Bangalore’s cocktail scene just got a bold new player. Bar Sama, freshly opened in Ulsoor, arrives with quiet confidence, a 50-seat neighborhood bar where every detail is rooted in balance and thoughtful craft. At the heart of its beverage program is a collaboration with Singapore’s award-winning Cat Bite Club, one of Asia’s most respected cocktail collectives, whose expertise ensures each drink meets international standards while remaining approachable and playful. From the first sip, Bar Sama signals that this is not just another bar opening, it is a launch that stakes its claim as a cocktail-first destination, a place designed to surprise, spark conversation, and linger in memory long after the night ends.
The Chilli On is a tequila and mezcal mix served with a chilli tincture you can control drop by drop depending on your mood. The Velvet Eclipse flips the Irish Coffee, pairing steamy hot foam with icy coffee for a playful contrast. The Sabba-Tini reimagines the martini, swapping olives for dill and resting over a bowl of ice, a small act of drama that never tips into pretension. The Palm Reader blends Bacardi Ocho, Campari, Dolin Rouge Vermouth, toasted almond and cherry, finished with chocolate bark, while the Pear Pressure layers Chivas12, pear, cinnamon, maple and citrus with a foam and apple cider vinegar, each sip a story in itself. Every cocktail is built with technique but disarmed by charm, and most importantly, worth ordering again.
The food is treated with the same care. Chef Vichita Kumar, who has honed her craft at Comal, O Pedro, and Lupa, has designed a menu of Thai-inspired small plates that stand shoulder to shoulder with the drinks. This is not bar food hiding behind cocktails, it is food that adds to the story.
Highlights include Night Market Moo Ping, coconut milk–glazed minced pork skewers with nam jim jaew, Sum Oh!, a refreshing pomelo and young coconut salad with green peppercorn and yuzu, which can be paired with prawns, Panaeng Chicken Skewers, glazed with bird’s eye chilli and panaeng curry, Dirty Fried Rice, with Thai jasmine rice, soft egg, morning glory and bok choy and Fire-Grilled Scampi, dressed in nam prik pao butter with scallion and lemon.
Bar Sama’s interiors mirror the duality of the city it belongs to. Designed by Pronoti Chabbi of Studio Grain, the outer rooms recall Old Bangalore with charcoal and dusty green walls, art deco grills, postcard-style frames and tree-framed windows that allow the city inside. Deeper within, the inner core reveals a more modern cocoon softened with fabric panels and floral-inspired wall art that nods to Bangalore’s Garden City identity. At the center sits a marble bar counter designed for both function and conversation, the kind of counter where you are as likely to talk to the bartender as to the stranger sitting beside you.
Founder Pratheek Reddy, who shifted from construction into hospitality in 2021, sees Bar Sama as a neighborhood staple in the making. “I have experienced cocktail culture across the world and Bangalore deserves a space that delivers international quality but still feels like it belongs to the community,” he says. His ambition is not for Bar Sama to be the flashiest new opening but the place you return to week after week because it feels like yours.
Bangalore has been warming up to culture-driven drinking for some time. With Bar
With Bar Sama, the city finally has a cocktail bar that understands balance not as compromise but as character. It is that rare space where technique, flavor, design and experience meet in harmony, and where a night out can feel both international in standard and unmistakably Bangalorean in spirit.
Address:1st Floor, TRN Horizon, Ulsoor Main Road, Bangalore
Contact: +91 89048 41477
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