Snapshots
What happens when two of India’s most loved bartenders and a renowned chef get talking and drinking late in to the night? You get Barbet & Pals. This new bar in Delhi’s Greater Kailash has been dreamt up by industry veterans Jeet Rana, Chirag Pal and acclaimed chef Amninder Sandhu. As for the name, it’s a tribute to the colourful bird found in the mountains of Uttarakhand (Rana’s home) and partly for the second name of the co-founder Chirag Pal.
Low lit, high energy
Push past the heavy blue door of Barbet & Pals and it feels like you have stumbled upon the coolest private party. Naturally the bar commands centrestage. Cramped with bottles of alcohol and decked out with Polaroids from Rana and Pal’s bartending career, it’s a clear indication that this is the spot to settle in for the rest of the evening. The bird is everywhere – brightly painted on the walls, pasted on the menu and inscribed on the cocktail pricks. Even the floor plays along with distinctive claw motifs.
‘Spirited’ storytelling
Let’s talk about the drinks all of which come with interesting back stories. Take the OTP, a rum based cocktail Rana created at the erstwhile Arth. “When Shah Rukh Khan came for the preview night, I made him this drink. He loved it so much that he stood up and hugged me. He downed four of them that night,” says Rana. Then there’s Mind the Gap, a gin cocktail Pal crafted for a competition in London, the name inspired by the constant announcements on the London Underground. “These are the drinks that made us who we are and celebrate us as bartenders,” says Rana. But the cocktail that Rana insists you must try is The Lord, a smooth, delicious blend of whisky, bergamot and banana.
For those seeking savoury complexity, Tickle My Pickle is a smashing cocktail that combines gin with sharp pickle brine and dry vermouth. Almost like a highly nuanced, savoury martini. But the star of the show is the umami Aha Tamatar that blends Irish whisky with cherry tomatoes and cheese. It will remind you of a cold gazpacho but with the underlying warmth of the whisky. A common thread through all the drinks is the remarkable balance of sweetness, acidity and botanical notes. Though the drinks carry complex ingredients, they don’t feel experimental.
There’s also a small list of region specific cocktails that celebrate India’s lesser explored hyper local ingredients. The first edition explores Kumaon ingredients such as madua millet, jhakiya seeds, pine nuts, acorn berries, etc. The pair travelled to Kumaon and stayed with the locals for 10 days. A tequila cocktail in this section uses gandrayani, a root from the Himalayan region. It comes with a tantalising pisyu loon (Himalayan salt made of mint, coriander and chilli) rim. The vibe shifts dramatically as you descend a flight of stairs into the basement. While the upstairs is laid back and casual, the basement is elegant in a buttoned-collar, neat-and-tidy sort of way. This space slated for intimate dinners around a live kitchen.
Food to match
Unlike most bars where the food is an afterthought, Sandhu’s menu is meticulously crafted to match the complexity of the drinks. Smoky chicken skewers come dressed with vibrant chimichurri sauce and Gujarat’s famed street food khichia papad decked up with raw mango and mulberry chutney. There’s also a fancy lobster on toast and a fried chicken heaving with avocado, prosciutto, katsuobushi, roquette and a poached egg. Improbably, it’s a bread that steals the show – a flower shaped croissant with two butters, chilli fennel and nolen gur.
It’s deeply comforting and dangerously addictive. Also compelling is Sandhu’s take on bhutuwa a Uttarakhandi-style mutton offal dish served on nachni sourdough. In comparison, the Naga pork sausages with fermented bamboo shoot ice cream feel timid, underpowered and low on personality. If you are looking to finish on a sweet note then the rum spiked bal mithai sundae with burnt butter ice cream is boozy and tasty.
As the evening wound down and I stepped out into the chaos of the city, the appeal of Barbet & Pals became clear. Yes the cocktails rock, the food is delicious and the music groovy. But above all Barbet & Pals is the perfect place to land, relax and find your flock. Just like Rana, Pal and Sandhu did!
Where: Ground Floor, M Block Market, M-51, Block M, Greater Kailash II, New Delhi.
Timings: Wednesday to Monday from 5pm to 1am
Meal for Two: Rs. 3,000 plus taxes