This new bar shows how Mumbai’s nightlife is embracing quiet luxury

There’s a quiet little rebellion unfolding in Mumbai’s nightlife—and it’s dressed in green leather, softly lit by open flame, and serving you cocktails that taste like squid brine or peanut butter pork. Welcome to Paradox, a plush new watering hole tucked inside the historic Shakti Mills compound in Mahalakshmi—the kind of place that could only be dreamt up by Aditi and Aditya Dugar, the minds behind the critically acclaimed Masque. But where Masque is meditative and fine-tuned, Paradox is a little wild, a little irreverent, and entirely unlike anything South Mumbai has seen in a while.

It’s also a sign of how the city’s bar culture is shifting—from loud and flashy to curated and quietly chaotic. Paradox leans all the way into that chaos, and according to Aditya Dugar, that was the point. “Paradox is a space where nothing is as it seems—very new and yet familiar—earning its name. It’s opulent, plush, Art Deco and very nostalgic. We just wanted to create a space where people can have fun, great food and drinks without the deafening, loud music,” he says.

It’s not just the energy that’s different—the ethos behind it is too. “It’s unlike anything we have dabbled in before, especially if you consider Masque, whose format evokes a different kind of mood. My brief to the bar and kitchen teams at Paradox was: There are no rules or boundaries. I didn’t follow any rules myself, so I didn’t want them to have any. They were asked to be as creative, out of the box and crazy as they wanted to be—and Varun and Ankush have delivered and how!”

Delivered, indeed. The bar is helmed by Ankush Gamre, the master behind Masque’s drinks programme, but here, he’s given full permission to go rogue. His cocktails are conceptual but not pretentious, strange but satisfying. There’s one that whispers of the sea. One that hits you with spice. Some are stirred gently, some come on tap (yes, really), and all of them feel like they belong in a bar that values curiosity over clarity. No espresso martinis in sight—unless, of course, they come laced with something you didn’t see coming.

The kitchen, meanwhile, is helmed by Masque’s Executive Chef Varun Totlani, who takes a similarly no-rules approach to the food. A PB&J appears—but in his version, it’s pork belly, peanut butter and berry glaze. Poha ends up cuddled next to grilled halloumi. The bone marrow is so rich, it’s best eaten with your eyes closed. It’s food that doesn’t try to make sense—it just works.

And then there’s the space itself. Designed by Ashiesh Shah, Paradox flirts with Mumbai’s Art Deco legacy without falling into pastiche. There are chequered floors and vitrined hallways, yes—but also deep green walls, embroidered silk panels that mimic a midnight forest, and a hidden dining tent cloaked in Peter D’Ascoli textiles. Upstairs, the bar hums with candlelit intimacy. Downstairs, the flame-lit kitchen adds a theatrical edge to your late-night bites. It’s plush, layered, a little surreal—like you’ve walked into a dream that refuses to resolve itself.

The result? A bar that’s not trying to be a bar. It’s trying to be a mood. A delicious contradiction—refined, but not too serious. Cool, but not cold. The kind of place where every sip makes you wonder what’s coming next.

Mumbai, meet your new favourite paradox.

All images: Paradox 

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