We’re almost ready to pull back the veil on Dali & Gala, an art-driven cocktail bar at The Museum, Museum Road, Bangalore. The 69-seater space draws from codes of surrealism, adultery, and romance and is poised to shake things up in Bengaluru as it joins a league of exceptional, small-in-size-but-mighty bars that have captured the collective imagination of cocktail enthusiasts in the country and abroad.
Founding Team of Dali & Gala
Dali & Gala is the brainchild of an eclectic founding team:
– Vipin Raman– Restaurateur and brand expert (Jamming Goat, Sopo, Room One, Feri).
– Siddharth Kerkar– Artist and restaurateur (Museum of Goa, Sopo, Room One, Feri).
– Jatin Hukkeri– Architect and founder of WDA Spaces.
– Jayesh Hukkeri – Co-founder of Craft CoDe & Tubestyle.
Dali & Gala: A Self Portrait
How it Began
On a balmy afternoon in Dubrovnik, Croatia, earlier this May, fresh off the heels of an exhibition celebrating the doyen of surrealism, Salvador Dali’s works, Vipin and Siddharth were hit with inspiration. Consumed by Dali’s genius, the two decided to pour their creativity into a clutter-breaking project: a bar that also platforms visually stunning and thought-provoking art, much like Dali’s captivating body of work. The two spent a month in Europe understanding the barscape abroad while immersing themselves in the world of Dali and his other half, Gala — his muse, inspiration, and business manager — who had a resounding impact on the acclaimed painter’s works. Soon, the themes of surrealism, adultery, and romance became apparent to the two and they pitched the idea back home to two close friends and architect Jatin, also an avid follower and fan of the artistic movement. Jatin’s brother, Jayesh, renowned for his execution expertise, joined the team as well and the four began to slowly breathe life and form into Dali & Gala.
The Idea
While inspired by Dali, Gala, and their stories, the bar focuses not on their oeuvre, but rather, relies on the deeper narratives behind their work, using common themes and codes, such as that of surrealism, adultery, and romance to craft a new body of work that’s derivative, but original. The bar, food, and space speak to these themes and work together to offer a cohesive and unique experience that celebrates art in all its forms. To that end, the space will be home to over 75 pieces of art — including sculptures, installations, and paintings — primarily created by Siddharth Kerkar and complemented by commissioned works from Goan artists, such as Subodh Kerkar.
Architecture and Design
Dali & Gala will replace the erstwhile and popular watering hole, “Tavern” that has stood tall among the city’s tipplers for nearly two decades. The space caught Jatin’s attention while he was designing Monkey Bar in the same building. Though defunct since COVID-19, the space was charming and had just the kind of character the team was looking for. With a low ceiling, columns and other structural elements that lend it a natural ebb and flow, the 2,500 sq ft space allowed the team to create a multi-faceted bar divided into five segments, punctuated by closets showcasing art works. The predominant zones include, the Rose Room, Rooster Room, Mirror Room, Animal Room, and Dali’s Library, alongside a smoking room with sweeping views of the CBD skyline— all unified by a singular design language crafted by Siddharth’s artworks.Holistically, the space offers a unique visual and sensorial experience, with all the segments facing a long bar, behind which you can spot six sculptures that mimic the human head and rotate at a slow speed: a nifty way to keep inebriated customers guessing.
GET A ROOM
Detailed overview of the key zones at Dali & Gala includes:
– The Rose Room– An intimate corner that rests upon a raised platform with artworks curated around themes of romance and includes two handmade lamps.
– The Animal Room –An ode to Dali’s obsession with creating sculptures with animals
– The Rooster Room– This space celebrates and showcases artworks themed around the ‘rooster, aka cocks’ and connects it to ‘cocktails’ as a way of hat-tipping adultery and wordplay.
– The Mirror Room– Adorned with over 50 photographs of people who have been an integral part in the making of Dali & Gala, this room celebrates the chefs, bartenders, labourers, delivery executives, electricians, artists, and advisors behind the project. The images are artfully interspersed with a mirror: a clever way of incorporating guests into the narrative of Dali & Gala.
– Dali’s Library– This room showcases works around wordplay and philosophy celebrating the innate thinker and philosopher in Dali.
-The Eye Bar— The bar counter will be created with Siddharth’s signature style of beaten copper, featuring over 50 hand-beaten eyes, also made of copper.
-Smoking Room—- This room features artworks created around smoke, including a two-headed sculpture emerging from a body of water with smoke jetting out. The head on one side is of Dali, and the other is Gala – celebrating their inseparability.
Art of the Matter
While most spaces use or think of art as merely decorative, at Dali & Gala, each of the works act as extensions of the brand’s philosophy. As such, each artwork is immensely conceptual, holds functional importance in the space, and is a reflection of Siddharth’s belief in art as the catalyst to dialogue and newer perspectives.While conceptualising the artworks for Dali & Gala, Siddharth thoroughly studied Dali’s works and surrealist ideas and the result is a motley of interactive and engaging creations homing surrealism, adultery, romance and humour, filled with the power to spark conversations.
Dali & Gala: Exhibit A
The Sun and Moon:An interactive sculpture mimicking the projection of the sun on the moon created with copper.
The Dali Heads:Placed at the back of the bar, this set of six large heads rotate slowly to keep guests enthused.
Rose Corner:A whimsical corner with blooming roses and butterflies to celebrate the integral theme of romance.
Bar Programme
The bar menu at Dali & Gala, developed by Vipin and Arnold Hou (also head of the bar), features easy-sipping cocktails with a sizable number of drinks (almost 30%) made with Tequila and Mezcal. These spirits have a stronghold on the programme and the menu also has a dedicated Mezcal and Tequila-sipping experience. The drinks have interesting names and artsy garnishes designed to spark curiosity and dialogue. Vipin describes the menu as “an expression of freedom, much like art that is necessarily prefaced by not holding back.”
Notable drinks at Dali & Gala include:
-PHONE SEX — made with Mole Bitters, Gin, Strawberry, Caramel, Almond, and a Lobster Telephone garnish – after the famous work of Dali, “Lobster Telephone” (1936), which is interpreted as a symbol of sexual desire, pleasure, and the subconscious.
-TWO SIDDS – which is made with Tequila, Hibiscus, Mango, Jalapeño, Citrus, and an interesting garnish called Two Sidds (inspired from Frida Kahlo’s famous surreal painting, “The Two Fridas”). This will have two versions of Siddharth, accessible to only those who can crack a riddle.
-THE ELEPHANT PALOMA – made with Mezcal, Tequila, Smoked Basil, Grapefruit Soda, and Maldon Salt, comes with an orange coin garnish stamped with Siddharth’s version of Salvador Dali’s iconic “Surrealist Elephant” from “Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee Around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening” (1944).
Food Programme
The food menu at Dali & Gala focuses on Burmese cuisine, developed by Chef Yong (of Sopo, Goa, a Burmese restaurant also owned by Siddharth and Vipin). The menu adapts Burmese dishes into a bar format, offering mostly cocktail-and-booze-friendly bites.Think, an interesting mix of grilled and fried Burmese-style dishes that are light on the palate, such as a Burmese-style pomelo salad served on house crackers, pickled tea leaf salad along with house crackers, mains such as, tea leaf rice, fried rice, Mala Shan Gaw noodles, and black sesame noodles.
Visit Dali & Gala
Dali & Gala is now open at No. 1, The Museum, Museum Road, Bengaluru – 560001. For more information, follow us on Instagram: [@daliandgala.blr](https://www.instagram.com/daliandgala.blr/).
Come, immerse yourself in a surreal journey of art, cocktails, and unforgettable experiences.
