The new Saturday night flex? A spot at the bar-within-a-bar

Back in November, when Delhi-based Barbet & Pals opened doors, it felt like everyone who cared about a good drink was there, sipping on their Kumaoni bevs. Now, three months later, co-founder Jeet Rana has learnt that “95 per cent of sales come from the cocktails; people love them”. Right on cue, the bar is brewing something new. You heard it here first, but in the second half of February, Barbet is introducing an immersive cocktail venue called Cavity. 

The best part? You don’t have to go too far to find it; the exclusive nine-seater experience will come alive in the basement of the buzzy Delhi bar itself. “Imagine a nine-course tasting menu but for cocktails. Each one will be performed theatrically with a story and conversation,” shares Rana. The performance is not just in the flamboyant service but also in the innovation of the drink itself. For Cavity’s first menu, Rana is seeking inspiration from over 40 Indian ingredients that have received a GI tag.

You can expect the sweet starch of Goan bananas or the rare luxury of Kashmiri saffron, blended and mixed with your favourite spirits. Hailing from Garhwal, the land of GI-tagged Malta oranges, the founder is also experimenting with a boozy sorbet infused with rich citrus from the fruit’s peel. “In the main bar, people want to enjoy each other’s company, so there’s little focus on the bartender. Here, in a two- to three-hour session, all eyes will be on their creativity,” Rana adds. 

In case you’re a chip-dip sipper, don’t worry—there will be small bar bites. But that’s not going to be the spotlight. For years, diners have joined digital queues and paid through the nose for a whiff of a renowned chef’s set menu, to watch them challenge flavour profiles and experiment with our taste buds. Bartenders now demand the same space and attention. No more straightforward picantes or floral spritzes; drink makers want to dethrone the familiar, and they want to do it standing centre stage. 

And as it turns out, the most exciting place to do this is at an already exciting cocktail venue. Think of it as stacking Russian dolls. Only, here, the inner layer holds even better, even quirkier drinks for you to taste-test. 

If you look around, Barbet is not the only bar introducing a smaller, friskier bar within it. In January, Goa’s The Second House launched Bartender’s Bunker, a special upstairs lab for curious drinkers. Fresh off the grind in February, Anjuna’s Slow Tide teased a new 24-seat cocktail haunt called Bar Stoned Pig. 

In Bengaluru, not one but two bars have opened expert-led playgrounds. In November, Una Hacienda created The Bunker Room, an eight-seater omakase-style speakeasy hidden behind the main bar. Meanwhile, at the tail end of January, ZLB23, the Kyoto-style cocktail venue that ranked 31 on Asia’s 50 Best Bars list for 2025, announced The Theatre. The name says it all: this seven- to 10-seater is imagined as a cinematic performance space but for spirits. “I’ve always wanted to talk about cocktails as a science, and now we finally have the space for it,” shares bar manager Rajib Mukherjee, who will preside over the show. The first concept, dubbed Sequence of Taste, will unfold in four acts, each focusing on one flavour. 

“Bitterness is the only taste that confuses the brain. That’s why most afternoon drinks are bitter. The alcohol doesn’t hit you immediately,” he shares, explaining that this will be the first act comprising elevated Americanos. Japanese whisky, lime vermouth, and soft strawberries come together as the curtain parts and set the tone for the evening. As the night progresses to sour, salty, and sweet profiles, the story of the drink unfurls before you—not just through the bartender but a complete sensorial immersion. Expect a visual history of the cocktail on the screen, while a narrative and music complement it.

As diners crave newness and experience at the heart of every outing, it only makes sense for bars to (quite literally) raise the bar with more intrigue. At Hacienda, cocktail maestro Arijit Bose believes this out-of-the-box innovation is a necessary evil as people mature into inquisitive, experimental connoisseurs. “In the main room, there’s so much running around that you don’t have the time to slow down and explain the story of a cocktail. These smaller spaces let the audience interact with the bartenders,” says Bose. 

For some, this closeness to an expert creative becomes the gold star of the evening. Merely landing a table at a fussy, niche bar is not nearly as fulfilling (or clout-heavy) as it is to be seated right in front of a bartender everyone loves. You watch them perform in their element, not as a bystander but as a friend in the making. You get to share the flavours that surprised you, the drinks that became your favourite, perhaps even a travel memory of an ingredient. Suddenly, it’s more intimate. In many ways, the menus at these bars within bars are designed to stir such conversation.

At the Bunker Room, for instance, you may try an umami martini with salty cherry tomatoes and tuna, or a palo-santo-infused gimlet with a certain je ne sais quoi. The idea is to push the boundaries with unfamiliar concoctions and let that drive the evening. After all, even drinkers are more nerdy in the Information Age; they don’t see cocktails as plain old merry-making but as an exchange of ideas. 

Of course, it’s helpful when this exchange feels refreshing. It can be tricky and resource-heavy to keep switching things up at a bar that seats over 60, but it’s easier to create, rotate and discard new menus at whim for eight people. 

The theatre then becomes a way to look out for regulars, a reminder that the innovation hasn’t paused and there’s always something fresh brewing. Not to forget that the smartest quality of a bar-within-a-bar concept is that, no matter what, a great drink awaits you at the end of the evening. 

Unlike XS restaurants that only seat 10 people, leaving many in the queue frustrated, these bars are intimate without the tease of being exclusive. If you don’t land a seat inside, you don’t have to face the decision fatigue of picking another venue. Nope, none of that treachery. You just go straight back to that corner table you love and get that cocktail that hits just right.