At a glittering ceremony held in Goa, New Delhi’s speakeasy-style cocktail bar, Lair, claimed the title of India’s Best Bar for 2024 at the fifth edition of the prestigious 30BestBarsIndia Awards. The event, hosted at Taj Cidade de Goa Heritage, celebrated India’s growing bar culture, with Bangalore’s Bar Spirit Forward and Soka rounding out the Top 3.
Lair, known for its creative cocktails and sophisticated vibe, topped the list, marking a milestone for New Delhi’s cocktail scene.
Vikram Achanta, Co-Founder, 30BestBarsIndia says, “Bangalore is rising, with 5 bars in the Top 30 and bagging 2 of the top 3 slots. The presence of several stalwarts of the bar world in the city also drives the clear demonstration of the inexorable rise of cocktail culture in Bangalore. Overall, it was a great year for the South with a bar from Hyderabad breaking through into the Top 30 and, for the first time ever, a bar from Kerala winning the prestigious Godawan Best Work in Sustainability Award.”
Radhakrishna Nair, Co-Founder, 30BestBarsIndia added, “The fact that there are two new entrants in the Top 3, ten new entrants in the Top 30, and 21 new bars in the Top 50, is a testament to not just the rising quality of bars in the country, but also the increasingly intense level of competition for the rankings since 30BestBarsIndia first began ranking bars in 2019. There really is very little that separates the bars in the Top 30. Each of them is a winner.”Bangalore’s Bar Spirit Forward also took home three key awards: Best Independent Bar, Best Bar in Bangalore, and Highest New Entry, while Goa’s Hideaway bagged Best Bar Team, Best Bartender, and Best Bar in Goa.
Gurgaon’s Comorin made history with its fourth consecutive Best Restaurant Bar Award. Founder Rohit Khattar, who also owns Indian Accent and Chor Bizarre, was honoured with the Industry Icon Award.
City-wise Top Bars
• Mumbai: Americano (#8) was declared Best Bar in Mumbai. • Goa: Hideaway (#5) stood out as Goa’s finest. • Bangalore: Bar Spirit Forward (#2) led the city’s growing dominance. • Kolkata: AM PM (#22) clinched Best Bar in Kolkata. • New Delhi NCR: Lair (#1) reaffirmed the capital’s bar supremacy.
For the first time, a bar from Kerala, The Ivory Club at Hyatt Regency Trivandrum, won the Best Work in Sustainability Award, recognising its commitment to local ingredients and eco-friendly practices. Goa’s The Second House won Best Bar Design, showcasing innovative aesthetics.
This year’s rankings included 10 new entries, showcasing the intense competition in India’s bar scene. Five bars have been consistently listed in the Top 30 since the rankings began in 2019, including Sidecar (#4), PCO (#9), and The Bombay Canteen (#15).
The event also announced a collaboration with Moonshine Honey Project to support its Adopt a Hive initiative. The Top 10 bars will sponsor beehives for a year, promoting sustainability while enhancing their cocktail offerings.
Top 30 Bars for 2024
1. Lair, New Delhi 2. Bar Spirit Forward, Bangalore 3. Soka, Bangalore 4. Sidecar, New Delhi 5. Hideaway, Goa 6. ZLB23, Bangalore 7. Cobbler & Crew, Pune 8. Americano, Mumbai 9. PCO, New Delhi 10. HOME, New Delhi