In Indore, Atelier V’s daring new cocktail menu flirts with ingredients, techniques and stories

First, we get in line for poha. Served with crunchy mixture and finely chopped onions, it is best eaten with freshly fried, deliciously sticky jalebis.  

Then come the cocktails, paired with an intricate tasting menu and luxe setting at Indore’s Atelier V.  

By midnight we head to the city’s celebrated Sarafa market, jostling between hungry crowds, to do icy jamun shots, eat sweet-savoury khopra potato pattice stuffed with coconut, and kulhad pizza. (Which is exactly what it sounds like.)  We pause eating only to admire the ‘Gold Man,’ who is weighed down with glittering jewellery, and gape at Joshi’s famous flying dahi bada. He spins each plate with impressive dexterity, then adds salt, jeera and red chilli powder with the flamboyance of a magician.   

We are in Indore for one night only — but you can pack a lot into 36 hours. As it turns out, India’s cleanest city is also riotous with flamboyant people and extravagant food.   

Small towns in India tend to be subject to stereotypes, and Indore, known for its heaving poha stalls, does not seem like a stage for a cutting-edge cocktail programme. Which is exactly what makes Atelier V so intriguing.  

Vedant Newatia, founder and head chef, Atelier V
| Photo Credit:
Special arrangement

Launched in 2024 by Vedant Newatia, who at 30 is the founder, head chef and chief cheerleader, the restaurant is buoyant with optimistic energy thanks to its young, idealistic team.  Flashing his many tattoos, collected as he travelled the world, Vendant explains why he chose to settle in Indore after training and internships at some of the world’s most celebrated kitchens, including Dominique Ansel’s bakery in New York and Baumeniere in France.  

The interiors of Atelier V
| Photo Credit:
Special arrangement

“This is my home town, I was born and brought up here. I did my schooling here. It’s a city of foodies, we love our pohas and jelebi. We love chatpata food,” he says. Then adds emphatically, “I don’t want Indore to be left behind big cities like Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru. I think this is Indore’s time to rise and shine.” 

To prove that they can keep up with the country’s best bars, Vedaant has just launched a signature cocktails menu that explores 12 cities around the world via flavour, technique, and storytelling. The drinks are gutsy and divisive, showing that the team is willing to take risks, and learn how to get better.  

We do a tasting menu so we can try the restaurant’s highlights: A smoky chicken lollypop smothered in Buffalo sauce, served with Sante, a France inspired blend of gin, passion fruit and sparkling wine. As Atelier V’s team puts it, this is a “drink that wears silk to brunch.” 

Sante!
| Photo Credit:
Special arrangement

Proscht, inspired by Switzerland, is a blend of vodka, butterfly pea, and passionfruit. Then there’s Arriba from Mexico, with Tequila, jalapeño and actual salsa. Also try the Indian representation, Piyo, made with Gondhoraj, mango foam and caramelised banana. When Vedant serves Geonbae from Korea, a startling blend of black garlic, yuzu, and gin, he chuckles. “You are going to love it, or hate it.”  

Let’s be honest. I am not a fan. I like my drinks clean and precise, with molecular gastronomy techniques like spherification, gelification and clarification recruited only when strictly necessary. Which is why my favourite drink on the menu is also possibly their simplest, Down the hatch, inspired by the United Kingdom with gin, ginger, mint and cucumber. It’s deceptively smooth, and you can drink a couple or more before realising how heady it is.  

Down The Hatch!
| Photo Credit:
Special arrangement

Spunky bartender Karan Dhanelia, togged in a waistcoat and tattoos, is brutally honest when he explains their approach. “Basically straight drinks are very boring, it’s a very middle aged thing.” He grins. Then adds with a shrug, “I am young, and I like cocktails.” 

Atelier V is at Satguru Parinay, AB Rd, Scheme No 54, Indore. Call 97551 25195 for reservations. It is open from 12.30 to 11 pm. Approximately 2500 for two people.

Published – September 02, 2025 04:09 pm IST