How Mumbai’s nightlife got its mojo back

By Meghna Ghodawat, Entrepreneur: As the Covid years fade away into fleeting memories, the city that never sleeps is finding new reasons to stay up, with a reinvigorated nightlife scene.

Gone are the smoky, dingy pubs and garden variety chain bar outlets that sprang up in the noughties and held their sway over Mumbai for at least the next decade… the city’s movers and shakers have now trained their sights on elevated nightlife experiences, that bring together high concept spaces, spirt-focused menus, fine-dining touches and curated experiences to make each night out truly memorable.

The contemporary consumer is much better travelled and better exposed and has more disposable income and the propensity to spend it on one-of-a-kind experiences.

All of these factors are fuelling entrepreneurs in this space to innovative harder, move faster and keep pushing the envelope further than ever before. This, in turn, has given rise to the following trends:

Local influences, international aspirations

Moving away from beer-dominated alco-beverage menus, which inspired the inception and popularity of homegrown microbreweries and artisanal brewpubs, contemporary spaces are curating dedicated beverage programmes that feature compelling themes, many of which lean heavily on local ingredients, traditions and narratives.

These are combined with innovative culinary techniques such as fat-washing, molecular mixology and signature house-made syrups that elevate cocktails, and state-of-the-art mixology approaches to create unique confluences with rich backstories.

Keeping in mind a growing preference of patrons to ‘party sober’, many of these infusions hold their own as low or no ABV versions.

There is also a stronger emphasis on Indian spirits, which are being cleverly reinterpreted in unorthodox formats.

This push to drive innovation in India’s mixology scene is receiving even more impetus with bar takeovers that enable local talent to learn from the best in the world, and whet Indian consumers’ appetite for variety.

New meets the old

As the world grows smaller and passports more richly decorated, savvy and well-travelled consumers are eager to revisit spirits, flavours and experiences from their sojourns.

Several establishments and mixologists have risen to the challenge by designing menus that feature exotic spirits from across the world. In recent months, we’ve seen agave and tequila taking over bar menus across the city, with some establishments even creating agave-focused bar menus that offer high quality tequilas and mezcals.

Audiences’ tastes are maturing and becoming more refined, and there is a strong resistance to ‘making do’.

This is perhaps also the reason why we’re seeing traditional cocktails being reinvented with higher quality and luxury spirits, and novel presentation techniques.

A taste of the extraordinary

Recognising that customers are eager to trade in spirits for experiences, clubs and upmarket nightspots are upping the stakes with their food menus as well.

Elaborate tasting menus with wine, whiskey and cocktail pairings, and sophisticated and luxurious bar nibbles are replacing more quotidian fare, with chefs paying minute attention to complementary flavours.

Decor too is being considered a significant investment and, in cities like Mumbai where space is the greatest luxury of all, open-air arrangements are scoring additional popularity points.

Recent government interventions that allow establishments to stay open until 1:30 pm have also been significant in reviving Mumbai’s once flagging nightlife scene.

However, the interventions of progressive and forward-thinking entrepreneurs have seen the city regain some of its characteristic colour, with the future looking ever-more-promising.

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