Delhi’s New Cocktail Experience Comes in Nine Courses

When one thinks of elevated cocktails, I'm sure drinks like Tooyamalli Rice and Guntur Chilli were not on your menu card, and a nine-course cocktail tasting menu — that's something we haven't heard of so far. But Cavity at Barbet and Pals breaks the rule book, and at this speakeasy bar-like experience, the lines between cocktails and storytelling are blurred.

THE STORY BEHIND THE SPACE

Located in Delhi's new hot nightlife destination, GK II M-Block Cavity is nestled in the basement of the popular bar at Barbet and Pals and gets its name from the phenomenon of how a Barbet excavates a cavity to make its nest.

Founded by Jeet Rana and Chirag Pal alongside culinary maestro Chef Amninder Sandhu, their vision is all about curating an exclusive experience around food and drinks. An intimate nine-seater space, it serves a nine-course tasting menu with curated cocktails and bites, inspired by GI-tagged ingredients, sourced from their native regions over two-hours.

"Cavity came from a very personal idea. Growing up in the mountains, the best evenings were always in someone’s living room; people sat together, sharing stories, food, and drinks without any rush. We wanted to recreate that feeling inside a bar," shares Jeet Rana, Co-Founder of the space.

THE SPACE

As one enters Barbet and Pals, a secret door and a flight of stairs lead to an intimate space. The space itself mirrors the look and feel of a secluded, vintage room, similar to the detective stories we once read as children. Beside it lies the place where the magic comes to life, almost like a time capsule — a nine-seater chef's table with leather bar stools, and a reflective steel top, intriguing you to see what happens next.

The brand's mascot, a barbet and its claw prints are etched on the ceiling, giving you a sense of the mountains and their ecosystem. Embedded in the design is an open-style bar (similar to an open-kitchen), which allows you to see how each course is prepared. It not only piques curiosity about what lies ahead but makes guests feel like a part of the experience — in every sense as the chefs play with techniques using foam, fermentation, textures and complex flavour profiles.

9 COURSE MEAL

"India has incredible ingredients like fermentations, spices, fruits, and regional produce, but they’re often not explored deeply in cocktails. For Cavity, we explored flavours from different parts of India and asked a simple question: how can this ingredient become the hero of a drink?" Rana adds.

Hot & Cold: Tooyamalli Rice; Custard Tart with Sour Cherry jam and Black Truffle; Gola: Bhimkol Banana

During the nine-course tasting, each cocktail was accompanied by a light bite that enhanced the cocktail experience. The tasting started with a classic Mead (also called Honey Wine), infused with honey from the Sunderbans. On the first sip, a burst of sweet, citrus and fizz takes over your taste buds. The cocktail is paired with a light, cherry-infused cotton candy with an umami, almost sour centre. It was followed by Tor Toast and Fig and Cultured Cheese, which was creamy and crunchy with a hint of sweetness. What followed was a native twist to Amazake — a fermented rice drink. Assamese rice and millet fermentation traditions were served with pumpkin flowers filled with curried mushrooms. It was warm, spicy and earthy, all at once. However, the standout was Hot & Cold, an experimental take on Rasam Rice. It was a warm, tangy and peppery rasam base with a Tooyamalli Rice foam, and made our taste buds tingle. The drink also had a gunpowder idli cube, which made for the perfect bite, complementing the flavours.

Somewhere in the middle, everything starts to fight for attention. From the Pickled Ladahaki Apricot, to Guntur Chilli with a mild umami flavour, and the Mango and Coconut foam with Feni ( a local Goan liquor), an acquired taste for many, we could hardly pick a favourite. Amongst the multitude of drinks, the thoughtful approach allowed us to take hydration breaks. After the fourth cocktail, we enjoyed Coconut Water with electrolytes, and after the sixth, we were served Banana Chuski, made from the Bhimkol Banana popular in Assam. After the much-needed hydration boost, we were ready to dive back in.

In terms of food, the Pumpkin Flower Seekh with a flaky Amritsari-style kulcha, which almost felt ike a croissant, was the star of the show. The nutty, earthy flavours of the kulcha balanced the dense seekh, while the charred tomato ice-cream added the perfect tanginess to the otherwise complex palette. The meal ended on a sweet, caffeinated note. We were served a rich Espresso Martini with a berry compote paired with a contemporary version of Nolengur — a jaggery-based ice cream from the Eastern part of the country. The sprinkle of sea salt broke the sweetness and worked to balance the overall flavours.

After a lot of drinks and bites, the comforting Jasmine tea helped us rejuvenate, as we parted ways after a wholesome, flavour-packed evening. More than a bar, it feels like an escapade, a journey of discovering unique, local flavours- one course at a time. "I also hope the culture becomes more collaborative, where chefs, bartenders, farmers, and producers work together. That’s when a bar scene really becomes exciting," Jeet adds, as we speak to him about the future of bar culture in the city.