Papi opens in Mumbai
The Mumbai suburb of Bandra has welcomed a new bar named Papi, offering ‘expressive and ingredient-led’ cocktails.
The bar describes itself as ‘somewhere between a late-night European bar and a house party that got out of hand in the best possible way’.
The name Papi refers both to the Spanish word for father and the Hindi word for sinner.
The cocktail menu encompasses savoury, tropical, floral and spirit-forward serves. Ingredients – such as herbs, citrus and ferments – are shared between the bar and the kitchen.
The cocktails are unnamed and are instead numbered to create conversation and encourage curiosity. The menu draws on the classics, with options including a chamomile whisky Highball with salted peach foam and a savoury Martini with cucumber and dill brine.
Every cocktail on the menu is served on tap, ensuring consistency in every pour.
The menus and music adapt throughout the evening, creating a different atmosphere depending on when a guest arrives.
Co-founder Ansh Kapoor said: “Papi was designed to build slowly, to shift as the night progresses, so the experience at 8pm feels completely different from what it becomes by midnight. Every detail, the way the light shifts, how the cocktails are structured, the pacing of the menu, has been considered to contribute to a certain feeling.”
The interiors feature warm amber light over layers of wood, stone, and brushed metal. The layout is open and ‘fluid’, allowing for movement throughout the night.
A glass roof covers the main area, with further skylights throughout the space. Outdoor seating is also available.
Loop Design Studio conceived the interiors, which feature African textiles.
The food offering focuses on small plates and sharing dishes, drawing from coastal, Latin, Mediterranean and pan-Asian references. Dishes include a Sichuan paella, carpaccio with truffle, and ricotta Recheado.
Papi also makes its own pasta for dishes such as the radiatori alla vodka.
Co-founder Aditya Wanwari added: “Bandra is a very aware market. People go out often, they know what they like, and they can tell when something is trying too hard.
“The bar leads the experience at Papi, but the food has to keep pace with it – plates that can be shared and ordered over time, with deliberate contrast between light and rich, familiar and unexpected.”
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