FIELIA Mumbai: Inside the Invite-Only Cocktail Cinema Bar at Mahalaxmi Race Course

FIELIA Mumbai is an invite-only cocktail-forward bar inside Mahalaxmi Race Course, designed by Gauri Khan. Think Cocktail Cinema, aperitivo plates inspired by the seven sins, and storytelling-led drinks that perform, not pour.

Curtains Rise. FIELIA Begins.

Mumbai loves a good secret.But this one is dressed in velvet, shadow, and scandal.

Hidden inside the iconic Mahalaxmi Race Course, FIELIA opens not as a bar, but as a performance. Invite-only. Cocktail-forward. Cinematic by design. This is not nightlife you stumble into. This is nightlife you are let into.

Conceived by Afsana Verma, Amit Verma, and Dhaval Udeshi, and designed by Gauri Khan, FIELIA introduces India’s first Cocktail Cinema. A space where the bar is the stage, the drinks are the plot, and the room watches quietly as the night unfolds.

Mumbai has seen speakeasies, concept bars, and dramatic interiors.This is something else entirely.

FIELIA Mumbai Design: A Cocktail Cinema by Gauri Khan

The moment you enter FIELIA, the architecture tells you how to behave. Slowly. Deliberately. With intent.

Gauri Khan transforms the century-old racecourse mill structure into a split-level theatre of shadows and light. The triangular roofline remains intact, the raw bones respected. In their place, a double-height volume emerges, framed by wrought-iron staircases and mezzanine balconies that feel like dress-circle seats.

The bar sits at the centre, unapologetically theatrical.Windows frame it like curtains.The mezzanine looks down like an audience.

This is a space designed to reveal itself gradually, where scale never overwhelms intimacy. Every curve, texture, and lighting decision serves the same purpose, to keep the focus on emotion, not excess.

FIELIA does not announce itself.It waits for you to lean in.

Sin & Scandal: The Cocktail Menu at FIELIA Mumbai

The opening act at FIELIA is called Sin & Scandal, and it sets the tone for everything that follows.

The cocktail program is led by Fay Barretto, one of the city’s most respected minds in bar storytelling. Here, cocktails are not literal translations of scandals. They are interpretations. Hints. Provocations.

Each drink draws from infamous moments across history and culture, political entanglements, stolen jewels, whispered affairs, paparazzi chaos, financial collapses, forbidden indulgences. These references surface through gestures, glassware, temperature shifts, textures, and subtle theatrics.

Nothing is explained outright.Nothing is gratuitous.Every sip pulls you deeper into the narrative.

Behind the bar, the bartenders adopt personas. The flirt. The jester. The obsessive nerd. The speedster. Service becomes character-driven, playful, and deeply immersive without ever tipping into gimmick.

This is storytelling you taste.

FIELIA Aperitivo Menu: The Seven Sins, Interpreted

The food at FIELIA mirrors the bar’s philosophy. Restrained, expressive, and designed for lingering.

Led by Hitesh Shanbhag, a graduate of The Culinary Institute of America with experience across Michelin-starred kitchens in New York, the menu explores the seven sins through elegant aperitivo-style plates.

Expect small, intentional portions built for grazing rather than courses.

Highlights include:

• Sloth – Sage Chevre Gnocchi, pillowy and slow

• Pride – Peruvian Chicken with confident spice

• Greed – Sous Vide Tenderloin, rich and precise

• Gluttony – Pork Belly with decadent depth

• Envy – Burrata, clean and quietly indulgent

• Wrath – Gin Ginger Shrimp with heat and bite

• Lust – Burnt Basque and cacao textures, molten and seductive

The broader menu moves through cold tapas, warm mezzes, artisanal breads, and pizzas, all designed to complement the drinks without competing for attention.

Nothing overwhelms.Everything entices.

Why FIELIA Mumbai Feels Different

FIELIA is not built for crowds.It is built for mood.

Weekends are curated exclusively for invited guests. Dining operates through advance reservations. The energy is controlled, intentional, and deeply atmospheric.

As Dhaval Udeshi puts it, the vision extends beyond a single room. FIELIA is imagined as a community of people who value culture, conversation, and a touch of irreverence. A language that can evolve, reinvent, and travel.

This is a bar where shadows matter.Where stories unfold softly.Where Mumbai returns to its love affair with mystery.

Practical Details: FIELIA Mumbai

• Location: Mahalaxmi Race Course, Mumbai

• Entry: Invite-only

• Dining: Advance reservations

• Best for: Cocktail lovers, late-evening aperitivo, design-led nightlife

• Vibe: Intimate, cinematic, quietly bold

People Also Ask

Is FIELIA Mumbai open to the public?

FIELIA operates primarily on an invite-only basis. Dining is available via advance reservations, while weekends are curated for invited guests.

Who designed FIELIA Mumbai?

FIELIA is designed by Gauri Khan, who reimagined the racecourse mill architecture into a cinematic cocktail space.

What is Cocktail Cinema at FIELIA?

Cocktail Cinema is FIELIA’s core concept, where cocktails are treated as performances, storytelling drives the menu, and the space functions like a theatre.

Where is FIELIA located?

FIELIA is located inside Mahalaxmi Race Course, one of Mumbai’s most iconic landmarks.

Final Take

FIELIA does not chase trends.It sets a mood and trusts you to follow.

In a city addicted to noise, this invite-only cocktail bar chooses restraint, storytelling, and atmosphere over spectacle. A place to watch, to sip, to linger, and to let the night reveal itself slowly.

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