LOQA Cocktail Room

Lokum means ‘realm’ in Telugu, and inspired by Bengaluru’s SOKA, that’s exactly what the makers of the bar have created in one of Hyderabad’s most upmarket corporate districts: a new realm. 

LOQA goes against the grain in Hyderabad, which is very much a city dominated by sprawling, multi-floor bars with predictable indoor-outdoor layouts. The space is compact, cool toned, and moody. Designed to pull you in. 

The cocktails and food are all original curations leaning into experimentation and fusion. Everything on the menu has a story, and the staff is eager to share it. The wait staff comprises bartenders – so their recommendations are worth listening to.

The menu’s intentionally concise, with just 15 cocktails and a 25-item microbite menu, with a single dessert. They’ve done some stuff seriously well here – the Avakai Cheese Kulchas, Hamachi Avocado Ceviche, Boozy Choco Overload, and cocktails like the curd rice-inspired Fifth Dimension and the fruit-forward In Is The New Out. LOQA is also among the few bars in Hyderabad that regularly host international bar takeovers, making it a strong pick for anyone looking for one of the city’s most distinctive cocktail experiences.

Designed by Sona Reddy Studio, the space is dressed in a deep bottle green layered with curtains, a bamboo labyrinth ceiling installation, retro-tech menu fonts, vintage TVs looping grainy visuals and neon-style typographic projections. Their purist approach extends to the techno-house music they play, at a time when most places lean heavily into pop and Bollywood.