On the record: India’s growing love for vinyl cafes and bars
The trend of listening to music on vinyl paired with cocktails, coffee, and conversations is taking over metro cities.
Picture this: Sipping coffee as a vinyl plays tunes softly on a record player in the corner. This nostalgic image has captured the fancy of Gen Z across the country, with over 1 million posts tagged #vinylbars on Instagram alone. New vinyl bars are opening in metro cities pan-India, but that’s not the only pull. The high-quality music, often playing on large-scale sound systems from vinyl records in the background, is being paired with specially crafted drinks.
This concept dates back to the 1950s, when the Japanese came up with post-World War II jazz kissa. To meet the post-war interest in music and experiences, such spaces cropped up everywhere. Now, similar cafes are bringing the nostalgia for vinyl back to India while embracing the slow life and authentic tunes over computerised, tech-driven sounds.
Genre, Delhi
In Delhi, Genre reflects co-founder Kunal Singh Chhabra’s personal journey as a 16-year-old DJ longing for more than electronic beats. “There wasn’t really a space for alternative genres: hip-hop, soul, funk, or laid-back sounds. That gap inspired me,” he says. His record collection, built from India and abroad, forms the backbone of the bar.
The highlight here is the cocktail menu, where each drink is tied to an album or track. “The idea is to make food and drinks an extension of the listening experience. For example, our cocktail Rare Pleasure is a mescal drink with a pineapple flavour. It is a red wine float inspired by a Mndsgn track. So when you order a cocktail, you’re essentially experiencing a liquid playlist,” he adds.
From nostalgic older listeners to millennials and Gen Z eager to start their own collections, audiophiles across ages gravitate here.
Baroke, Mumbai
When you walk into Baroke, you’re not just stepping into a bar but a sonic archive. Owner Saurabh Shetty says that the idea was born out of his travels across the US, where he fell in love with dive bars and record stores. “I wanted to bring that culture back home — a place where music isn’t just background noise but the main reason you’re there,” he says.
With over 220 handpicked records spanning the ’60s to the ’90s featuring Jimi Hendrix, Stan Getz, The Doors, George Benson, and RD Burman (the latter played exclusively on Thursdays), Baroke promises nostalgia and discovery in equal measure.
Cocktails and food double as a playlist, divided into Fresh, Spice, Familiar, Umami, and Sweet. So a Kerala-style mutton fry might sit comfortably beside tacos or miso chicken, while the Vetiver Gimlet with khus-infused gin connects back to Mumbai’s roots.
Gaijin, Mumbai
The city of dreams plays host to another vinyl cafe, Gaijin, which is a 60-seater Japanese diner where food, cocktails, and music come together under one roof. “We source records from all over — Tokyo, Berlin, London, New York — wherever we travel. There’s a strong foundation of jazz, funk, afrobeat, electronic, and even ambient and experimental,” says Rohan Mangalorkar, a partner at the eatery.
Music shapes the atmosphere to the extent that, often, guests pause mid-bite to enquire about the song playing. Gen Z diners, in particular, can be seen snapping pics, filming Reels, and letting the aesthetic pull them in.
What starts as dinner or cocktails turns into a full sensory experience, where the record collection dictates mood shifts with plates, pours, and playlists blending seamlessly.
Blockheads, Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad’s Blockheads offers something rare: private turntables inspired by Japan’s “disco dining tables”. Founder Amit Gupta explains, “It’s intimate, interactive, and a refreshing shift from screen-based experiences.” Diners share records at their tables, building moments of connection over shared sound.
The vinyl collection spanning jazz, rock, Bollywood, and Indian classical is constantly growing thanks to Gupta’s archive, guest contributions, and crate-digging travels. The all-vegetarian menu is no afterthought. Funkier records are paired with spicier bites, mellow jazz with pour-overs.
Dishes nod to eras and genres, while Japanese izakaya-style plates get a local twist. Take, for instance, Indian-styled Menchi burgers or kokum coffee mocktails. The emphasis is on slowing down, listening deeply, and finding joy in analogue rituals.
Vinyl and Brew, Chennai
For owner Ragu Muthiah, Vinyl and Brew is personal. His mother gifted him his first stack of singles, and the collection has since become the soul of this Chennai cafe. “I felt there was room for a space where people could not only enjoy speciality coffee but also sit down, listen, and experience music the way it was meant to be heard, on vinyl,” he says.
The collection leans towards classic rock, jazz, and blues by artists such as Pink Floyd, Simon & Garfunkel, Queen, and Johnny Cash. Guests can pick their own records, turning each visit into a bespoke session. “ We even have a 10-year-old regular who carefully picks his record and listens to the entire album before his parents can finally drag him away,” he adds.
With themed cold brews (for example: banana-infused for a night to the sounds of the album Velvet Underground & Nico) and weekend performances, Vinyl and Brew also doubles as a cultural hub.
