‘Coffee shop by day, cocktail bar by night’ seems to have become a bit of a formula in Delhi lately. After the success of Dumbo Deli in Meherchand Market and Cala in Panchsheel Park, the latest to join the trend of stealthily extending opening hours and turning baristas into bartenders is Savage Sandwich Shop in Hauz Khas, which transforms into Bar Painkiller every evening (barring Mondays). After 6 pm, the sheer curtains are replaced with black-out ones, the lights are dimmed, the two-faced coasters flipped to scream “your 7 PM prescription”, and suddenly you’re in a whole new space.
The concept comes from four millennial partners: bartender Annu Jha, chefs Hanisha Singh and Jamsheed Bhote (of Plats and Chard fame), and cocktail photographer turned entrepreneur Ananth Kumar, who felt Delhi needed more bars for grownups. “Sometimes we feel out of place because the decibel levels are so high or the place is too high-energy. And when the four of us sat down, we realised we just want a space we can head to post-work and unwind. Not a place where we first go home, get dressed, and then never actually make it out,” says Singh.
Jha came up with the name Painkiller, and soon the team was having fun naming all their cocktails. “When Annu came up with the name, I jumped at it. Sometimes corporate slaves and people in crazy jobs, even hospitality, just want that one drink to settle everything,” Singh adds.
Their cocktail menu reads like a medicine cabinet. The tequila-based Dolo 650 is a clever nod to the pill that pulled us through the pandemic, but the drink itself is anything but clinical. It’s bright and zesty, with pimento chilli giving it a kick that’s curd-washed into something smooth and rounded, not fiery for the sake of it. The herbaceous Ciplakiller is its milder cousin, with coriander and rocket leaves bringing in flavour and avocado adding a soft, almost creamy, body. The lime and paprika give it just the right nudge of spice without stealing the show.
If rum-and-coke is your comfort zone, the Fever Fizz with a touch of coconut will surprise you. The IV Drip Twist, with melon, Campari, lime, coconut, pandan, and kaffir lime, tastes like the kind of drink you will be nursing after this party season is over, while the white-rum-based Tropic Disorder leans into dessert territory without being heavy. With fresh pineapple and coconut ice cream, it’s like a piña colada that went to finishing school.
Beyond this, there are the classics that every grownup bar should get right. Their LIIT redeems the let’s-get-drunk cocktail from our salad years with hints of smoked lapsang tea and mango and vanilla notes. Their negroni, with gin, Campari and sweet vermouth, gets a clever twist with pickled tomato brine, which cuts bitterness and adds a savoury kick.
