This old-school-style bar in Bengaluru also comes with old-school pricing

Who drinks on a Monday? To find an answer, nothing short of a thorough journalistic investigation would suffice. So, I quietly sneaked into the newly opened Yaakay Bar and Canteen in north Bengaluru with two friends from the neighbourhood at around 7 pm on a Monday.

As the sliding doors of the elevator parted on the third floor, the bar name in bright yellow and orange poster-style font against a dense blue wall greeted us. But walking through the door felt like time travel. Vast premises with a central courtyard and dual-coloured walls—grey from floor to waist high and white from waist up—stretched before us, with straight walls changing lanes here and there to accommodate a few rooms with overhanging filament-bulb-style yellow lights. Under them, small tables sat sandwiched between concrete benches and practical movable chairs (folding, of course). It was as if we were standing in a government office or a big home with a courtyard in mid-1990s Bangalore.

Commenting on the design, Ajay Gowda, from the team that started Yaakay Bar and Canteen, explains, “We wanted a repurposed-style space because that’s how most bars in old Bengaluru used to be.” Gowda is the co-founder of Big Ventures, which also gave the city popular spots like Bob’s Bar, Byg Brewski and Jollygunj. It wasn’t nostalgia but “a purely untapped business opportunity” that prompted Gowda and friends to start this 500-seater.

They wanted to target a demographic readily ignored by the cool bars and speakeasies that have been all the rage in the last two years. “There are 1,350 bar licenses in Bangalore. The good bars that you or I go to account for about 350 bar licences. About 1,000 bars, where the [majority and] rest of the city goes are disorganised. Yaakay is an attempt to make an organised space out of this disorganised sector. We are introducing prestige to a bar and restaurant for the masses where everyone can enjoy that feeling of old Bengaluru,” says Gowda.

In Spain, he explains, neighbourhood bars are social spaces where people from all walks of life— businessman and office workers, plumbers and drivers—eat and drink under the same roof. “That’s what we want to create with Yaakay—a leveller bar representing people from all sections of society,” says Gowda. ‘Yaakay’ is a Kannada word that translates to ‘why?’. And Yaakay because every city needs a space that isn’t intimidating, a space that doesn’t force you to look or dress a certain way or earn a certain amount. In short, a space where everyone is welcome.

From the evidence on display that Monday night, and a subsequent second visit on a late December afternoon, we spotted a group of first-job youngsters, shared the elevator with the neighbourhood’s old man who likes to drink his two quiet drinks all by himself, educators, college students, IT workers, white-collar workers, fliers who wanted to pre-game before heading to the airport, and families complete with their toddlers. Had we looked hard enough, we would have very well spotted an Uber driver at the end of his night shift.

And this diversity of tipplers under one bar exists so seamlessly because people can drink and eat here without thinking about the cost as all drinks are priced just 10 to 15 per cent higher than a standing bar, chips in Sujit Nair, co-founder and principal architect at SDeG, the firm that designed Yaakay. “Yaakay was conceptualised in a way that a customer’s bill doesn’t exceed ₹800 to ₹1,200 per visit,” says Nair.

This checks out as the three of us drank three drinks each (including cocktails), and gobbled up eight bar bites and small plates (Velu’s Crispy Brinjal and Namma Podi Idly Fry were great), Coorg pandi curry, Naati-style mushroom curry, Yaakay Super Mutton Biryani and a portion of akki roti for mains, and the bill still capped at ₹4,400. We had to compare it to our weekend splurge at Bar Spirit Forward (#37 on Asia’s 50 Best Bars) on Friday night where eight drinks—including their exquisite three-gin Vesper Martini—and three small plates came to over ₹13,000.

At Yaakay, the most expensive drink is ₹720 (Patron Silver for a large pour), while beers start at ₹125. They do only three cocktails, of which we tried two: the Matash Mallu, their version of a very decent LIIT, and the delicious Sakath Highball, which mixes tequila, kokum, lime, and cola, both priced under ₹300. There’s very little to complain here. Our only grouse? Enough with the QR codes; bring back the printed menu. Scrolling an extensive menu on a phone is like searching for a needle in a haystack.

In keeping with the theme of old times, the SDeG design team, led by Nair, co-founder Aruna Sujit, and SDeG’s head of interiors, Bidisha Kumar, have also created a separate space like the AC/non-AC and Regular/Family sections that those born before Y2K are familiar with. At the far end is this “VIP” area, where a helpful waiter informs us, “Prices are slightly premium, sir.”

However, rather than a “premium” experience, the idea behind creating this separate space, says Aruna Sujit, was to create a space where women and families can enjoy themselves away from the crowds should they choose to. Here, the fixed benches are made of polished wooden beams and the tables are also a little more upmarket. However, the highlight is the courtyard in the centre with plenty of plants and a few tables for those who want to beat the big city feel while sitting next to one of the busiest roads in the city.

The entire space is designed to put people at ease in familiar settings. There are plenty of Instagrammable spots too, including the very modern and chic washrooms with great mirrors for those perfect bathroom selfies.

While many will have fun creating content and taking pictures, we had plenty of fun reading the menu out loud: Here’s a sampler of some bar snacks: Disco Shanti Mix, Jaleel Chakli Masala, Manju’s Motte Chilli, Kawasaki Mushrooms, Bruce Lee Chicken, Kirmani Chicken Balls, Chicken Lalipop, Auto Raja Chicken Kabab, Rebel Star Mutton Fry, Star Mutton Liver, Amma’s Pheni... If you are anything like us, you will probably end up ordering food just because it sounds cool.

Yaakay? Why not?

Address: 3rd Floor, SWAN, 323, Kodigehalli Main Road, Sahakar Nagar, Byatarayanapura, Bengaluru 
No reservation needed
Price for two: Approximately ₹ 1,500 to ₹2,000 with drinks
Hours: 11:30 am to 1am