The process of shortlisting the 30 Best Bars continued with the whittling down of the list to 50 Best Bars. These bars polled the most votes from a national 265-member jury of experts and bar connoisseurs. The 30 Best Bars ranking for 2023 will be announced at an awards ceremony in Goa on January 15, 2024.
2023’s Top 50 bars are spread across 10 cities, and Goa. Significantly, this list indicates the gradual shifting of the centre of gravity of the Indian bar scene away from the country’s big two: Mumbai and Delhi.
Bangalore now tops the list this year with 10 bars, followed closely by Goa with 9, Mumbai with 8, New Delhi with 7, Kolkata with 5, Gurgaon with 3, and Pune, Jaipur and Hyderabad with 2 each. Chennai and Guwahati round up the list with 1 bar each
Fourteen new bars have made it to the Top 50 list. Noticeably, 6 bars from our Top 30 list from 2022 missed the cut this year for various reasons.
The bars in 2023’s Top 50 stand out for elevating their offerings by recognising shifting consumer preferences towards newer experiences, including craft cocktails infused with fresh flavours and natural ingredients, backed by compelling storytelling.
Bars are rising to the challenge by investing more in talent, quality, ambience and aesthetics. Fuelled by rising affluence, this trend is limited not just to metros but is seen in smaller cities as well.
Over the next few days, the larger jury will cast their votes across six categories - Best Bar, Best Hotel Bar, Best Restaurant Bar, Best Independent Bar, Best Microbrewery or Taproom, and Best Cocktail Menu.
A technical jury will vote on the Best Bartender and Bar Team, and a special jury will vote on the Best Bar Design. Awards in four categories – Timeless Bar, Industry Icon, Best Work in Sustainability, and the new entrant, Best Non-Alcoholic Bar Menu, will be decided by the 30BestBars team.
Co-founded in 2019 by Vikram Achanta and Radhakrishnan Nair of Bar 30 India LLP, 30BestBarsIndia aims to raise awareness about the rising standards of Indian bars and beverages nationally, and on international platforms.
