“Good evening, miss! May I have your phone?” says a burly man on the door. We have simply been launched from the coils of Marathahalli visitors, edging via the bustle of night commuters into the sudden, conspiratorial hush of a dimly lit reception.
He confiscates my telephone, tapes the digital camera shut and palms it again to me. This is Pablo, the custodian, celebration starter, secret keeper all rolled into one at One Floor Down by Helen’s, Bengaluru’s first Dionysian-themed bar. Dionysus is the Greek god of wine, drama, ecstasy and fertility, so that you get the drift. And if you wish to get in, Pablo is the person you must impress.
The cocktails have cheeky names
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Like all good subversive areas, (hiya, 50 Shades of Grey) there are guidelines right here. But Pablo insists that in addition they need you to really feel liberated. To start with, solely these aged 27 and above are allowed entry (no loud school youngsters or Gen Z’s fidgeting with selfie sticks. Hallelujah!). Stags are technically not allowed, however you possibly can all the time try your luck on the door. Photography is forbidden. “Sometimes you don’t want to be seen in someone else’s video or be identified. It’s a safe space where you can reveal your bold, fun side, and where there are no inhibitions,” says, Pravesh Pandey, proprietor of One Floor Down, who additionally owns Roxie, and Helen’s Place. He provides, moderately mysteriously, “We wanted to make it a women forward bar where they decide how the evening goes.”
Wild dares and naughty cocktails at One Floor Down
Inside, the bar is bathed in intimate pink mild, making the entire night appear moderately theatrical. Staff in scarlet star-spangled uniforms take our orders for cocktails with cheeky names: Hickey, Blindfolded -You Taste Better In The Dark, That Lusty Night, My First Affair – But He Was Married… Put collectively by Sagar Sarki, they’re spirit ahead, and as adventurous as their titles. There are hits and misses — inevitable while you experiment in life, love, and cocktails.
I try Skinny Dipping (the drink, not the exercise; given the tone of this story it was essential to make clear that) which has rosé, is spicy with ginger and aromatic with rose, basil, curry leaf lillet; and Second Smoke — easy with a smoky, candy, and fruity flavour and options mezcal, tequila together with oregano, pineapple, and caramel yoghurt.
Between sips I lookup and discover large dragonflies hanging from the ceiling like artwork installations, their wings flapping ever so gently, whereas their our bodies emit a smooth pink glow. My desk holds a pink lampshade and a placard that reads Curtain one aspect and Open To Be Entertained on the opposite. For full privateness, select Curtain. But I’m feeling adventurous, so I flip the placard. Pablo seems with a chocolate they name LSD (Drug-free clearly, however what it actually has is mint and an ingredient I’m not allowed to reveal), chased with a candy, heady cherry liqueur.
Next comes a recreation of playing cards. There are two decks: One holds the Nice playing cards and the opposite the Naughty ones. “If you complete a dare, you get a drink, and if you don’t, you buy me a drink,” Pablo laughs.
A comfy alcove
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I decide a card from the Naughty deck, and it reads: Crazy Talk. “This means, you have to call or send your ex a voice note and say something naughty,” grins Pablo. Do I do it? Well, let’s simply preserve {that a} secret.
As you might have in all probability discovered by now, One Floor Down will not be meant for households or youngsters. The music and menu are as eclectic because the area, no Bollywood music or butter hen right here. Expect Neo-Bistro and trendy Indian meals corresponding to Sikandari lamb quesadillas with khejur tomato jam, lacy pork in Goan poee with pear chutney, tuna tarte phuchkas with yuzu dill creme fraiche — I benefit from the sushi. Despite the eclectic menu, some dishes are lacklustre.
This goals to be an area the place you possibly can take a stroll on the wild aspect. And Pablo is all the time there ensuring every thing is below management. He strikes from desk to desk speaking to friends. “You can compliment men on other tables, or have a sparkling conversation. If a gentleman wants to buy a lady a drink, he has to route it through Pablo, who then asks the lady in question for her consent and takes it from there,” says Pravesh.
He provides that he held quite a few brainstorming periods earlier than organising the bar. “I spoke to 20 ladies over six months to understand what they feel or want when they step into a bar. Some said they don’t feel safe, some want to feel confident and also be complimented, few others said they want the bill to be given to them and not to the man at the table, another group did not want to be stared at when they are dressed up,” he says, including that each one these factors had been considered whereas conceptualising One Floor Down.
And how does Pravesh intent to appease the Instagrammers? He smiles, “They just have to capture the experience in their eyes. When we decide to go back to a place we go back for the experience, not for pictures we have taken.”
One Floor Down operated Wednesday to Saturday, 5.30pm onwards. There’s a canopy cost of ₹1,000. Tel: 8088230721 Address: third Floor, 90/3, Outer Ring Road, Service Road Balaji Layout, Chandra Layout, Marathahalli, Bangalore
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Published – October 07, 2025 07:42 pm IST
