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Bandra has long had a reputation for being Mumbai’s “it” neighborhood. Its cafés, restaurants, bars and late-night spots have made it one of the city’s most recognizable social hubs. But long before it became synonymous with expensive apartments and new restaurants, Bandra was a collection of small villages, farming settlements and fishing communities. The old names are still around, even if the landscape has changed dramatically. Sixteen33 in Pali Hill is now looking back at that history with its Bandra Cocktails 2.0, a signature cocktail menu inspired by six of the neighborhood’s historic villages: Chimbai, Pali, Ranwar, Sherly, Kantwadi and Chuim.
The idea behind the menu is quite simple. Instead of using Bandra’s history as just a theme for the interiors or the name of a cocktail, Sixteen33 has tried to connect each drink with something associated with the village it represents.
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The original cocktail programme was already built around the six villages, with the bar’s team spending time exploring Bandra and speaking to residents while researching the stories behind them. The new 2.0 menu continues that approach, but with more unusual ingredients and techniques finding their way into the glass.
And that makes the menu quite different from a standard list of cocktails named after neighborhoods
Historically, Chimbai was a fishing village near St Andrew’s Church, and the area remains associated with the Koli fishing community. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Heritage Conservation Society's study of Bandra notes that Chimbai was once a thriving fishing settlement and that fishing activity continues, although the number of people involved has declined. The cocktail translates that connection into a distinctly savory drink.
The cocktail combines vodka, mikan vinegar shrub, yuzu purée, gari brine, wasabi and citric, with a prawn cracker acting as the key ingredient and garnish. It sits somewhere between a Martini and a Japanese-inspired sour, with acidity, brine and umami taking the drink away from the usual sweet cocktail territory.
Price: INR 750
Pali is one of those names that barely needs an introduction to anyone who knows Bandra today. But Pali Hill's history goes much further back. Pali was one of Bandra's old hamlets, with the original settlements dating to a time when the area was largely agricultural rather than residential.
Sixteen33 takes a gentler route with this cocktail. The drink uses Moroccan mint tea cordial, saline solution, carbonated water, gin-infused orange jelly, creating something that is refreshing and aromatic. The mint and orange give it a garden-like quality, while the carbonation keeps it crisp.
Price: INR 800
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Ranwar is another of Bandra's old villages and is roughly 400 years old. Historically, it was a rice-producing settlement surrounded by paddy fields, a rather different picture from the densely built Bandra that surrounds it today. Sixteen33's Ranwar cocktail takes that agricultural history quite literally.
The drink is built around Indrayani rice-infused whisky, with jaggery syrup, aromatic bitters, saline solution and carbonated coconut water. The result is designed to be soft and rounded, with the rice bringing an understated grain character to the whisky.
It is probably one of the more approachable drinks on the list, especially for someone who enjoys whisky but wants something lighter for a night out.
Price: INR 850
Sherly, like several of Bandra's old villages, was historically connected to agriculture. The heritage record describes Sherly Rajan as a village whose residents were largely farmers and toddy tappers, with rice fields once stretching around the settlements.
The Sherly cocktail plays with that agricultural connection through kodu millet-infused whisky. It also uses a rice vinegar shrub, sweetener and an apple popcorn foam. There is a combination of grain, fruit and acidity here, but the foam gives it a slightly playful finish.
Price: INR 890
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Kantwadi is perhaps the easiest of the six to connect with an ingredient. The village was once known for its mango trees, with residents historically selling mangoes from the area. Sixteen33 uses that memory as the starting point for its cocktail. The Kantwadi combines Don Julio Blanco, raw mango soda and chili.
The drink is bright, tart and slightly spicy, with raw mango giving it a distinctly Indian character. The original Sixteen33 cocktail menu also used the village's mango-growing history as inspiration, with the bar's research noting that school classes were once held under mango trees in the area.
Price: INR 1,175
Chuim's story is another reminder of just how different Bandra once looked. Records from the 1940s describe it as a cluster of around 70 independent houses belonging to traders involved in agricultural produce and flower cultivation. Mango trees were also part of the settlement. Sixteen33's Chuim cocktail takes inspiration from that floral side of the village.
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It combines Bacardi White rum, sherry, coconut and jasmine flower, creating a drink that sounds considerably more delicate than the Chimbai. The jasmine brings the floral note, while coconut rounds out the rum and sherry.
Price: INR 890
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The interesting part about Bandra Cocktails 2.0 is that the history doesn't feel completely detached from what is in the glass.
Chimbai's seafood connection becomes prawn and brine. Ranwar's rice-growing past becomes Indrayani rice-infused whisky. Kantwadi's mango trees become raw mango. Sherly's agricultural history becomes millet. Chuim's flowers find their way into a coconut and jasmine cocktail. The cocktails were all designed to taste good but also take a long walk around Bandra.
Address: Sixteen33, 16th & 33rd Cross Road, Pali Hill, Bandra West, Mumbai
Timings: 12:30 PM to 1:30 AM from Wednesday to Sunday
6 PM to 1:30 AM on Monday and Tuesday
