Esquire India Hotlist: New Restaurants And Bars Across India

January is supposed to be quiet. Half of you are doing no-drinking January, and half of you are making resolutions for the new year. However, we’ve never really been very good at restraint.

So instead, Indian cities are responding to January with some really brave openings.

Gurgaon is leaning into precision with their new Japanese kitchens. Bangalore is opting for quiet, dramatic speakeasies and cocktail rooms. Mumbai continues to build spaces that double as sets: garden restaurants, theatre-style aperitivo bars, fluid art-meets-drinks rooms. Goa is stretching beyond beach shack energy, with backwater destinations and art-forward bars.

If 2026 is going to be defined by how we spend our nights, this is where it starts.

DELHI-NCR

She’s Here

She’s Here doesn’t try to outdo Call Me Ten. The new Gurgaon outpost takes the same modern-Japanese DNA and sharpens it into something more confident. This is a room built for theatre: omakase counters, teppanyaki heat, robata smoke, and a really interesting menu. Chef Vaibhav Bhargava’s Wafu-led menu moves fluidly between dishes like truffle mushroom arancini, soft chicken buns, yuzu butter prawns, miso squash risotto, clean-cut sushi and yakitori that actually tastes of the grill. The bar riffs on classics with Japanese edges, such as the yuzu highballs, miso-washed Old Fashioneds, and shiso martinis. Meanwhile, grounded interiors, low light, and an energy that ramps up as the night goes on make this one of Gurgaon’s most exciting new openings.

Margaret’s Eye

Margaret’s Eye is a small cocktail bar tucked into Basant Lok, built around ingredient-first drinks and an intimate room that prioritises conversation. Led by mixologists Esther and Phensuangwiliu, the all-women bar team leans into light, vegetable-forward cocktails that nod to tiki without the sugar rush—think white-spirits, house-made syrups, and seasonal produce doing the heavy lifting. Drinks are built individually, with fresh elements like cucumber, citrus, herbs and tropical fruit keeping things bright and balanced. Warm colours, textured walls and low light give the space an easy, unshowy charm.

Butterhands, Gurugram

Butterhands brings New York–style cookies to Gurugram, courtesy of the team behind Melt House. These are thick, bakery-window cookies with molten centres and mouthwatering toppings—baked fresh daily. The line-up runs from Salty Nutella Drip ft. Walnutz and Dark Choco PB Smash to Caramelised White Choc & Berries Riot, Vegan Coconut Frenzy and the wildly indulgent Banoffee Caramel Anarchy. It’s a sugar-forward, comfort-first operation, rounded out by hot chocolates, malted milkshakes and coffee.

BANGALORE

403 Forbidden

403 Forbidden is a dark, tightly choreographed cocktail room that strips nightlife back to focus and flavour. Founded by Aman Dua and Rachit Saboo, the bar rejects spectacle—no loud theatrics, no menu built on gimmicks. Dua’s drinks are clean, intuitive, and process-driven, built around controlled reactions, minimal waste, and clarity of taste. The signature experience is a by-request personalised cocktail ritual, where a guest’s cues are distilled into a bespoke drink using a mix of sensory input and technique. The space is moody and immersive, with low light and restrained sound design that keeps attention on the glass. It feels more like a working cocktail lab than a party bar—meant for slow nights, long conversations, and drinks that actually demand presence.

SOL55, Bengaluru

SOL55 is a neighbourhood bar with a regional Indian backbone. The mood is warm and easy—sun-toned interiors, relaxed seating, and a room built for everyday drinking rather than occasion-led outings. The bar serves straightforward cocktails and honest pours, but it’s the food that defines the place. Instead of bar snacks, SOL55 anchors itself around full regional thalis: a seafood-forward Coastal Thali, the robust Maratha Shivaji Thali, and a spice-led Goan Thali, each designed as a complete meal you can order with your drink. Add to that comforting small plates and familiar flavours, and the space becomes part bar, part casual diner. It’s polished without being precious—a place where one drink turns into dinner without trying.

MUMBAI

Soraia, Mumbai

Set against the green sweep of Mahalaxmi Racecourse, Soraia feels like a European garden restaurant transplanted into South Mumbai. Designed by Gauri Khan, the space is all vine-wrapped pillars, white stone, flowing water and glasshouse light—serene without being precious. In the kitchen, Chef Hitesh Shanbhag’s “neo-botanical” menu moves between Indian and European ideas with a light hand: shiso-leaf chaat, honey nut brie in crisp phyllo, forest mushroom risotto, and a sitafal tres leches that leans into comfort. The omakase-style cocktail bar, led by Fay Barretto, maps India’s landscapes into drinks—mountain herbs, coastal citrus, desert spice—making this as much a place to drink slowly as it is to dine.

Fielia, Mumbai

Fielia is an invite-only aperitivo bar staged like a theatre. Also designed by Gauri Khan, the room plays with double-height drama—mezzanine balconies, dress-circle seating, and a bar that performs as the “screen.” Beverage Director Fay Barretto opens with Sin & Scandal, a cocktail menu built around indulgence and mythology, where each drink feels like a provocation rather than a pour. Chef Hitesh Shanbhag matches the mood with a seven-sins-inspired menu of grazing plates—crisp bar bites, chilled tapas, warm mezzes, breads and artisanal pizzas designed for slow, lingering nights. It’s moody, conceptual, and built for conversation.

KOJAK, Juhu

KOJAK is a new low-lit, intimate cocktail bar in Juhu. Led by head mixologist Ratan Upadhyay, the drinks lean heavily on technique—clarification, fat-washing, distillation—resulting in clean, structured cocktails like Page 17, Tangier Heat and Velvet Code. The room opens into an easy alfresco section, while the food keeps things sharp and shareable: tuna tartare, lamb kebabs, sea bass and a surprisingly good butter chicken gnocchi.

Bodega 39

Bodega 39 is finally giving Goregaon its first proper cocktail destination. Set in a bright 2,500 sq ft space with a glass façade and an alfresco section, the room shifts from open and airy by day to warm and intimate by night. The bar, led by Louness Ducus, runs entirely in-house. Consultant chef Gracian D’Souza keeps the food modern European with Indian edges: clean plates and bar bites designed to drink alongside. It’s reason enough to stop going to Bandra every weekend.

Cantina, BKC

Cantina is an all-day Italian-American bar built around red-sauce comfort and long sharing tables.

The kitchen is led by the famous Anthony Burd, who has worked in Michelin-starred kitchens before coming here. Run by Origin Restaurants, the menu channels New York neighbourhood joints—mozzarella sticks, calamari and polenta up top, followed by 48-hour fermented pizzas and pastas like mushroom bolognese and gnocchi pesto. Desserts are made for sharing and gluttony on steroids: tiramisu, deep-fried apple pie, rotating gelatos. It’s busy, warm, and ideal for groups, late lunches and dinners.

Samaa, Fairmont

Samaa is Fairmont’s latest poolside evening restaurant. Lantern-lit and open to the sky, it’s a calmer address for sunset drinks and dinner. The menu draws from Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cooking—hummus, fattoush, moutabal, handmade breads, popcorn shrimp and spiced squid—before moving into grills like Turkish kebabs, lamb chops and sheesh taouk. Desserts lean familiar, with baklava ice cream closing the meal. Samaa works best in the early evening, when the city slows and the sunset hits the pool.

BARE, Mumbai

The place shifts from art gallery to cocktail bar, making it one of South Bombay’s most fluid bars. The drinks are composed and balanced, clean and modern. Order the airy cheese soufflé, closer to a warm fondue than a starter, and pair it with the White Truffle gin cocktail, bright and fruit-led.

Ammakai, Bandra

Ammakai reopens the former Bastian Bandra space as an all-day restaurant rooted in Karnataka home cooking. Translating to “mom’s hand,” the menu is built around everyday comfort—family-style dosas, small plates and homely mains designed for long, shared meals. The food draws from what’s actually cooked in Karnataka homes, with a few Bastian holdovers for regulars. Open from lunch through dinner, it’s warm, approachable, and anchored in food that may or may not remind you of home.

GOA

Bastian Riviera

Bastian has gone to Goa! The latest ambitious drop by Bastian, Bastian Riviera stretches across 1.5 acres along the Morjim backwaters, shifting the brand from restaurant to full-scale lifestyle destination. Anchored by a pyramid-inspired structure, the space unfolds through cabanas on private decks, water-led courtyards, circular sunbeds and an outdoor bar that opens directly onto the river. The design pulls from global references—Mykonos, Dubai, Egypt—without slipping into theme-park excessiveness. Food leans into Bastian’s strengths, with a sharper focus on premium seafood and Goa-forward seafood flavours, while the entertainment aims to bring in international names like Jimmy Jules and Bedouin.

Drop Dead Sexy

Drop Dead Sexy is an art-forward cocktail bar. Created by artist Siddharth Kerkar and Vipin Raman, the room is drenched in neon, installations and bold visual cues that match its high-energy mood. The bar runs on tightly edited, seasonal menus—just nine cocktails at a time—each built around a central ingredient. The current list plays with strawberries in unexpected ways, from fermented fruit to herb-led builds, with standouts like Seven Strawberries, blending strawberry, tomato and basil into a clean, bittersweet sip.

Sabores

Sabores is a 60-seater in Bambolim dedicated to Goan–Portuguese cooking, rooted in heritage. Led by Akshay Quenim, the menu draws from both Hindu and Christian Goan traditions alongside Portuguese classics—prawn balchão, rissóis de camarão, chicken cafreal, choriso pulao, wood-fired seafood and bacalhau. A dedicated bread programme runs alongside, serving poie, onde and pao with house-made butters, including a choriso-spiked version. Cocktails, developed with Countertop India, lean into local produce: a toasted banana bread drink built with poie and whisky, Mango Verde with tequila, and Flor de Palma with frangipani-infused vodka. The space mirrors the intent—laterite walls, tiled roofs, terrazzo floors—quiet, coastal, and grounded in Goa’s architectural language.