On Thursday, 11 September, The Oberoi, Mumbai’s Eau Bar will swap the Arabian Sea breeze for a whisper of Florentine chic as it hosts a bar takeover by Locale Firenze, currently ranked No. 36 on The World’s 50 Best Bars list. Expect a candlelit, art-deco setting and that signature Oberoi polish, paired with a menu shaped in one of Italy’s most distinctive cocktail labs. Locale’s sensibility is contemporary yet rooted in place, drawing on seasonal produce, modernist technique, and an almost atelier-like respect for ingredients. It is a rare opportunity for Mumbai’s serious bar crowd to taste a 50 Best-calibre programme without leaving Nariman Point.
Commanding the shakers is 29-year-old head bartender Dario Banchellini, a Pisa native who came up fast through Tuscany’s best rooms before taking the reins at Locale. His path runs from early stints in Pisa to a leadership turn at Bologna’s speakeasy Donkey, and now to Florence’s Palazzo Concini, where he balances technical precision with an easy, confident hospitality. Banchellini’s cocktails for Mumbai read like a postcard from the Mediterranean, edited for Indian palates that prize clarity and nuance. Look for Foglia, a gin-led refresher lifted by mint and basil, No Clouds in Mexico with tequila, mezcal, citrus leaf, and Timut pepper, a Coffee Manhattan structured with coffee Bourbon and kombucha, and a seasonal Margarita brightened with mango, agave, and Peychaud’s.
Eau Bar’s late-night poise and sea-facing terrace give these Florentine signatures a glamorous stage, while Locale’s low-waste, flavour-first philosophy dovetails neatly with the current appetite for lighter, ingredient-driven drinks. This is less about pyrotechnics and more about finesse, the sort of polished craftsmanship you would expect to find in a Florentine bottega rather than a crowded cocktail den. If you collect experiences the way others collect labels, this is one to bank. Seats will be coveted, the crowd will be sharp, and the pours will reward attention. Mumbai gets Florence for a night, and the smart money will be at Eau Bar.
When and where: The Eau Bar, The Oberoi, Mumbai, 11 September 2025.
