By Mohit Nagrath, Co-Founder — Desi Contemporary Indian Casual & Gabru Bar

When you operate a restaurant and bar, the two functions are inextricably linked. Guests who order a cocktail with their dinner want the flavors and ideas to complement each other. At the same time, you must ensure that they can exist independently. Some guests may not drink or simply won’t want a cocktail with their meal, while others may come in just to enjoy the atmosphere and an adult beverage. This is why our cocktail and mocktail menu at Desi Contemporary Indian Casual and Gabru Bar, located in downtown Campbell in the California Bay Area, is designed to complement our restaurant’s menu while also offering a vibrant and unique experience to each customer.

Mastering the Art of Mixology

Gabru Bar’s cocktail menu is curated by mixologists who combine modern techniques with traditional Indian flavors to create a set of unforgettably scrumptious drinks. Although our meticulously created, self-crafted recipes are special secrets, we love to share the inspirations behind these drinks with our guests to help them better enjoy the experience and understand the vibe we aim to capture.

For mocktail lovers, we have introduced new drinks like the virgin mojitos with Indian flavors like kalakhatta, khus, and mango as well as the hugely popular virgin Fundoo mule in mango-peach flavors with ginger beer. We recently added mocktail and cocktail-making experiences who may be interested in learning the art of cocktail-making with our mixologists and behind the bar scenes.

Our experience at Gabru Bar stands out as particularly unique because we do not organize our menu into traditional categories or groupings based on content or flavor, but rather “Josh” — levels of energy and enthusiasm. In other words, our cocktail menu is designed to elevate our guests’ moods with delicious cocktails that pair with however they are feeling, from “cheerful and lighthearted” to “romantic and effervescent” or “humorous and reflective.” These feelings are perfectly aligned with seasonal moods and organic vibes.

Exotic and Delicious Cocktails Designed to Elevate Your Mood

For an example of one of our cocktails that perfectly encapsulates a mood, look no further than the “Pehla Nasha,” a rose and citrus-flavored gin cocktail whose name is taken from a Hindi phrase roughly translated to “first intoxication.” Guests will find themselves intoxicated by this delicious cocktail in more ways than one, as this “romantic and effervescent” drink offers a perfect balance of citrus, floral, rosewater, and cardamom notes, allowing one to take their evening to the next level of sophistication.

Other cocktails we have created to capture different moods include:

• Aaja Nachle: This “romantic & effervescent” cocktail includes some very distinct Indian flavors that make it a perfect complement to our restaurant’s food menu. Made with white rum, lemon elixir, and paan liqueur and served with a lemon wheel and a fresh paan (famous Indian leaf and gulkand), this cocktail has lovely paan, citrusy and earthy notes.

• Royal Ginfield: Another cocktail we offer that brings Indian flavors to the forefront is our “mysterious & adventurous” Royal Ginfield, which incorporates gin, our unique tonic syrup recipe, amla (Indian gooseberry) juice, sparkling wine, and lime. The result is a fizzy, slightly sour, always refreshing beverage you cannot find on any other menu garnished with amla candy.

• MC Sher: Our MC Sher offers a refreshing twist on a classic cocktail: the bourbon sour. By adding unique accents like Marvel bitters and house saffron syrup, the MC Sher becomes a “mysterious & adventurous” — but, most importantly, delicious — take on a familiar favorite.

• Patiala Peg Old Fashioned: Speaking of familiar favorites, it’s hard to go wrong with an Old Fashioned, but we want to make sure to offer our guests a distinct version of this iconic cocktail. Our Patiala Peg Old Fashioned is made unique by including date syrup and cherry bark vanilla bitters, which add a rich flavor to the drink that guests might not expect.

Traditional Indian flavors with Modern Twists

Ultimately, the goal of our cocktail menu is similar to that of our restaurant’s food menu: to take our guests on a culinary adventure. We hope that by offering a diverse range of flavorful cocktails and dishes that blend traditional Indian flavors with modern twists, we can make our restaurant the perfect destination for a memorable dining experience — whether they’re looking for a casual dinner with friends, a romantic date night, or just a sophisticated, pleasant evening.