Looks like Kolkata’s bar scene is finally looking beyond Park Street

“Drinking in Kolkata has always been intimate,” says Anand Puri, third-generation owner of Trincas and the man behind its new spin-off, Tavern Behind Trincas, a small, velvety music venue that opened on the same spot in Park Street. “Even if you bar-hopped, you’d run into familiar faces—friends, nemeses or the same waitstaff.” 

For decades, this intimacy defined how the city drank. Park Street’s golden years were built on whisky-soda rituals, live bands, and evenings packed with talk and the laughter of friends and family—the probashi cousins included. Here, the servers would know your order, even before you reached for the menu. From Trincas to Someplace Else to Mocambo, people didn’t step out for cocktails or vibes—Kolkata’s nightlife revolved around comfort. It was all about adda. 

Now, on a humid evening, the air still hums with jazz and chatter. Glasses clink softly; the lights are low, golden, familiar. But something seems to have shifted. The new Kolkata bar scene is no longer limited to Park Street—it’s spilling out of smaller, softer and deeply personal places, like Nutcase Etc., Conversation Room, Rannaghor, AMPM, Little Bit Sober, and ATM.

That’s not say that the old haunts are bygones—Broadway, Chung Wah, Olypub, and Someplace Else continue to be the city’s comfort constants—but the new crop of bars, with their moody lights and stippled walls, feel more design-forward and aspirational. These are spaces that photograph beautifully and curate drinks thoughtfully, even if they’re a touch pricier. “They are lovely, but they’re not your daily hangout,” says Sammya Mullick, a Kolkata-based content creator, “They’re for when you want the experience to match the drink.”

Interestingly, none of these spaces had influencer-led launchpads nor were they built as gimmicky concept bars to attract trend-seeking tipplers. What they possess is a community and a very distinct identity. “[Kolkata] is finally moving past the nightclub phase into something more mature, experiential, and cocktail-forward,” notes Rituparna Banerjee, co-founder of Nutcase Etc., which she describes as “the happiest bar in Kolkata”. Her bar’s heartbeat is their bar counter, with bartenders at the centre and guests circling around. “We didn’t want Nutcase to be just another good-looking bar... It had to have soul,” she explains. The menu swings between playful and precise: a smoky Kalojire Penicillin, a tangy Tangra Town, and the brandy-based Joker crowned with a clown’s nose, each as self-aware and spirited as the bar itself.  

Unlike other cities, Kolkata’s afterhours somehow feel different by design, with bars that are deliberately intimate—the kind that can best be described as “conversation-sized, not crowd-sized". Nutcase has the warmth of a lived-in space. “We didn’t want it to look designed to death,” explains Banerjee. “It’s meant to feel imperfect, because that’s how real spaces are—layered, emotional, and a little unpredictable.”

If Mumbai has Papa’s, Kolkata now has Rannaghor by Sienna, an eight-seater dining space where chef Avinandan Kundu turns bitter gourd and capsicum into a local riff on a Negroni. Its XS setup is not because of inflated rentals—the reason why most city establishments start small—but because it was intended to feel personal. “For us, the bar had to speak the same language as the kitchen,” the chef adds. “The drinks are ingredients in conversation with the food. It’s not about pairing for effect, but for emotion.” Anyone familiar with Sienna’s menu will see how the drinks—a Radhatilak rice Old Fashioned or a jamun margarita that tastes like summer—feel like an extension of their kitchen. 

But Kolkata’s cocktail shift didn’t happen overnight. It’s been a slow burn powered by returning bartenders, curious drinkers, and bar owners bent on creating spaces that they would want to drink in. “There’s hunger for spaces that feel current but not copy-paste,” says Rajan Sethi, founder of AMPM on Park Street, that transforms from a coffee shop to a cocktail room as the day turns . “It’s less about going out to party, and more about belonging somewhere.”  

That word “belonging” echoes across every new bar in the city. It seems Kolkata’s most exciting drinking spots are not competing to be cool; they’re all competing to feel like home. “Our scene is getting adventurous but remaining personal as it does so,” says Puri, “Even the new bars chase local flavours and ring emotional doorbells.” 

Like Someplace Else, which was a mecca for the musically aligned, AMPM is quickly becoming the place to be for a fun night out with its ever-changing lineup of live acts and open mics. “It’s about creating a full experience,” adds Sethi. “Great drinks are important but so are the people, the music, and that feeling of shared energy.”

Not too far, on Chowringee Road, Conversation Room by Abhimanyu Maheshwari and Pankaj Balachandran of Countertop India, too is attracting a community of music lovers. It has an intentionally unpolished vibe with exposed walls and mismatched art. The tables are close enough to spark easy conversation, while the open floor is perfect to move to the DJ set that rolls out 90s pop favourites from the Spice Girls and Enrique Iglesias. “Kolkata’s creativity has always come from its collectives: from music bands, studios, theatre groups,” says Maheshwari. “I wanted a bar that felt like that, a place where things happen organically. And he means it. C-Room, as the place is lovingly called, also hosts the Class Room—sessions where experts (ranging from comedian Papa CJ to professor Pratap Bhanu Mehta) talk about everything from storytelling to free speak. 

This is to say Kolkata’s bar renaissance isn’t just about foam or savoury cocktails. “People don’t come for the performance of mixology,” Maheshwari says. “They come for the exchange—between the bartender and the guest, between strangers sitting side by side. The drink is just the excuse.” 

And that exchange has created something remarkable—a bar culture with identity but without pretence. Forget bar fights, it’s always happy hours with this new collective of bar owners. “The energy right now is so open. We all talk, we all go to each other’s bars. I love what Avinandan is doing at Rannaghor, the vibe at Conversation Room, and how AMPM is trying to balance live performance with cocktails. It’s not just about us; we’re all building something together,” adds Banerjee. 

It’s clear then that behind all its newfound polish, Kolkata’s cocktail scene still has its warmth. Just take Tavern Behind Trincas. “TBT is a spin-off that’s old-school cool but with a regional personality,” says Puri. “We’re focusing on the experience of being in Kolkata—live Bengali music, locals singing with the band, and visitors joining in. It’s vintage wine in a beautifully refurbished bottle,” he explains.