Bagheera

“The first condition of understanding a foreign country is to smell it,” the English novelist Rudyard Kipling is thought to have said. At Bagheera, a speakeasy named for the fictional panther in his classic story collection The Jungle Book, cocktails infused with cardamom and curried thali-style share plates pinpoint India. The railcar-inspired interior samples the subcontinent’s colonial-era luxe, but don’t get your woke knickers in a knot: Bagheera playfully gives the finger to Imperialism — just as the author did back in his day. If you peer closely, that staid Brit in a portrait by the French “hacker” artist Blase Masini is actually sporting fishnet stockings.

To embark on this first-class vacay, enter the hidden-in-the-open Happy Valley Turf Club — a papered-window betting shop with pony races playing on the foyer TV — and “place your bet” using the password du jour. Co-owner Lewis Hart oversaw and built much of the sumptuous sanctuary himself, like the curved ceiling studded with glittery market treasures. Bar thrones fronting the 42-foot reclaimed-teak expanse beckon, but do visit the plush Drawing Room at the back, a velvet-and-brocade hideaway walled by a cabinet of curiosities and rare spirits.

It’s helpful to have an Indian business partner who’s a history buff co-owner Brij Rathi Lewis Hart

As you might expect, gin and the malaria battling legacy of tonic play large here, with a menu of inventive G&Ts like the Bon Vivant (Monkey 47 Gin with lemon tonic, plus savouries like sage and makrut lime leaf). The only beers on offer are, appropriately, IPAs (India pale ales).

Bagheera is a new breed of “third-culture” bar, bridging Indian and Western traditions to achieve something finer than fusion. Naming every drink after a Kipling work or theme creates levels. Sure, The Anvil is a political allegory, but it’s also a hammer of a drink (rhum agricole, Calvados, red vermouth and spicy cinnamon tincture).

“It’s helpful to have an Indian business partner who’s a history buff,” Lewis Hart says of co-owner Brij Rathi. The team embeds historical and literary nuggets in a menu that first took the form of a vintage newspaper and is now a field manual to an exotic rail journey. Rathi and Hart also co-own nearby speakeasy Laowai; both bars are helping revive Vancouver’s Chinatown with spices and ingredients sourced from vendors on the block.

After a few rounds on your Bombay to Bijapur rail journey, disembark onto Main Street, blinking into the lit-up night. Your wanderlusts will be satisfied and your senses sated, first and foremost your thirst. Bon voyage!

1/5

—CHARLENE ROOKE