It’s a Sunday evening, and the bar is full. There are more women than men, unusual for India, where gender stereotypes and taboos have long defined social drinking. Everyone is dressed down, and instead of the crowded partying that marked nightlife of a generation (or even a few years) ago, here at Sidecar in Delhi’s GK II — recently anointed number 18 on Asia’s 50 best bars list — the conversations are calmer and the drinks sophisticated, such as my aged Boulvadier, carefully crafted to my taste.
Post pandemic, the idea of a night out in India is changing, with millennials and Gen Z preferring sophistication over shots, the quiet luxury of crafted cocktails, and dialled-down socialising with their own “tribe” even as the quality and price of what’s in their glass gets upped. “I don’t think anyone is like ‘where’s the party tonight’,” says Jigyasa Malhotra, 26, a travel blogger from Goa, who dabbles in interior design, cleans beaches and waterfalls on weekends, and has recently brought out a made-in-Goa spiced rum, India’s first. “Things have changed a lot in the last two to three years, even in Goa. Despite so many bars coming up, I think people just want to find a place with their vibe and tribe, and stick to it.”
