SOCIAL, Delhi: A Semiotic Master That Pours The Past In A New Glass

It was, to my disbelief, a full decade ago in 2015 when ‘Tamasha’ drifted into cinemas and Imtiaz Ali, Delhi fanatic and romantic apologist, decided that Hauz Khas SOCIAL should serve as one of the film’s emotional co-ordinates. Within months, the place had metamorphosed from a mere location into a cultural pedigree. Students, freelancers, and the general tribe of Delhi’s urban aspirants took to it with the earnestness of people seeking both caffeine and identity. On most days SOCIAL was a minor siege. In 2016, two of my earliest attempts to find a table fell flat before I could spot the guard expecting a regretful shrug. SOCIAL was busy; SOCIAL was fashionable; SOCIAL was, for a time, the unflappable establishment in Delhi which you’d find inadvertently present at your elbow.

What it tapped then was a collective nerve; it brought a new semiotic, a new, instantly recognisable grammar, in the cafe culture. From the hashtagged brand name on crockery (in tandem with online trends), the idiosyncratic nomenclature of cocktails, the urban bohemian aesthetic clubbed together with the glitz of Hauz Khas, and a cinema trivia always operational, things were smooth. For an entire generation, it was the adda, the hang, or the haunt.

Now it is 2025, and SOCIAL has decided to revisit that nerve and recalibrate it, making it more Gen Z-coded, taking Gen Alpha into the fold while it’s at it. Their new Peena Edition is a curated, self-aware, borderline cheeky menu drop that knows exactly who it is speaking to. It approaches nostalgia with the confidence of a bartender who’s spotted you from across the decade, and pours accordingly with a grin. The urban bar has returned—forthright, amused, and entirely unbothered. Here is what greets you.

The Bar Menu

As it was in 2015, so it is in 2025 for SOCIAL: it knows its signs and uses it with a flourish. The bar programme arrives with a swift abandon for subtlety and aims right at the jugular. Hereon, while the author will speak of the drinks and dishes, the reader must take note of the nomenclature.

In the menu are: ‘OG Longest Long Island Iced Coffee,’ that 750ml caffeinated beast of a cult serve, returned to remind everyone that moderation has always been optional here. Served in a tumbler resembling the average household Nescafe, it is a two-pronged indulgence. In the ‘SOCIAL Lubes,’ the brand tugs at its fondness for packaging-as-personality: bottled in test tubes, moods dressed as cocktails, from ‘Zen AF’ and ‘Weird Flex’ to ‘Delulu’ and ‘Aura,’ alongside playful inventions like ‘Lifaafa,’ which arrives in a post-office pouch in classic red-white-blue vintage airmail border, and ‘Candy Crush,’ which is quite literally gift-wrapped in sweetness.

The author hopes that the reader hasn’t surrendered to the reveries of these cocktails and is still mindful of the cheeky nomenclature.

The ‘Sangria Pitchers’ keep things at the level of spring and sunshine, at times excessive with variants that oscillate between berry-forward, tropical, spiced, coffee-laced and the occasional margarita-musing hybrid. ‘Squad Shots’ arrive with swagger, neon-hued, high-energy, and occasionally explosive, as with the two-part ‘SOCIAL Bomb.’ One must tread softly with the ‘SOCIAL Bomb’ as the name is hardly hyperbolic. To unpack, it is an unscrew and unleash affair of that old ‘Green Fairy’ we know as absinthe with the base of Red Bull. Of the same absinthe, capable of inducing hallucinations and blackouts, Oscar Wilde is recorded to have noted “A glass of absinthe is as poetical as anything in the world. What difference is there between a glass of absinthe and a sunset?”

For purists, there is a respectful parade of classics: an Espresso Martini that remembers the point of espresso, a Picante that goes for the throat, a Margarita that nods politely to tequila, and the rest of the old guard executed with precision and just the slightest smirk.

Now on the note of nomenclature which the author has taken pains to keep in the conversation, one thing is to be said with certainty: that the drinks are potent, yes, and they’ll get you drunk, the names, however, will get you started.

The Food Menu

The Big Drop’s food line-up takes SOCIAL’s fondness for comfort as much as it does for reinvention and experiment, channeling it into a tighter, more grown-up spread. Breakfast gets pride of place, from the new handheld ‘Breakfast Sandwiches,’ stretching from ‘Cheese Scramble and Avo’ to the ‘Tokyo Pinja Meringue,’ to classics like ‘Anda Kheema Ghotala,’ ‘Bhai Benedict’ and the full-tilt ‘Breakfast Trays.’ It’s SOCIAL speaking fluently to the morning moods of commuters, brunch loyalists, and hungover philosophers alike.

Midday and evening slide into a playful rhythm with the arrival of Ramen—’Kimchi Momo,’ ‘Kerala Prawn Stew,’ and ‘Nihari Mutton’ among the more audacious—alongside a punchy roster of ‘Snacks and Chaat,’ where ‘Golgappa,’ ‘OG Bambai Sandwich’ and ‘Toast-E-Galawati’ carry the banner for street culture in all the unique and surprising ways. ‘Dunkables’ add an affectionate ode to chai-time rituals, while ‘Momos and Munchies’ stretch from ‘Soupy Shrimp’ and ‘Pop Corn Chicken’ to ‘Gochujong Glazed Mushrooms’ and ‘OMO Korean Fried Chicken,’ each dish aiming squarely at the sociable instinct to graze, share and declare favourites.

The heavier hitters offer grounding through the day: ‘Boss Burgers’ like the ‘Samosalicious Smash’ and ‘Shams’ Signature,’ tidy ‘Veg and Non-Veg Tiffins’ for fuss-free variety, and ‘Substantials’ that lean into appetite with ‘Pulled Mutton Nihari,’ ‘Parkstreet Chicken’ and ‘Pepper Chicken’ with ‘Black Rice Congee.’ A final sweep of ‘Banoffee Pie,’ ‘Basque Cheesecake’ and ‘Dessert Nachos’ softens the landing, while the beverage line-up toggles between iced matcha coolness and comforting warmers, ensuring the menu closes as confidently as it began.

The Secret Ingredient Is Nostalgia

From fashion to film and everything in between, the word on the street is clear: nostalgia, vintage, retro, and deliberate anachronism are back in favour. With a clever play on this phenomenon, SOCIAL inculcates it severely in its revamp. From cocktails like ‘Lifafa,’ an unmissable evocation of the golden days of letter-writing and postcards to the classic Nescafe jar as a cocktail cup, the hook is clear. And it works brilliantly.

The menus, no more old boring leaflets but periodical newspapers. Care for that old-world touch and feel of a newspaper? “Pick up our menu,” SOCIAL would retort. On the frontpage of the Drinks Menu is the headline ‘How India Drinks,’ with images of India’s diverse drinks and drinking habits ranging from toddy to classic Old Monk and Coke. At the centre is a passage which starts, “No great story ever started with a salad — it always began with a drink.”

Star Dish And Drink

While generally an enthusiast of the literary, one wishes to give ‘SOCIAL Bomb’ absinthe — the ‘Green Fairy’ — a miss in favour of ‘Lifafa’ for its multivalent qualities. Not only is the cocktail in a nostalgic packaging but it comes with the bonus of mobility: one could safely go off the rocker dancing and still manage to not spill a drop. The taste? Of something from the past.

In terms of food, without much thinking, the ‘Nihari Mutton Ramen’ takes the top spot. You can indulge in the vestiges of that Purani Dilli taste with this nihari broth infused seamlessly with ramen and topped with an egg and mutton chunks.

Vibe Check

 Connaught Place’s SOCIAL is none of that exuberant, condescending affair that makes you curl into a ball if you’re not a high-fly socialite of the city. Situated in what used to be a post office within the colonial quarters, it brings vintage sorting tables, British era teller-style bars and stamp adorned walls with a spin of a reimagined classic design. Thus, in the environs of Lutyens’ Delhi, sitting in an erstwhile post office, leafing through a menu which is a newspaper and sipping on drinks like ‘Lifafa,’ — the schbang is a word-perfect arrangement for a cheery hour with a retro glint.

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