Esquire India Hotlist: New Restaurants And Bars Across India

November always arrives with appetite. Cooler evenings, longer dinners, better weather (sorry, Delhi).

And this November, India is eating like it has something to prove — to its neighbours, its exes, its office Slack channels, and most urgently, to its own Instagram archive. Every city has slipped into its peak “I’m not like the other metros” era.

Bangalore is opening up rooftops with the kind of confidence usually reserved for tech founders and people who claim to like mezcal. Delhi is in its narrative-dining epoch, where every cocktail comes with a backstory and every restaurant has a protagonist. Indore is quietly building a gastronomic empire, one regional cuisine at a time. Goa is rewriting nightlife with women at the helm. Kolkata has literally put a restaurant on a river to remind everyone she invented culture.

By the time December hits, none of us will remember what “just dinner” used to mean. But for now — this is what India is eating, drinking, slurping, inhaling, and gossiping about this month.

Let’s get into it.

MUMBAI

Soulinaire, Alibaug

Recently, IHCL’s Soulinaire has graduated from event curator to permanent restaurant: a two-storey, ~200-seater perched on the Alibaug boardwalk. The concept folds together Soulinaire’s past work designing large-scale, celebratory menus with a day-to-night restaurant rhythm—the kitchen and the service model calibrated for long afternoons that evolve into slightly more composed dinners. Materials are restrained and seaside-appropriate; the menu is season-forward and built to be shareable, with an emphasis on coastal produce and the kind of service cadence IHCL has tuned across its hotel properties. This is a flagship, first and foremost: a permanent stage for a brand that’s spent years learning how to feed crowds and meaningful small tables alike.

Sora by The Nines, Kandivali

Sora positions itself as a contemporary vegetarian restaurant with a chef-led insistence on technique. Chef Khushal—who previously helmed kitchens that focused on Karnataka and South Indian technique—runs a menu that takes regional building blocks and reconfigures them with global accents: chimichurri-forged paneer, a coconut-rich khow suey, and mock-meat chilly that privileges texture and heat over novelty. End with the pull-me-up tiramisu and you’ll understand why Sora is already becoming a neighbourhood favourite.

Opa Kipos, Worli

The Dubai import’s return to Mumbai under Aspect Hospitality is literalized in its architecture: a 130-seat Santorini fantasia at Ascent Worli that uses lime plaster, whitewashed oak, hand-trowelled surfaces and curated bougainvillea to recreate a Mediterranean villa without feeling like a theme-park set. Executive Chef Timothy Newton has a resume across Paris, London and Australia; the menu leans Mediterranean but prioritises shareability: mezze, bright salads, grilled fish and a few high-drama mains (flaming lobster linguine is one). The service moments are intentional, like the plate-smashing ritual that still remains a spectacle.

Devangere, Borivali

Devangere Benne is explicit in its provenance claims: the restaurant sources elements central to Davanagere’s benne dosa tradition—batter, butter and spice blends—rather than approximating them. The menu foregrounds benne dosa in multiple guises (thin, crisp gini dosa; butter-laced masala dosa) and supplements the anchor items with regionally informed snacks and robust filter coffee. Earthy tones, brass details, and heritage-inspired décor make it feel familiar from the minute you walk in.

BANGALORE

Rosmarino Neapolitan Pizza & Trattoria, Indira Nagar

Abhijit Saha’s Rosmarino is built on executional clarity. Dough management is central—long ferments, controlled hydration and a wood-fired oven tuned to deliver the blistered, pillowy crust that distinguishes Neapolitan technique from other wood-fire pies. The menu balances pizza with small plates and pastas that use slow-reduced sauces; there’s attention to ingredient provenance (sourced cheeses, slow-simmered ragù). Try the Prosciutto di Parma pizza with stracciatella or the lamb ragu rigatoni; both tell you everything you need to know about the kitchen.

Bar Sama, Ulsoor

Bar Sama’s beverage programme was developed in collaboration with Singapore’s Cat Bite Club and reads like a bar built around balance: technically ambitious cocktails pared to approachable flavor arcs. Drinks such as a chilli-adjustable tequila–mezcal serve both theatre and utility; the Velvet Eclipse reverses an Irish Coffee’s temperature dynamics to create a textural contrast; the Sabba-Tini rethinks garnish and aromatics. Chef Vichita Kumar’s small plates—Thai-leaning skewers, pomelo-coconut salads, a fried-rice built as a composed dish—are designed to hold up against the cocktails as well.

Kai Bar & Kitchen, MG Road

Thirteen floors above MG Road, Kai surveys the city like a monarch who’s read the reviews and decided the competition is adorable. It refuses to be anything as basic and is instead wrapped in palace-glam drama. Maze Concept Design Studio turns the room into a contemporary durbar — peacock-feather ceiling, moody maroons, copper sheen, and a lighting system that shifts from meditative to manic with nightclub-level commitment. Chef Virendra Singh Chauhan programs a menu that intentionally resists categorization, moving from Kyoto mushrooms and Sichuan-spiked edamame to Laal Maas and Malabar seared fish; the offerings read as a study in global technique layered over Indian flavour. The bar, led by Ashish Adhikari, pairs a whisky shelf with a cocktail list that uses contemporary techniques—fat-washing, smoke, tea infusions—alongside Indian single malts and Japanese whiskies, a calibrated approach that lets spirits and cocktails speak in sequence.

Vesparo, Bangalore

Vesparo stretches across 11,500 square feet of Bangalore skyline like it was designed for someone who can never choose between dinner, drinks, or dancing — so it simply delivers all three. The food takes the term “world on a plate” and spins it into something entertainingly literal: levitating noodles, a Japanese taco, and Rajugari Kodi Pulavs. Vesparo isn’t subtle — it doesn’t want to be. But who wants that anyway?

Loco Lane, Bangalore

Loco Lane positions itself as competitive socialising more than a restaurant—bowling, axe-throwing and shuffleboard sit alongside a central “Watering Hole” bar. The food is intentionally shareable and engineered for mid-intensity snacking: bao, nachos, inventive ravioli and small plates engineered for quick turnover. Cocktail list construction is straightforward: crowd-pleasers and a low-alcohol option to keep play going into late hours.

One Floor Down, Bangalore

One Floor Down’s dramaturgy is explicit—masked anonymity, a manifesto that references Dionysian rupture, and service rules that prioritize privacy and a particular kind of club behaviour. The cocktails are constructed as narrative objects (rum-banana orgeat, mezcal-tequila smoke blends) and the food menu is tightly aligned to the bar: small, bold dishes that read as accompaniments to strong, intentionally theatrical drinks. Operationally, this is a privacy-first speakeasy model—restricted entry, taped-phone policy and an emphasis on earned access.

INDORE

Masala Code, Indore

Masala Code is a structural claim: 3,150 sq ft, a design brief by Karan Gandhi, and an explicit intention to stage 29 regional cuisines under one roof. Chef Vedant Newatia’s playbook—already visible at Atelier V—translates into a modular menu that shifts from day (regional breakfasts like aloo paratha and benne dosa) to night (street-inspired snacks and more composed, regionally specific main courses such as mutton rogan josh, Xacuti and Kolkata biryani). The Spice Wall functions like a central thesis—both sculptural and programmatic—while the Banta Cart anchors a beverage programme that reinterprets regional flavours (jamun masala, coconut & curry leaf) as house-made mixers and cocktails. The concept is not amateurish fusion; it is curated regionality with a menu architecture that guides diners through disparate culinary grammars.

DELHI NCR

Novy, Gurugram

Chefs Ashay Dhopatkar and Neha Lakhani pair modern European instincts with global curiosity, turning their dishes into quiet surprises. Edamame momos are bathed in Pandhra Rassa; scallops flirt with truffled eggs; haleem takes on croquette form with a wink; and paella gets a Delhi personality via spiced nimbu mutton. The cocktails follow the same rule: balanced, original, and rooted in craftsmanship.

Lord Vesper, The Oberoi Gurgaon

If Gurgaon has a taste for grand, dramatic bars, Lord Vesper is the one that finally perfects the formula. This is a lounge with a sense of theatre — a mysterious entry passage, a circular vestibule, and a sweeping ribbon of light that turns the space into a kinetic sculpture. The elliptical bar is the nucleus, sending out cocktails that manage to be spirit-forward. The Vespertini, Lady Yuzu, The Fallen Banana — each one is essentially Oberoi hospitality in glass form. Multiple levels, a semi-covered terrace, waterfront views: Lord Vesper may be Gurgaon’s new best thing.

Tangra – Tales of Chinatown, Westin Gurgaon

At Tangra, Gurgaon finally gets the Chinatown homage it deserves. Instead, it revels in the smoky, soulful, Hakka-touched flavours that shaped a city’s culinary identity. Chimney soup arrives with its signature theatre; Shao Mai and braised wontons honour tradition without museumifying it; and seafood dishes like the Chilean seabass and garlic lobster prove the kitchen knows when to modernise and when to stay reverent. The design leans immersive — koi ponds, guardian lions, glowing timber — a nod to a cultural memory handled with respect and flair.

Maya 787, Gurgaon

Maya 787 plays matchmaker between Indian and Spanish cuisines with all kinds of boldness. The dishes surprise: chenna pearls floating in gazpacho, duck sukka dressed with European elegance, thecha prawns with heat and charm, guchi chaat flirting with paprika and hemp. It’s a restaurant built for diners who like wandering, tasting, discovering.

Daily Drama, Delhi

Defence Colony finally gets a multi-roaster space that understands the mood swings of Delhi coffee drinkers — the solitary cappuccino contemplator, the affogato indulgentist, the group-chat oversharer. The café is warm, unpretentious, and quietly stylish, the kind of space where time seems to crumble in the presence of good pastry and better conversation. It’s not trying to be a scene. It’s trying to be a comfort.

Mr. Button, Delhi

Delhi loves a character-led bar, and Mr. Button arrives dressed like a Mayfair gentleman with a naughty streak. Inspired by fictional tailor Henry J. Button, the space channels a Savile Row salon — warm wood, plush seating, lighting that makes everyone look more interesting. The drinks tell stories without drowning in gimmickry. The food follows suit: refined, elegant, and just cheeky enough to match the bar’s personality. For a city that treasures immersion, Mr. Button is an instant classic.

Hosa, Gurugram

After conquering Goa, Hosa lands in Gurugram with the exuberance of a restaurant that knows exactly who it is. We’re talking Elaneer Pepper Fry softened with akki roti, Kari Dosa made decadent with bone marrow hollandaise, Pamban chicken lit with jaggery and lemongrass. Seafood shines as always: curry leaf pesto snapper, toddy shop prawns, Karwar fried fish with ambuli. Desserts walk the line between nostalgic and daring — coconut snow, chocolate chilli cheesecake, hibiscus and lime sorbet. Hosa is familiar, surprising, and confident in all the right ways.

BIKANER

Aviary, Narendra Bhawan, Bikaner

Set within the former home of Bikaner’s last Maharaja, it marries Neapolitan orthodoxy with Indian craft — San Marzano purity baked alongside artisanal cheeses, house-fermented vinegars, and herbs from the property’s gardens. The classics are reverent but imaginative; the dessert pizza arrives flambéed like it’s auditioning for a royal banquet; and the weekly rotating pie gives the kitchen room to roam. Aviary isn’t a novelty — it’s a stunning, almost meditative exercise.

GOA

The Drift Bar, Westin Goa

Drift’s comeback is a quiet revolution. An all-women team leads the bar, kitchen, and floor. The space still floats above Anjuna’s lush canopy, but the energy has shifted: softer, smarter, more intentional. The food swings delightfully between Goan nostalgia and global playfulness — Xacuti gyoza, pork vindaloo gyoza, Bhut Jolokia wings, prawn tacos on bhakri. The bar leans hyperlocal, flaunting a lineup of Goan gin and feni, and cocktails that taste like tiny love letters to the coastline — from the Colva Negroni to the Miramar Melon Picante. Drift feels like Goa deciding to rewrite its nightlife story on its own terms.

KOLKATA

The Nautilus, Kolkata

Hovering above the Hooghly like a glamorous secret, The Nautilus is Kolkata’s newest floating two-tier restaurant-club hybrid that glitters after sunset. You arrive by feeder boat, and the upper deck welcomes you with cocktails, river views, and culinary glam. Below, the nightclub glows, drawing in everyone who wants a night out that feels both cinematic and slightly surreal. It’s Kolkata letting loose, and Nautilus is the hottest new place in town.

Éloïse Bistro & Boulangerie, Kolkata

Éloïse is Paris recreated with Bengali tenderness — a bistro-bakery hybrid that feels like stepping into a postcard. Founders Anwesha Bhattacharjee and Rohit Chowdhury give Kolkata a room that glows softly, all European warmth and buttery aromas. Chef Sharafat Hussain’s menu is a love letter to French technique.