India’s bar scene is getting a little more adventurous this October, with cocktail bars and hospitality spaces opening their doors to visiting teams from across the country and beyond. From Lair at Mumbai’s Ness to Bandung’s Peels Records & Bar making its India debut, these five takeovers offer a chance to discover new drinks, meet different bar cultures and find a good excuse to head out.
Two bartenders walk into a bar. No, this isn't the beginning of a joke, although depending on how the evening goes, it could be the beginning of several. Across India's cocktail scene, visiting bartenders and travelling bars have become a great excuse to explore what other cities are pouring. One night, your local haunt is doing its usual thing; the next, a team from Delhi, Kolkata or Bandung has arrived with its own recipes, techniques and ideas about what belongs in your glass. Naturally, we support this kind of intercity exchange. Someone has to do the important bit of drinking their way across the country and calling it work.
A bar takeover gives you a chance to try a place's signature cocktails without having to book a flight, and gives bartenders a chance to take their work outside the rooms they’re used to. The appeal goes beyond getting a new drink in your hand: you might discover a different approach to ingredients, see how another bar builds its menu, or find yourself in a room where the music and the drinks have been put together with equal consideration. Some takeovers bring celebrated cocktail programmes into hotel bars; others bring the spirit of a listening bar halfway across the country to your neighbourhood. For a few hours, your usual drinking spot becomes a meeting point for different cities, scenes and ideas about a good night out. Here are five bar takeovers to put on your October calendar.
October 11, 2026 – 7 PM onwards
New Delhi cocktail bar Lair is heading to Ness at Trident Nariman Point, with head bartender Amay Bisen and senior bartender Vaishnavi Varma behind the bar. Lair ranked eighth on Asia's 50 Best Bars list in 2025, making this a guest shift worth bookmarking for anyone interested in the people shaping India's cocktail scene. The team will bring its approach to drinks to Ness for an evening overlooking Mumbai's coastline.
October 24, 2026 – 9pm onwards
Kolkata's Little Bit Sober is travelling to Yazu in Lower Parel for The Yazu Mixover. The collaboration brings the visiting bar's cocktail programme to a Mumbai audience, with the evening centred on a guest shift at Yazu. If you've been meaning to explore Kolkata's bar scene, this is a good way to start without having to plan a trip around it (although, I totally would).
October 16, 2026
Bandung's Peels Records & Bar is bringing its Night Train tour to Auro in New Delhi, in collaboration with Arcade Social Club. Opened in 2021, Peels combines a record store, listening room and cocktail bar, with music playing a central role in the experience. The India tour marks the bar's first visit to the country, bringing its music-led approach to a new audience for one evening. Consider it a date for anyone who likes their drinks accompanied by an impeccably curated soundtrack.
October 17, 2026
Do not fear if you're not in Delhi because the following evening, Peels heads to Juna in Goa for the final stop of its three-city Indian tour. The collaboration with Arcade Social Club brings the Bandung bar's combination of records, listening culture and cocktails to Goa, following stops in Mumbai and Delhi. With the tour built around bringing the Peels experience to different venues, this is a good opportunity to encounter a bar from the other side of the world without booking a flight to Indonesia.
October 10, 2026 – 8 PM onwards
Delhi's PCO is bringing its bartenders and signature cocktails to Tavern Club at Courtyard by Marriott Shillong for a one-night takeover. Organised by Tulleeho, the event promises a specially handpicked cocktail selection created for the occasion, with the PCO team bringing its approach to mixology to Shillong. It's a welcome excuse to explore the city's drinking scene, especially if your idea of a good Saturday involves letting somebody else decide what's going into your glass.
Whether you're heading out for a visiting bartender's signature cocktail, a music-led drinking experience or the pleasure of discovering a bar from another city, October has plenty to offer. Make the booking, gather the group chat and leave room on the evening's itinerary for one more round. Your usual order can wait a week.
If you enjoyed reading this, here's more from Homegrown:
If You Know, You Know: A Homegrown Guide To New Delhi’s Best Local Bars
Bar Stormy Wants To Be The Hyderabad Bar You Don’t Need A Reason To Walk Into
It’s About Time: 'Night Train' Is Bringing The World’s Best Bars To India