In Kolkata: A cocktail, coffee and live music experience that is reminiscent of the city in the 1920s

As live music plays, this artisanal coffee and cocktail bar on Park Street celebrates the ageless city

AM PM, the newly launched café bar in Kolkata is straight out of Baz Luhrmann’s sets of The Great Gatsby — an aesthetic that blends the colonial era club culture of Kolkata with a millennial approved zing. 

A café during the day, the aroma of artisanal coffee runs amok as patrons trickle in. The space is divided into six arenas — The Legends is the space where bands perform, Paddock Club is an extended outdoor sitting area, Gully is a narrow inlet resembling the gallis or by lanes of Kolkata, Trophy Bar is the rose gold-toned bar, Powder room is the washroom and the smoking zone is a thoughtfully curated smoking room with a painting of Audrey Hepburn and a vintage shoe polish machine.  

Rajan Sethi, co-owner of AM PM says that his idea was to ‘fuse Victorian aesthetics, local craftsmanship, and the enduring influence of British architecture and culture.’ “We did a recce of all the famed clubs of Kolkata and wanted to create a space that is easily accessible, doesn’t require the hassle of membership but also provides the environment of the old social clubs of Kolkata,” adds Rajan.  

The cafe serves organic single-origin coffee sourced from the verdant valleys of North East India. As the sun sets, the coffee is supplanted by cocktails, and the space assumes a colour and countenance akin to the Blue Fox, Skyroom and Firpo’s era– iconic places, known for their glamorous ballrooms, cabaret singers, and European food in the Calcutta of the roaring 1920s.

The music, like the decor, is nostalgic: Bob Dylan’s ‘One More Cup Of Coffee For the Road’, The Beatles’ ‘Let it Be’ and Guns N Roses’ ‘Knocking on Heaven’s Door’ rocks the bar back and forth between the ageless old and the emerging new city.  

It was a walk down memory lane to see celebrated veteran musician Nandan Bagchi perform. Many locals have grown up watching the musician play at various city clubs as well as the celebrated Jazz festival at Dalhousie Institute. Watching Bagchi perform long after the jazz bands have disbanded and the notes have left our ears, was a lot like watching the city write a letter to its former self.

From Wednesday to Sunday, evenings at the coffee bar brim with live music – a milieu of English jazz, rock, pop and blues performances. As the musicians play, cocktails are served, curated to represent the city’s historical and local contexts.