Taal Bar sits one floor above the street, and getting there is half the charm. At Ishaara, a narrow pathway leads you up, and somewhere on the climb the place starts to feel like a rhythm tugging you along. Hence the name, Taal bar by Ishaara. Church Street below is its usual self: shops, busy vendors, a young crowd in no hurry. Up here, all of that turns into a murmur.

A quick word on Ishaara, for those who haven’t been. The name means “sign” in Hindi, and this purpose-driven fine-dining restaurant from Bellona Hospitality is largely run by speech and hearing-impaired professionals. You order with simple hand gestures and a sign language guide. I visited their Phoenix Mall of Asia outlet in 2024. This Church Street outlet is their third outpost.

Taal Bar is the spacious verandah, set apart as a cocktail bar and lounge with balcony seating over the street. The bar has a striking exterior, and the setting is intimate with a touch of luxury. It’s the kind of corner where a casual drink with friends quietly becomes an evening.

Taal means rhythm. The idea is that every ingredient has a pulse, if you stop to listen. The menu is built on four elements, air, earth, water and fire, and each cocktail is a story from a region of India. We tried three of the four. The bar doesn’t shout. It hums.

Swaroop, the bar manager, walked us through the regions and began with air. Spice Bloom, from the misty hills of Coorg, has tequila, watermelon, passionfruit, green tea and a little bird’s eye chilli. Watermelon comes first, soft and summery, and the chilli turns up late with a small, warm glow. Easy to like.

Kumaoni High, from the Himalayan valleys, was the one that surprised us. It has buransh, pahadi lemon, timur pepper vodka and demerara sugar. Floral at first, then the timur pepper sets the tongue tingling. We hadn’t expected that, and we liked it.

The first plates landed about then. Nippattu Nachos is a South Indian savoury cracker, and here it came as nachos, crunchy and very hard to stop eating. The Masala Makhana, puffed and lightly spiced, went the same way. Two bowls were empty before our drinks were.

For my own glass, I chose Scarlet Canopy, from the forests of Bastar: mahura, vetiver cordial and grapefruit. Herby, crisp and grounding, with a clean bitterness from the grapefruit. It’s a drink to sip slowly while the conversation wanders. My colleague took Desert Notes, from Bikaner: rum, ker sangri, lime, cumin and honey. Tangy, a little savoury, a little sweet, and earthy at the end. I may have stolen a few sips.

Tandoori Broccoli Fritters and Paneer Tikka Bites followed, both light and flavourful. The paneer vanished fastest. Nothing felt heavy, and it all went well with the drinks. For a bigger meal, the full Ishaara menu is there.

For the last round, we chose Terra Citrus and Jhol Kadhi. Terra Citrus is a Maharashtrian tale with kala masala, gin, Nagpur orange and lime. Sweet citrus up front, then the kala masala brings a savoury, layered kick. Jhol Kadhi nods to Goa’s solkadhi, with vodka, kokum, bhavnagari chilli, coconut, coriander and cumin. Cool, tangy and spicy, and very refreshing.

Here is what stayed with me. Only fresh fruit goes into these cocktails, with no pulps and nothing from a can, and you can taste it in how bright they are. The ingredients come from local farmers, and the preparations are done in-house. White sugar is replaced by jaggery and honey, in the drinks and the desserts. You notice the honey most in Desert Notes.

That made the sweet ending easy. We had eaten lightly, so there was room, and a dessert felt almost mandatory. The Gajar Halwa Tart was the soft finish, sweetened with jaggery and honey like the drinks.

We enjoyed our three elements, and I would happily go back for fire and the rest of the menu. If you want to feel this rhythm yourself, go with friends and good company. With the festive holidays rolling in, it’s a lovely time to take that verandah for an evening.