Bengaluru’s old drinking clubs with their heritage charms are still the talk of the town. They offer something that the new-age taprooms cannot manufacture - a reason to return.
Bengaluru has a bevy of new hospitality addresses across MG Road, Church Street, and Indiranagar - that promise discovery: a new rooftop, a new bar menu, a room full of paintings by Dali… But it is the older institutions that make an offer you can rarely say no to.
In the 1980s, a handful of bars shaped the way the city was introduced to alcohol, music and social life. These are the very ones people still return to. People return not for a new menu (very few have upgraded the variety or price), music (decidedly classic rock or pop) or décor (decidedly retro or minimal), but for a taste of nostalgia, good service, pocket-friendly food and alcohol. These are the establishments that set the tone for the city’s over 3,000 bars and pubs today.
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We revisit the yesteryears of Bengaluru’s nightlife through these 7 iconic establishments.
Historically known as Koshy’s Parade Restaurant, its story begins with a bakery in 1940; the restaurant followed in the early 1950s. Reminiscent of the Irani-style cafes – resembling its unhurried atmosphere, wooden furniture and nonchalant waitressing – Koshy’s grew to attract people who came for its familiar dishes and chilled beers. Jawaharlal Nehru, Queen Elizabeth II and Nikita Khruschev are among those who have famously dined at Koshy's. Everything from the menu evokes a memory - popular options include the Roast Chicken, English Breakfast, and Stew with Appam. Diners who visit are often an eclectic bunch – from retirees who can’t do with Koshy’s coffee in their bloodstream, to students who wolf down chicken sandwiches and steaks over assignments, to tourists who visit the place for its famed history and not necessarily its menu.
Where: 39, St. Marks Road, Bangalore
Contact: +91 80222 13793
Founded in 1989, Pecos was one of Bangalore’s first pubs. The club has a distinctive classic-rock playlist, and its retro ambience sets it apart. The bar still makes waves among patrons and retains its cult status even after 30 years. Its crowds span generations: Instagram kids, the original regulars and tourists share tables on a Tuesday, ordering draught beer and chicken chilli while nodding along to retro rock numbers.
Where: 4 Resthouse Road, Off Brigade Road, Bengaluru
Contact: +91 96868 77666
Tucked below the Wheeler Road flyover in Frazer Town, Dolphin’s has been part of the neighbourhood even before the flyover arrived. Its unassuming exterior gives way to a no-frills bar where the food, rather than the décor, is the draw. What began as a modest local drinking spot has grown into a well-loved fixture of the area’s nightlife, with a casual ground-floor bar that keeps things refreshingly simple. Highly recommended is their pork biryani.
Where: 550, 1st Floor, East End Circle, 3rd Phase, Jayanagar, Bengaluru
Contact: +91 89042 19772
Windsor Pub is the place, ideal for warm Sunday afternoons - drinking beer and ‘belting’ good food. A comfortable place to relax with old friends amid unbridled laughter, listening to rock hits of the bygone era. The décor of the place hasn’t changed in the two decades the pub has been around, and it still has leather sofas and marble-top tables. You can easily order a plate of dried beef (Veddi Erachi) and Crab meat balls with your first order of cold draught beer, even before perusing the menu. We highly recommend the not-too-sweet Tosca Cake with vanilla ice cream encrusted with almonds.
Where: 7, Kodava Samaja Building, Vasanth Nagar
Contact: 080 41148006
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This was the first place to serve draught beer, and it has continued to do so since its inception in 1988. It has been a favourite meet-up place for those studying in St. Joseph’s, Baldwin’s, Bishop Cotton’s, Bangalore International School, Sri Aurobindo Memorial School, or any of the old schools of Bangalore or Bengaluru. In its new form, you feel like you are visiting Scotland; the interiors have a fresh, new vibe. The prices of the place, however, remain the same - it costs 800 for two without alcohol. Some of the crowd favourites were the good old cheese, cherry, and pineapple was great. Also tried the chicken pakoda, chilli chicken, egg pakoda and finger chips
Where: Vasavi Complex, 17/21, St Mark's Rd, opposite to State Bank of India
Contact: +91 80 2221 5002
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Dublin is the Irish pub inside ITC Windsor, one of Bengaluru’s old Regency-style luxury hotels. It has positioned itself as a welcoming enclave with fine spirits, the best malt whiskeys and good pub food. The pub is replete with vintage decor, live music and excellent service staff. ITC Windsor itself was built in 1982 and renovated in 2024. Sitting on Golf Course Road makes this pub upscale, a more polished choice than the others on this list. It might be the only old-school pub that might need a prior booking.
Where: 25, Windsor Square, Sankey Road, ITC Windsor
Contact: +91 80 2226 9898
Chin Lung is a Residency Road institution. It is one of the city’s most popular dive bars and probably one that they claim is seven decades old – dating back to 1956. It has had a grand makeover and is less of a dive now, but its prices are still old school. It is still described by many as a cozy, always bustling place near Church Street with the feel of Old Bangalore. Chin Lung serves cheap tap beer and dishes like fried rice and Chinese fish, and often caters to a crowd of students. The menu covers Chinese, North Indian and bar food. The brand dates back to 1956 and now has outlets and microbreweries across the city.
Where: 30, Near Syndicate Bank, Residency Road
Contact: +91 99010 97040
Not every landmark survived. Dewar’s, fondly remembered by many Bengaluru residents, was known for its old-world setting and food – unfortunately closed in 2011 (latest recorded reference).
Though Dewar’s is a piece of old Bengaluru that no longer exists – it belongs in this story as an absence, not as a recommendation. The city’s first watering hole for the British, and the loyal crowd came for its liquor and famous mutton chops. Dewar’s, as legend goes, began as a hakim’s shop, then became a bar and, for a time, a post office. The crowd who visited ranged from daily wage earners to young executives to retirees reading the newspaper in a corner. It was not for the faint–hearted–it served high–protein snacks and lots of strong alcohol to its patrons, through its various avatars over the 78 years it operated in Bengaluru.
What is still standing, then, is more than a collection of signs. It is a set of habits that people continue to practise: meeting for coffee, using a reading room, returning to familiar music. Bengaluru’s past stays alive not when it is perfectly preserved, but when it embraces the nostalgia and comfort they bring – enough to pull up a chair when they return.
