought.
“Good bar food can make the experience special,” says Sandhu. “A bar can’t be just about the vibe and great cocktails.”
Travel, social media and growing interest in chef-led dining have all helped accelerate this evolution. Increasingly, bars are places to savour flavour and experience rather than simply chase intoxication. As cocktails become more nuanced, the food has had to keep pace.
The result is a new generation of bar menus that move far beyond standard chakna — masala peanuts, kebabs and deep-fried snacks. Across India’s cities, bars are serving playful, technically ambitious dishes that often draw deeply from regional food traditions. Chakna, it seems, has gone chic.
At Delhi’s Top Banana, even chips get the chef treatment: salty, vinegary crisps served over a bed of Nori Furikake butter. The Mutton Seal — tender shredded meat slicked with curry-ginger butter — arrives with a perfectly baked shio pan roll.
Globally, bars have long understood that food is central to the drinking experience. Arijit Bose, co-founder of Goa’s Bar Outrigger, noticed this years ago while working overseas.
“About 12 years ago, I visited a bar in Singapore with a tiny kitchen serving just eight dishes,” he recalls. “But they did them so well. People would stop by between flights, and chefs would come just to eat there.”
He believes the shift became more visible in India after the pandemic, around 2022–23.
India has a longstanding snacks-and-drinks culture. Whether at dingy local drinking holes or at home, drinks are accompanied by nibbles from papad to salad, and peanuts to tikkas. Yet mainstream urban bars often defaulted to generic greasy comfort food: fried chicken, nachos and wedges.
That is beginning to change. Trendy bars are letting chakna shine on their menus, with inventive spins on these homely snacks. For instance, Barbet’s bhutuwa —a popular Uttarakhand snack made with mutton offal—is transformed into a seekh kebab served with nachni sourdough toast.
Championing India’s snacks-and-drink-culture is “elevated daaru chakna bar” Bombay Daak, inspired by Mumbai’s dive bars. “Not everyone is comfortable visiting these places, so they miss out on this amazing universe of daaru and chakna,” says co-founder, Chef Niyati Rao. “It’s India’s version of Italian antipasti or Spanish tapas.”
Her menu reimagines regional snacks, strongly rooted in nostalgia and a sense of place, with contemporary flair. There is a Schezwan chakli, Rao’s college-days favourite, upgraded with a six-month fermented chilli-garlic vinegar sauce and crème fraîche. Rabbit achaar is inspired by a Punjabi family recipe, which accompanied evening Patiala pegs. Maska bread, traditionally served with Old Monk and Limca at Irani cafes, appears here with a chilli-coriander rub, local cheeses, and malai paneer cream.
Elsewhere, bars are moving beyond the usual suspects. “With limited kitchen space, every dish has to merit a spot on the menu,” says Chef Mathangi Kumar of Chennai’s Madras Cocktail Company, a speakeasy that opened in December 2024. Many dishes, including Haleem Spring Rolls and Gongura Tempura with Podi dust, draw inspiration from the region’s flavours. “Our approach is centred on ingredients and stories rooted in local culture, presented in a contemporary format.”
This balance underscores an important rule of bar food: familiarity still matters. “Part of the menu should have food that people understand and trust,” says Bose. “Truffle fries, cutlets, fried fish, and karaage chicken work because they are familiar comfort food.” At Bar Outrigger this translates into dishes like poutine – fries with cheese curds and a mushroom, beef or chicken gravy, and Gavti Ebi – crispy fried river prawns.
Nostalgia is another recurring theme. Bengaluru’s Middle Room – a listening bar inspired by the city’s old pub culture – upgrades classic bar foods. Their cheese balls – fried choux pastry with aged cheddar and Cheetos dust – are a refined version of the familiar breaded snack. “They’re light with a molten centre and difficult to make,” says Chef Adithya Kidambi. Other reimagined classics include fried chili chicken with a green chili hot sauce and chili dust; and carbonara with house-cured bacon, egg custard and aged cheese.
Could bars be the next exciting dining hotspots? Limited kitchen space may constrain chefs from experimenting at full capacity, but the focus on quality over quantity offers great creative possibilities.
Increasingly, good bar food also means diners do not have to head elsewhere for dinner after drinks. Menus, while limited, include shareable plates, a few mains, desserts, and a mix of indulgence alongside healthier options, broadening the appeal.
“It makes business sense to provide a complete experience,” says Kidambi. “The toughest part is getting someone through the door. The strategy is to keep them there.”
And this appears to be just the beginning. Bose expects more chef-owned bars in the coming years, while Sandhu predicts growing demand for friendly neighbourhood spots over exclusive, intimidating spaces.
Alongside elevated food, there is likely to be greater appreciation for India’s traditional drinking culture, which will shape future bar menus as chefs continue to spotlight microcuisines and Indian ingredients. “Everyone knows tapas and antipasti because Spain and Italy celebrate them,” says Rao. “We need to do the same for chakna.”
