Breaking the Barrier

Of Asia’s 50 Best Bars in 2020, only one is Indian. Sidecar in Delhi, is at number 40 in the William Reed Group’s respected, much-anticipated list released recently. In South Delhi's upmarket Greater Kailash II neighborhood, on a street lined with coffee shops and restaurants, sits India's best bar. Sidecar is at the forefront of the growing cocktail bar scene in India. It was ranked number 91 on the World's Best Bar list in October, India's only entry in the top 100 and only the second bar in India ever to be selected - all before its second birthday. What makes Sidecar's rise to the top even more remarkable is that one-half of the bartending talent behind it is Meenakshi Singh. She co-founded the bar with business partner and veteran bartender Yangdup Lama. But when Singh started out bartending private events and parties in the early 2000s while studying hotel management, it was actually illegal for women to bartend in India.There was as an archaic British law that women couldn't serve liquor. While the national law was overturned in 2007, each of India's 29 states make their own liquor laws. For Delhi, the law wouldn't officially be repealed until 2010. While more women are entering the profession, it's still a male-dominated space, alcohol has always been taboo subject in India from a family perspective. Lopamudra Ganguly speaks to Meenakshi Singh about her Success. Excerpts from the interview:

- Lopamudra Ganguly

Your Bar Sidecar has won best international Bar award. Tell us something about your journey towards success.

It’s been surreal! We have been awarded the BEST BAR in India, by 30 Best bars, and Asia’s 50 best bars, and then we got an entry into World’s 50 best bars, at a ranking of No 91. So we couldn’t have been more thrilled, and grateful mainly to our industry and to the global community at large for recognising our efforts and rewarding us with these incredible honours.