Dali & Gala: Where Craft Cocktails, Salvador Dali And Art Takes The Centre Stage

A cocktail bar that doubles up as an art gallery of sorts — what does that even look like? It looks like you need to read on to get a sense of what we are talking about. Dali & Gala on Museum Road, which opened up towards the end of 2024, looks like you are at an art exhibition at any given time. And that's because there are over 75 pieces of art that fill up the space — from the bar counter to the walls and every corner. And it's not just any art exhibition, mind you. It's a homage to the artist Salvador Dali and his wife and muse, Gala Dali. 

The moment you hear Dali, you know you're in for the eccentric, surrealistic world that he's most associated with. A walk-through, hosted by the restaurant manager who sports goblin-esque ears (in fact, the whole team does), gives us the whole picture of what's going on at this cocktail bar. Your first encounter with this art-driven space's artwork is at the long bar, where vivid, colourful expressive heads (dubbed Dali Heads) rotating catch your eye, and you are locked in for a bit. And from then on, it's a bit of a wild ride, depending on where you choose to sit. Because the whole bar has been divided into smaller segments, each with a little story of their own.

For instance, The Rose Room is for couples on date nights because the whole corner room features curated pieces themed around love and the love Dali had for Gala. We sat by the space that leads up to the Rose Room. There are artworks of sea creatures on the wall, and on the adjacent wall is The Sun and Moon, an interactive sculpture created with copper to mimic the sun's reflection on the moon. Most Reels about Dali & Gala feature this particular artwork. 

Our only grouse is that in some of these spots, the tables are packed real tight, meaning on a full night, you are going to listen in on your neighbour's conversations and they on yours. Whether you like it. Or not. 

The first thing our plus one for the night noticed, quite happily that too, was that the cocktail menu features plenty of mezcal and tequila options. We started the night with Disco Porn, a gin-based, passionfruit-vanilla drink. We paired that with some Raw Mango Of Crack and Burmese Crispy Prawns. The drink's smooth, without being overly fruity, and the vanilla just brings everything together. The Burmese-style raw mango salad served on crispy rice crackers was polished off in minutes. The menu is Burmese small plates, essentially, and we think it's a good pairing for the cocktails on offer. The prawn hits the spot with the excellent tamarind soy. Between conversations, our next set of small plates arrived: Burmese Street-style Pork Chilli, Pork Belly Skewers, and Mad Yum Chicken Basil. We are happy to report that the pork dishes were simply good. We could do more of the pork chili. It's got that nice fiery kick that you can wash down with your drink. Speaking of drink, our second drink for the night (it was a weeknight after all) was The Elephant Paloma, which had both mezcal and tequila, and we wanted to close our night with a bang.   

The space works for us, especially when we are in the mood to dress up, have more than two drinks, and tell a tale of a fun night later. We are biased towards Burmese food, so we've no complaints about the food. But this isn't a place you come to eat. It's drinks, small plates, and plenty of banter and photo ops. If you are nursing a hunger, then we'd probably ask you to order their noodles or rice. 

Cost For Two: INR 2,000

Ratings: 4.8/5 on Google

Timings: 5 PM to 1 AM

Social Handle: @daliandgala.blr