Rewind by Radio Room, a nostalgic cocktail lounge, now makes Chennai pub crawl, a possibility

If you have partied in Chennai until 2am in the last 10 years and have gone home sweaty from dancing, it is likely that you are returning from a Radio Room night in MRC Nagar.

The club, which first opened its doors in 2016, frequently finds A-listers shuffling between a sea of Chennai folks, old and young, who are all ready to ensure that every last drop of that LIIT is drunk with might, and every move hits the spot. And likely, someone else’s elbow.

Over the 10 years that I’ve partied at Radio Room, bouncers have changed, and so have I. My frequency has dropped to twice a year – one for every solstice. Which is why Radio Room’s Rewind, on Khader Nawaz Khan Road feels fresh, yet comforting.

This 60-seater cocktail bar is intent on serving the grown-up party girl an elevated night out, cocooned in nostalgia. Think mix tape music from the 1980s, all the way to the early 2010s. “We can’t really define what one is nostalgic for,” says Zahir Naina, head of operations of Radio Room. At Rewind, the pieces on display often remind one of the chic knick-knacks one spots at an Italian mob house from The Sopranos. The interiors are plush, green and almost chatty. They beget conversation. All eyes go to the bar where the action is.

Interiors
| Photo Credit:
Sonikka Loganathan

Zahir is intent on serving guests who make reservations before walking into Rewind by Radio Room; who chat instead of crowding a makeshift dance floor. He wants an adult audience at this cocktail lounge, that is serving drinks that have technique and method, with house-made cordials and syrups. “No children below 25,” he declares, pointing us to the bar where we take our seats and proceed to drink on a work night.

What arrives before us are plates of elevated quintessential Tamil Nadu bar bites, reminding one of the touchings (snacks) that one finds at dive bars across the State.

There’s a chicken 65 that is the perfect shade of fiery red, laid atop a bed of spicy tomato chutney; a plate of cheese croquette stuffed with avakkai bits, effortlessly pleasing; some gunpowder squid that hints at spice but is rather addictive; and a sausage that practically melts in one’s mouth.

Executive Chef Muthu Veerappan says that the sausages are made in-house. Then comes the star of the night, two buttery benne dosas stuffed with shredded mutton coated in a stand-out masala. There’s a vegetarian version too with paneer.

Benne mutton dosa
| Photo Credit:
Sonikka Loganathan

Serial-restauranter Sandesh Reddy who designed the menu, says that it is his favourite too. There is little to complain about food-wise except the restaurant’s rather goopy take on the pineapple-cheese-cherry on a stick which lacks the textural bite that one remembers from childhood birthday parties, where blocks of Amul cube and canned pineapple on toothpicks were the height of sophistication. Do not forget to order the classic souffle, perfectly airy, light and full of delightful chocolate.

“There are 40 items on the menu, including mutta puffs. We wanted it to feel familiar and compact. We’d like for people to have fun eating. Radio Room packages experiences,” Zahir says. He leaves out the part where it is ₹425.

When the drinks arrive, Hari Nath, who heads the cocktail programme at Rewind, explains that they do not have any servers at the lounge. “We’re trying something new. Everyone who serves you is a bartender,” he says. “We’ve noticed that it’s the bartenders who are most excited about the drinks they make. We thought it would be best to have them talk to guests.”

A grog and dessert
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

“On the floor, everyone is the same. Nobody is high or low,” says Umar, one of our server-bartenders, who says that he has been enjoying conversations with the customers who ask him for recommendations. “Usually, behind a bar, there’s a bit of a disconnect. Here, if they’d like a margarita, I’d suggest something similar but new and delicious,” he says.

Mahendra, Surya, and Babu, bartenders making us our pickle backs, sours, grogs, and highballs, talk to us about becoming new fathers, losing jobs due to wars, and perform shaker tricks. This is the experience Zahir promises early on. They make drinks with low alcohol by volume (ABV) drinks when you’re on your third drink and entertain perfectly, even though some of the drinks veer a bit too sweet.

Old radio sets as interiors
| Photo Credit:
Sonikka Loganathan

I strongly recommend Golden Hour (tequila base with a champagne syrup that is light and refreshing), Besant Breeze (with Scotch and a slice of raw mango dusted with chilli), and the pickle back (an ice cold Jameson shot with bitter gourd pickle brine), for a day of experimental fun drinking. There are also some thoughtful zero-proof options at the bar too, though after a decade of Radio Room ragers, Zahir is sceptical about how quickly they will move.

A grown up, relaxed night out becomes easy at Rewind. It helps that Khader Nawaz Khan Road has evolved into a high-street, studded with bars and restaurants, including Roc-A-Coe and Secret Story.

Finally, a Chennai bar crawl is possible. A win in itself.

Rewind by Radio Room is at No 9, Oyster building, Khader Nawaz Khan Road, Nungambakkam. Drinks start at ₹1,200, and a meal for two costs ₹2,000. Reservation is essential.

Published – April 28, 2026 09:26 pm IST