Mumbai's New Bar, Punchline, is Punching Above Its Weight

Go really far back to the origin story of the cocktail, and you’ll hit the jackpot with the Punch, a combination of spirit, spice, sugar, citrus, and water that was served in communal bowls at forgotten parties and group catchups in an earlier era. The five elements were also called ‘paanch’ or five, and Punch’s origin story seemingly comes from here.

The origin story of Mumbai’s rise as a cocktail city also owes to fun and non-judgmental spaces that simply allowed you to be before cocktail bars became technique-driven, Instagram-heavy, and stuffy all around.

Punchline is the answer to both these origin stories without any questions being asked. The winning trio of Delhi’s Barbet & Pals, which includes bartender-partners Jeet Rana and Chirag Pal, along with chef partner Amninder Sandhu, is back to make drinking fun again in Mumbai.

And as long as we’re on origin stories, Rana acknowledges that Sandhu and his journey began in Mumbai, and it was a no-brainer to come and open a space here.

The Ambience

Located in Bandra, Punchline riffs on the colour of a punch bowl, with everything in its vicinity getting the punch orange citrus colour tone in some form. Think orange resin tables, window tinting that gives the sunset hour orangey notes, along with amber lighting and punch-hole motifs across the space. The bar is the centrepiece of the space, and the large countertops encourage conversations and discovery even as tiny LED lights flicker in the background.

Food and Drinks

Once you’re settled in, the team will welcome you with – what else but a Punch bowl! This is the OG Punch cocktail on the menu and is made with rum, apricot, apple, and five spices. Punchline’s cocktail menu follows the rule of five in its drinks quite meticulously. Divided into three sections, viz, Punches, Highballs, and Lowballs, each section contains signature cocktails where every drink is made with five elements.

Apart from The OG, the Punch section features Nutorious with five nuts, Swine and Brine with five spirits, Salsa Punch with five herb salts, and Punchline Paradise with five tropical fruits. It could well read as a gimmick to further accentuate the bar’s ‘paanch’ backstory, but the genius of Rana and Pal takes over the minute you start sipping on their drinks.

The Nutorious is nutty, yes, but the Johnny Walker Black Label mixed with other ingredients adds a sophisticated depth to the cocktail. The Punchline Paradise risks slipping into sweet, fruity territory, but the celery leaf and milk oolong tea pull back and bring balance.

Before we move to the Highballs, Rana points towards a cylindrical contraption that holds all the drinks, chilled to the exact temperature it needs to be served at. We begin by tasting the High 5 and Patchouli. The former combines unusual ingredients such as tamarind, watermelon, and honey together, which gives it a restrained fruity pop, while the latter makes for a dangerously easy cocktail with whisky, jasmine, black honey, and patchouli.

Other Highballs include some interesting ingredients such as akarkara and verjus in T-Root Bomb and amazake and chrysanthemum in Ooze, and are worth trying out for their distinct flavour profiles.

It’s rare to find bars where the cocktails progressively get better, but it speaks volumes to the bartenders’ talent that the Lowball section completely hits it out of the park.

But before that, a question. What would you call a fish without one eye?

If you’re at Punchline, the correct answer is Fsh. This umami cocktail features vodka and gin mixed with caper brine, apricot, herbal vermouth, and katsuobushi and is easily one of the easiest recommendations from the menu for its deliciously offbeat umami taste that leaves a slight heat on the palate.

Other recommended drinks are the Gheenius, a whisky and mezcal cocktail mixed with ghee, caramelised sherry, and bitters that gives the Old Fashioned a whole new buttery meaning, and the Three Much, a three-martini cocktail featuring passion fruit, cherry, and lemon that works unexpectedly well as a strong nightcap. You could even go to the zero-proof menu and pick Dua, a drink made famous by the global pop star and featuring Diet Coke and jalapeno brine in starring roles.

The food at Punchline is no slouch either, especially with Chef Sandhu at the helm. Dishes we couldn’t get enough of include the Crispy Bombay Duck that should be the state ambassador for any kind of salad competition with pomelo, kaffir lime, strawberry ginger, and pecan adding depth and nuance to a deceptively simple-looking bar dish.

If you’re feeling adventurous, there’s no better choice than the Two Good Lamb Ribs that come with buff marrow and gremolata. The dish is outstanding for its balance of spice, with the ribs being tender, juicy, and dry at the same time.

Other dishes that make for a great time with the drinks include Made Wings Great Again, which sees Chef Sandhu elevate chicken wings with Manipuri black rice pops and a citrus spice rub that will have you eating out of your hands, literally.

Even desserts have a quirky twist that will blindside your expectations the moment you try them. What else can explain Iberico ham bits taking space in an ice cream that also has Bhavnagri chilli with ghee and mango slices

As strange as it sounds, this was the winning dish of the night simply for the savoury-sweet mouthfeel that it left behind.

Spend a couple of hours at Punchline, and it becomes abundantly clear that this is a team that has worked together and come with their dancing shoes on to make sure everyone has a good time. You enter and simply become part of the troupe as the night goes on. Knowing the steps to Macarena, YMCA, and Asereje goes a long way in vibing with the team, but even with two left feet and zero expectations, you can still expect to have a jolly good time.

RR Verdict

Punchline achieves something rare – a space that feels welcoming no matter who or where you come from and leaves you with great food and drinks, sure, but also silly jokes, bad dancing, and a sense of having spent time well.