by Vijaylakshmi
One of India’s most celebrated bar specialists and mixologists and founder of acclaimed bars like Sidecar and Cocktails & Dreams Speakeasy, Yangdup Lama will be opening his third cocktail bar in Delhi NCR in mid 2024. Speaking exclusively to hoteldealers.in, Lama said that his new project, at Cross Point Mall in Gurugram, will be ready to receive customers by mid-June, 2024.
Keeping the branding under wraps, Lama said that while the core of the new project will remain a neighbourhood cocktail bar, like his two other outlets, it will be different in many ways in terms of its cocktail program as well as food.
“The new bar will have a strong influence of the Himalayas,” Lama, who is himself from the Darjeeling hills said, revealing the concept of the new bar, which according to him will like his two other outlets will have 60 covers.
Talking about the success of concepts and secret of his bars featuring in the ‘Best bars list’ consistently year on year, Lama said that “consistency is very important” and it is critical to get “things right not once but every time”.
“At the same time you have to keep evolving yourself as a product and as a brand,” he added.
Lama’s Sidecar figured in the Asia’s Best 50 Bars list and World’s Best Bars list as well in consecutive years since 2020. Similarly, Cocktails & Dreams Speakeasy also figured in the India’s Best 30 Bars list.
“It’s encouraging to see more participation happening from India in recent years,” he said about the World’s Best Bar list.
Not only are Indian bars getting into the best bars list, Lama said that a lot of Indian bartenders and mixologists are also getting into the global bar scene and getting recognised in recent years. There are a number of bartenders from India who dominate the bar scene in cities like Chicago, San Francisco, Hong Kong and Singapore.
“There is a strong community of Indian bartenders in the Middle East these days as well,” he said.
Meanwhile, Lama said that the next level of evolution has already started on the world stage where a lot of Indian F&B brains have begun maturing into entrepreneurs.
