Not Just A Piece Of Paper, Bar Menus Are A Part Of Storytelling In Modern Cocktail Culture

Picture a scene. You walk into a bar, and it’s not crowded. That’s already a win. You find a good place to sit, bar menus arrive, you begin flipping the pages… and pause. Because in front of you isn’t just a pricing list. It’s a little book with travel tales, or a ditty on every page, or stamps and illustrations. It is, to put it simply, a part of the cocktail’s story. 

There was a time when you’d barely glance at the bar menu before ordering yourself a drink. The options were not always limited, but the menu rarely got a second look; for anything new and creative, you always asked the bartender. The bartender is still the person with the best recommendations. But a slow shift has appeared in modern cocktail culture. 

The bar menus don’t just lie on the table. They are carefully perused, discussed, and even clicked for memory (and social media). Because as cocktail programmes in India evolved, so did the menus that accompanied them. And some bars really took the game to the next level.

Image Credits: Margaret’s Eye, Instagram

One building, three bars. That’s what you get when you step into Perch Wine House & Coffee Bar. One of Delhi’s OG speakeasies, Hoots, is nestled inside it. The latest addition is Margaret’s Eye, a women-run, vegetable-first cocktail bar on the top floor. The eponymous Margaret is a fictional traveller who uses the bar menu to take you through her travel tales and the cocktails it inspired. You’re not just drinking what goes in the glass, but also get a sense of the story behind it. 

While the concept of a travel-inspired bar menu isn’t new, its treatment at Margaret’s feels fresh. Every cocktail on the menu is inspired by a location and a vegetable and features only white spirits. For example, when the menu introduces Carrot (a rum and carrot-based cocktail), the accompanying note (“drove down Vermont in a vintage car, tasted fresh carrots… ”) includes drawings, stamps and a font that resembles human handwriting. The travel diary-turned-bar menu keeps you reading long after the order has been placed. 

Image Credits: Little Bit Sober, Instagram

Little Bit Sober calls itself Kolkata’s homegrown bar. One of its menus, the “Heartfelt Menu”, includes little poem-style stories for every cocktail. It does not describe the cocktail but rather captures an observed conversation – between two women, a bartender and a loyal customer, two people in an elevator, and so on. As the team describes, “every drink on this menu carries a memory, a night, a name.” It’s a reminder, perhaps, to savour conversations and moments, not just food. 

The cocktails have numbers, not names (Cocktail No.1, Cocktail No. 2) and the ingredients listed at the end of the page make sure you know the flavour you’re getting; the little story is just the literary cherry on top. They also introduced a new menu in December last year, where the drinks were named like episode titles, and spotlighted the idea behind the cocktail. For example, the one with Sherbet, the one from Patisserie, etc. 

Image Credits: Paradox, Instagram

If the other bar menus pushed the storytelling, Paradox inverted it and how. This one isn’t a motif being repeated or a story being told (though both have their place in a well-designed bar menu) but a whole new visual language. The menu, designed by Jungle gym, flips multiple elements. The typography uses a customised reverse italic typeface and the logo embodies constantly shifting perspectives (with design elements like two faces, a goblet, etc.). 

The menu also features zines on its pages, distorted images that twist familiar forms while keeping the names and ingredients clear, and contrasting typographies that demand a second look. This is a bar menu that ensures you understand its world of contradictions even before you sample the food and drinks. 

Image Credits: AtelierV, Instagram

Metros may have more bars dotting their corners, streets, and promenades, but India’s tier-2 cities are catching up. And fast. In the case of creative bar menus, Indore claims a spot with Atelier V, a restaurant and bar with a signature cocktail program that captures flavours from across the world. 

The signature bar menu calls itself a “cocktail passport”. Every drink’s named after the phrase or word people say when clinking glasses. And each drink is accompanied by an explanation of the flavour, spirit, and place. This looks like the kind of menu designed by someone who loves to go down rabbit holes, no matter the story. 

Special Mentions

Whether it’s a small element on every page, an explosion of brand colours, or clever, unusual names, bars are making sure their menus have a personality. Like BoilerMaker in Goa, which goes a little graphic, and Barbet & Pals in Delhi, which adopts a scrapbook style. Meanwhile, Bar Spirit Forward in Bengaluru employs wordplay and cinematic references for the drinks. 

These small, big, and unique elements show how storytellers always stand out, be it in a world of bars or bots.

*Drink Responsibly. This communication is for audiences above the age of 25.