Inside the permit rooms that shaped Chennai’s nightlife

Before cocktail menus and rooftop lounges, Chennai drank discreetly. We visit four old-school bars at Maris, Ranjith, Ashoka and Palmgrove, for rasam vada and crab cutlets with loyal regulars. Follow our trail for a taste of permit room history

In the early 1970s, we drank at permit rooms. A Permit Room (as bars were known back in the day), was a licensed, designated area within or attached to a hotel or liquor shop, where patrons were permitted to consume liquor on-premises, legally carrying with them a ‘permit’, issued by the authorities concerned.

The only watering holes, these Government-regulated bars were tucked inside a few hotels. And as the name suggests, patrons actually needed a Government-issued permit to order a drink.

Now, in a city sparkling with modern cocktail menus and trendy lounge bars, some of these bars remain unchanged, offering a quiet space for loyal regulars, with familiar menus and staff. Three of these are vegetarian, offering rasam vada and peanuts with your whiskies.

We visit four of the oldest hotels in Chennai to try their iconic bars.

Sometimes the universe aligns with human effort, altering destinies. Such was the story of Mariapillai, a landlord-farmer from Manachanallur in Tiruchi. His life took an extraordinary turn when he moved from being a labour contractor to becoming the owner of a tea estate — a gesture of trust from the British planters who recognised his integrity. His success set the stage for the next generation. In 1975, his son Rengaswamy Pillai purchased a one-acre plot on Cathedral Road and built a hotel there, naming it Hotel Maris in honour of his father.

“My grandfather had the privilege of booking the first room,” recalls Rengaswamy’s son, Anand Rangaswamy, who now runs the establishment. “A few years later, in 1979, we opened our bar, then known as a permit room. My grandfather, a cognac connoisseur, inaugurated The Permit Room with the first drink, which was Honey Bee Brandy because, Cognac was a rarity in bars like ours those days. We retained the name but added ‘on Cathedral Road’ for better identification.” The hotel, true to its heritage, continues to operate as a vegetarian property.