Hidden one level below Barbet & Pals is Cavity, an intimate nine-seater tasting room that feels like a special secret that only a few are privy to. The experience begins even before you reach: at the time of reservation, you’re asked about dietary preferences, allergies and just how adventurous you’re feeling. It sets the tone—immersive and interactive. Once you get there, guests are guided through the blue door, tracing the symbolic claw marks down the stairs.
The concept is a gradual “flight” of cocktails paired with small plates. Cavity’s opening menu features a nine-course guided experience helmed by co-founders Jeet Rana and Chirag Pal alongside co-founder and chef Amninder Sandhu. The menu has been collaboratively designed so that cocktails and cuisine evolve together in seamless progression. Largely based on India’s GI-tagged ingredients sourced directly from their regions of origin, the experience explores distinct techniques across each course—fermentation, heat, cold, foam, smoke and texture. Pairings are crafted to complement or contrast one another, making it fun, with plenty of surprise elements along the way.
Course 1: Honeyed Take-Off
The journey opens softly—with mead. A honey wine cocktail that feels like liquid sunlight, lightly fermented and delicately sweet, it sets a gentle tone. It arrives with candyfloss on a stick, concealing chicken liver pâté for non-vegetarians and baba ghanoush for vegetarians. Alongside it sits a fancy cheeseball, made with fig and burrata, and topped with a crisp parmesan tuile, and tor toast, crisp shokupan bread that’s fluffy on the inside, topped with ‘tor’, a Himalayan river water fish. This sets the tone for the drink-food pairing that follows – it’s experimental, refreshingly different from what is available elsewhere in the city, and well suited for an adventurous palate.
Course 2: Amazake at 32 Degrees
The second drink draws inspiration from Japan. This Amazake is made with Assamese rice—funky, lightly sweet and warmed to around 30–32°C—arrives fragrant and comforting. Passion fruit cuts through the softness, while a nod to Himalayan chhang reminds you of the mountains. On the plate: crisped kaddu ka phool, stuffed with prawn balchao, and a lobster head emulsion enriched with coriander.
Course 3: Rasam Reimagined
Tamil Nadu jasmine rice appears next, transformed into a rice foam hovering over a vodka-and-rasam cocktail; the contrasting flavours aside, it’s the cold base and hot foam together that is the highlight of this one—savoury, peppery and at once familiar yet surprising. Alongside it: idli, but elevated—soft, stuffed with crab, topped with coconut chutney and a pop of caviar.
Course 4: The Classic, Rewired
A filo tartlet filled with cognac bheja pâté and cherry soy jam arrives with a Ramos gin fizz, finished with soda, bringing creamy citrus brightness and a note of nostalgia reminding you of icecream soda from hot summer school days.
Course 5: Fire and Choux
Then comes heat. Mezcal meets Guntur chilli in a smoky, slow-building cocktail paired with Guntur chilli chicken based masala for the rim. Gougères, savoury choux buns, are stuffed with Zarai cheese and bone marrow extract, and drizzled with balsamic. Fantastic!
Course 6: The Gibson in Ladakh
A Gibson reinterpreted with Ladakhi apricot is one of my favourite drinks in this journey for a fine briny-fruity fruity balance, while the gin is sharp. It’s paired with Himalayan-style seekh made with mutton offal, tomato ice cream and flaky Amritsari kulcha—the seekh is not for ones with a meek palate, but everything comes together for a nice, wholesome bite.
Course 7: Bhimkol
A refreshing pause or simply a palate cleaner: Bhimkol—Assam’s red banana—takes centre stage, presented like an ice lolly or chuski.
Course 8: Smoke, Cardamom, and Nihari
Sikkimese black cardamom lends rich smokey notes to a whiskey-and-mezcal concoction that’s delicious. It’s like a befitting main-course with rich and gelatinous lamb nihari served with soft saffron bread for soaking up the lovely flavours. The nihari is special because it’s made with a specific part of the shank known as ‘kareli’, here it is cooked to perfection and presented in mini triangles, without the bone.
Course 9: Chrysanthemum Goodbye
For dessert, there’s a coffee cocktail that’s not an espresso martini, and rasgulla drizzled with nolen gur and topped with delicious nolen gur meringue. The descent is gentle. Chrysanthemum tea laced with Malta liqueur from Uttarakhand closes the evening with floral bitterness and citrus warmth.
The Verdict
Cavity is more than a bar-within-a-bar. It is storytelling in liquid form. Kumaoni ingredients weave through the experience, and GI-tagged flavours from across India make considered appearances. The bird motif—claw marks, flocks, flight paths—maintain the theme of the bar above: Barbet & Pals.
For those drawn to inventive cocktails and regional Indian flavours presented through a contemporary lens, this is a journey worth experiencing. It is also an evolving space, where one can expect to see independent producers, artisans and collaborators aligned with Barbet & Pals’ coming together to create purpose-driven hospitality. So stay tuned!
Address: Ground Floor, M Block Market, M-51, Block M, Greater Kailash II, New Delhi – 110048.
Timings: Friday, Saturday & Sunday at 8 PM Sharp.
Experience Price: 4,500++ per person (Nine-course cocktail experience paired with food)
Reservations: +91 9205645151 or barbetandpals.com
