I love bars that play a tune or two that was from a long time ago. It reminds us of a time where we didn’t have to worry about the little things in life, you know? Ah, those were the days – mild racism, teenage hormones, old records playing in the back of a thrift store, and vinyl. The smell of vinyl. Something about that is just, in essence, one of the more wonderful things about the good ol’ days. Speaking of good ol’, here’s a list of some epic bars in Mumbai that play great retro music…
Hard Rock Café (Andheri West) – HRC Andheri has at least on a couple nights a week, some great retro rock music. RHCP (the original one with Frusciante), GNR, ACDC, and fucking everything that we listened to from the 70s to the 90s – the golden age of music generation. The creation of something wild, untamed and un-instagrammed. HRC also has some amazing décor (fitting of the one in Pune), and it has some amazing DJ’s spinning the laptop tracks in perfect order. Like every song makes you go – “Oh shit yeah! That one.”
Totos Garage (Bandra) – This place is an instant classic. They know who their crowd is and they cater to them quite nicely. Don’t expect the songs to be of a certain genre or year, but expect a lot of nostalgia. “Let’s make a night, to remember, January to..” You’ll have a great time here, if you’re looking for a break from it all and resort back to your childhood. Just remember to keep drinking, yeah?
Quarter House (Mahim) – Alright, so this had to be in the list purely because the idea of ignoring Hindi classics is a cardinal sin. There were some great classics, and some not so great that made our growing up years more refined. When we were tired of Annu Malik and Sonu Nigam, we turned to Rafi Saab, and Kishore Da. This place has just that. The songs of the good ol’ days.
Harry’s Bar & Cafe (Juhu) – This place has been playing retro music (and doing a great job at it) ever since they opened up; which makes this place, in my eyes, one of the best places to go for retro nights. Dance to fucking Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Bryan Adams, the Beatles, and everything you can remember from when you had your first ipod shuffle. Ah those were the days, when 4 GB seemed like all the space we needed in the world.
Irish House (Fort) – One of the more discreet places to drink near Kala Ghoda, Irish House is one epic party! It’s the kind of place that makes you think about the good ol’ days, where we’d order barrels of beer over rum that didn’t stop flowing. The music is always on, and you have tracks that are a mix of your parent’s era of music and some of your childhood’s, but purely rock and light metal. We had this perfect moment, when we cheered and the song “We Will Rock Tou..” started playing. Single tear from all our eyes followed.