• 5th edition of the only bartender-and-server duo showcase had 243 bars participate across India
• Abhijeet and Fabio from Pune’s Mazdana came in second place
• Parth and Abhinav from Bombay’s Permit & Co. ranked third

Launched by Nao Spirits & Beverages, the makers of Greater Than and Hapusa Gin, Bar Idols, India’s first bartender-server competition, came to a close with a grand finale in Goa. The 5th edition saw 243 bars participate across seven cities, around 700 consumers attending, with the team at Hideaway (Goa) taking the crown.  

The regional rounds took place across seven cities. This edition welcomed Meerut, Indore, and Manipal for the first time, and saw increased participation from regions like Assam and Chandigarh; proof that India’s bar culture is becoming more inclusive, more distributed, and more exciting than ever. 

Bar Idols remains the only competition where bartenders and servers compete together, and where consumer pitches; not the bar’s reputation; decide the win. With about 700 consumers across all cities participating, the judging remained intentionally blind: no bar names or bias, just hospitality, storytelling, and connection. 

Most city winners were first-timers; Bangalore’s The Drawing Room, Bombay’s Permit & Co, Pune’s Mazdana, Kolkata’s Cal-On, Hyderabad’s Whiskey Samba and Gurgaon’s Ophelia. A reminder that hospitality and conversations matter more than clout.  

The menus read like a love letter to India’s cities and cultural quirks: Nanital, Dadi’s Guava Garden, Gondo-Rage Quite, Kokum Bliss, Howrah Breeze, Puchka Picante, Sondhya Negroni, Ekta Cheers Hobe Naki?, Tok of the Town, Parsi Dhansak, Thecha Bomb, and Ardee’s Soda, to name a few.   

From white chocolate apricots to mini ramen bowls, edible papers, puchkas that garnished cocktails in mud pot serves and sake-glasses, bars pushed visual storytelling as much as flavour.  

Speaking about the competition’s evolution, Anand Virmani, Co-founder & Master Distiller, Nao Spirits & Beverages, said, “The idea behind Bar Idols has always been straightforward: the drink is half the story; the person serving it is the rest. We wanted a competition that mirrors reality; service and connection matter as much as technique. This year made that obvious. When you remove the bias of bar names, the freshest, hungriest talent rises. That’s the part we’re most proud of.” 

This year also marked the official renaming of the platform. 

“As much as we loved the previous name, it never quite captured what the competition was really about. It wasn’t about battles or rivalries; but geared towards raising the bar together. The real goal has always been to shine a light on the unsung heroes of hospitality and to build a sense of community around that. So, it only felt right to move from Wars to Bar Idols,” said Aparajita Ninan, Co-Founder, Nao Spirits & Beverages.