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Outside, its blue facade attracts attention. Inside, colorful decorations invite you to travel, somewhere between India and Reunion Island.

After two months of work, Barathi opened its doors in early April, at 7 cours Victor-Hugo, replacing F Pub. “Bharat” is the name of India in Sanskrit, and Barathi, is a play on “tea bar”.

About twenty cocktail recipes use fresh fruit

The company is run by Asvina Soundiram and Eddy Bellabiod, two people in their thirties who have experienced a 180-degree turn in their careers. In charge of studies and projects for him, chemists for him, they stop everything to offer exotic and original cocktails.

“We wanted to create a concept that doesn’t exist anywhere else. Helping people travel and introducing our culture, emphasized Asvina Soundiram, from India. When we go to Indian restaurants, we always eat the same thing. I want to show that India is not just that. »

Made only with fresh fruit and accompanied by lychee liqueur, rose syrup or spiced Indian tea… almost twenty cocktail recipes, with or without alcohol, appear on the menu, starting from 7 euros.

“This is a long-term project, as I have been working on this blend for more than seven years,” says the manager. “At first, it was a bit beyond my expectations, so we had to write everything down on paper so we could reproduce the recipe. »

Rum workshops are being held soon

With shaker in hand, Eddy Bellabiod prepares a cocktail. And in the kitchen, Asvina Soundiram cooks tapas and pastries. Coral lentil hummus, samosas, tandoori tofu, dhaal… all the dishes are homemade, lactose-free and even gluten-free where possible, “so everyone can come and eat with us.”

In the afternoon, Barathi also has a tea room and, for summer, smoothies and vegetable ice cream will also be added to the menu.

Entrepreneurial and full of energy, this couple has no shortage of ideas for the future. They want, among other things, to hold artist exhibitions or organize “cocktail yoga” sessions, but also rum mixology workshops, where Eddy Bellabiod, from Reunion, will talk about the history of rum, cane sugar and places that participants can visit . with a bottle of his homemade rum.

“What we want is to make Barathi a place of discovery and exchange. Let this not just be a place to drink. »

Open on Wednesdays from 15.00 to 19.00 and Thursdays to Saturdays from 15.00 to 23.00.