Delhi’s AABBCC Makes It To TIME Magazine’s World’s Greatest Places 2026

AABBCC has been named among TIME Magazine’s World’s Greatest Places of 2026, placing the Delhi bar on a global list that recognises 100 standout destinations across hospitality, travel, and culture. The annual list highlights spaces that offer distinctive, experience-led concepts, and AABBCC’s inclusion signals the growing international attention on India’s—and especially Delhi’s—evolving bar scene. It’s also important to highlight that AABBCC was the only Indian entrant on the list’s ‘Places to Visit’ category.

Located in Vasant Kunj, AABBCC is a three-storeyed, reservation-only cocktail bar that has steadily built a reputation for its immersive format and tightly curated drinks programme. The space is designed to be experienced in parts, with each level offering a different mood, concept, and approach to drinking, moving away from the idea of a single, static bar setting and stool. This multi-level format, combined with a strong focus on storytelling and technique, has positioned it as one of the more concept-driven openings in the capital in recent years.

At its core, AABBCC operates as a cocktail-first destination, emphasising ingredient-led drinks, evolving menus, and a controlled, intimate environment.

About AABBCC

Co-founded by Aditi Singh and managed by Jairaj Singh Solank, the 86-seater space is best described as a “concept-lab” that opened its doors last summer. And what it serves are not just drinks.

Across the three floors, the drinking experience spills into storytelling—even the menu is not what you’d expect when walking into a bar. The experience begins on the mezzanine floor, which is designed as a laboratory-cum-museum space. Here, roots, herbs, teas, fruits, and spices sit alongside the more unexpected ingredients used in the cocktails at AABBCC. An example is the honey-bred black ants used as garnishes by mixologists.

Following that, the main bar and dining space sits one floor up, co-locally referred to as the “Observation Cell.” Highlighting the space is their 10-seater omakase bar, which gives all diners a first-hand look behind the drinks, from mixing to garnishing. What’s even more interesting is the way the menu reads like hopping onto a time machine. Divided into three sections—Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow—the drinks in each section are all about the time they denote.

“Yesterday” pays homage to all-time classics, done the AABBCC way, including a reworked LIIT (Long Island Iced Tea) and Appletini. “Today” brings together local flavours alongside those borrowed from the rest of the world. On my own visit to the spectacular bar, I tried their Ube Colada, which was part of “Today,” and it has perhaps been one of my favourite cocktails I’ve had. Combining hyper-local flavours like malabar grass, masala tea, and pandan water with global tropical favourites like ube, tonka, pineapple and coconut, tied together with rum, this was an Indian spin on your average pina colada. With nutty, fruity, and warm notes, it’s among the best cocktails to try at AABBCC.

Lastly, “Tomorrow” leans completely into the experimental category, with drinks like Where’s My Rice, a tequila-based riff on Thai curry in cocktail form, and Charred Aubergine, a gin-based ode to the delicious notes of baingan ka bharta (roasted eggplant).

The final, third storey culminates the journey of the space with an AMP Room: a listening lounge for high-fidelity electronic music, among the few of its kind in the capital. According to TIME Magazine, a brand-new private dining room called Six is set to open here in the coming few months, pairing cocktails with a six-course menu inspired by the six seasons in India.

Other Recognitions on the List

Alongside AABBCC, a few other Indian destinations also found space on TIME’s list. These include the Oberoi Rajgarh Palace Resort, located in Rajgarh, Madhya Pradesh, for its proximity to one-of-a-kind, nature-led experiences found only in Rajgarh, such as access to a national park housing Bengal tigers, leopards and sloth bears, jungle safaris, guided excursions through Raneh Gorge—the place where Ken Sanctuary’s pink granite canyon ends in a waterfall—and guided tours through millennia-old Hindu and Jain temples.

Another Indian starrer was Mharo Khet, located in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, and among Rajasthan’s most iconic agritourism retreats. The Shakti Himalaya Prana Lodge in Kumaon, Uttarakhand, also appeared on the list, located at 7,000 ft., and offering solar power and spectacular views of the Himalayas.

While all these were featured in the “Places to Stay” category, AABBCC became the sole Indian space to appear in the “Places to Visit” category: a remarkable feat for the country. This win highlights the growing international recognition of India’s sprawling drinking scene, which is only growing as we speak, and the breadth of experimentation that goes into every new space that opens up in the capital.

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