Saqi

The music at most bars is either trying to convince you that you're having a good time or implying that you should get up and dance, but Saqi doesn't do either. Tucked inside Hotel Alka Classic in CP, it plays Hindi and Urdu retro, and that changes… everything.

Rarely do people feel like screaming over Mohd Rafi or Jagjit Singh, which means you can actually have a conversation. Heck, I have seen people working on their laptops at Saqi. It's not a sentence you can write about many bars, and it says more about the room than any adjective could. It’s quite often that big names sneak in here for the after-party of a book or event launch, too. You wouldn’t be able to tell.

The ambience is dim, worn-in, kinda like a familiar living room space. Except that a living room won't serve cocktails at ₹400. You can order one if you're curious, but I prefer to stick to the simple, tried-and-tested stuff. 

A detail worth mentioning: their smoking room is like an outdoor area that is full of plants. Quite unlike the claustrophobic smoking areas in most places, it's somewhere you might actually choose to stand even long after the ciggie’s over.

The food is standard Chinese and North Indian, and the staff will unanimously mention their tangdi kebabs. When every person on the floor gives you the same recommendation, it's worth taking the hint. But I drop in occasionally for the moody vibe and an ambience that remains unfazed by nightlife trends. In Connaught Place where bars are constantly reinventing themselves, Saqi's refusal to give a crap is the whole appeal.