From local designs and ingredients to elevating the art of the cocktail in city, find out why Kathmandu’s Barc has been named the first Nepalese winner of the Michter’s Art of Hospitality Award 2025 as part of Asia’s 50 Best Bars.
Across the globe, Nepalese individuals are the heart of many of the world’s most respected hospitality brands. Whether it’s a top-tier bar in Hong Kong or an elite restaurant in Dubai, their signature warmth and genuine smile make them instantly recognisable and deeply valued in the service industry.
It’s no surprise then that back home in the capital of Kathmandu, a pioneering cocktail bar has quietly and diligently been redefining what it means to host, earning it the Michter’s Art of Hospitality Award in the process.
The Barc team is on a mission to elevate Nepalese cocktail culture to new heights
Barc has consistently been credited with putting Nepal on the global cocktail map. Since opening in 2021, the bar has been steadily climbing the ranks of Asia’s 50 Best Bars year after year. Founder Abhishek Tuladhar and co-founder Adarsha Man Tamrakar, the driving dual force behind the bar’s persistent evolution, leave no stone unturned in their management of the space – from the spirits stocked to every guest greeting and goodbye – to ensure that the highest quality of service and hospitality are delivered every single day. Fundamentally, it’s all about making sure that each guest leaves happier than they were when they walked in.
The welcome: hospitality first
At Barc, service begins from the moment you set foot inside the door. “It’s about acknowledgement and recognition”, says Tuladhar. “At Barc we don’t just greet a guest with a ‘hello’, we say ‘we see you’.”
Great hospitality starts at the front door, says the Barc team
Every interaction is genuine, unscripted, and heartfelt, and guests are always encouraged to feel at home – the very hallmark of Nepalese hospitality. Which probably explains why the team at Barc has become beloved by both locals and tourists alike: for embodying this very spirit of connection and community.
The experience: craft meets care
The cocktail programme at Barc, while still honouring the classics, is uniquely centred around pushing the boundaries of flavours through the use of distinctive, local ingredients. Cocktails here feature native Newari spirits like ayla (a local fermented rice distillate) and Nepalese products like titaura (a popular snack made by drying and flavouring fruits like lapsi plum or gooseberries) and timur pepper, which is distantly related to the mouth-numbing Sichuan pepper.
Barc's cocktails spotlight Nepalese and Newari ingredients
“Hospitality to us is a relationship” explains bar manager Rajani Mala. “It’s not about perfection, it’s about presence. We want to connect with the guests and not just serve them”. Guest favourites on the drinks menu include the Bloody Lapsi, a clever take on the Bloody Mary made with the local hog plum and chaangria, a take on the sangria made with local rice wine.
The food menu also gets the local treatment as it manifests as a carefully crafted selection of pan-Asian plates and elevated Nepali favourites. “The bar food brings together diverse ingredients and contemporary techniques, all inspired by the rich culinary heritage of Newar and Nepali cuisine,” says co-founder Tamrakar, who leads the food programme at Barc. From local artisanal cheeses like kanchan that is served either smoked, aged or flavoured, to traditional herbs and spices such as jimbu (a herb belonging to the onion family), each element is thoughtfully woven in to enhance flavours while honouring culinary heritage. The most loved dishes on the menu are the Sukuti on Crackers (dried buffalo floss – shredded meat) and the Buff Tongue.
Identity: people at the core
The bar’s philosophy is guided by its founders’ global exposure and experiences in other countries. Tuladhar, who comes from a family of hoteliers, left a finance job in Singapore and moved back to Nepal to start his own company Bar Stories By Abhishek, which hosted a series of intimate pop ups that introduced cocktail culture as a medium of expression rather than indulgence to a discerning audience in Kathmandu.
Barc opened its doors in 2021 following a successful pop-up series from founder Abhishek Tuladhar
As a natural extension of this, Tuladhar and Tamrakar opened Barc in 2021. “The initial response to Barc was very encouraging since we had already built a certain level of trust, acceptance and curiosity through the pop ups,” says Tuladhar. The strong community Barc has fostered and grown steadily over the years is the result of the team’s patience and commitment to stay true to this purpose. “Today, there is a real sense of pride that the community has been part of our journey and seen the scene develop and grow alongside us, so it feels like we have built it together”, adds Tuladhar.
A sense of place: a local lens on global standards
The driving force behind Barc’s success is the conviction and clarity with which the team operates. Not only does the bar represent the vision of its founders, but also a deep sense of place. “We seek to represent Kathmandu, its rhythm, its humility, and above all, its wild creativity,” says Tuladhar.
This takes the form of storytelling through local art, ingredients, intentional service and a constant evolution of their offering through guest feedback, internal reflection and deliberation. While Nepal is a popular destination with tourists looking to experience mountain life and maybe catch a glimpse of Mount Everest, Barc has carved out its own allure as the destination to socialise, celebrate, and indulge in craft cocktail culture unique to its location.
Barc reached the No.39 spot in 2024, earning it the title of The Best Bar in Nepal
The bar has played a pivotal role in shaping Nepal’s cocktail culture – not just for patrons, but for the industry itself. By setting a high standard and proving what’s possible, it has inspired a wave of new bars in the region and empowered a generation of bartenders to see a future right here at home in Nepal.
In short, visit for the drinks, of course, but don’t be surprised when it’s the hospitality that makes you stay and keeps you coming back.
Now watch the video:
The list of Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2025, sponsored by Perrier, will be revealed at a live awards ceremony at Wynn Palace, Macau, on Tuesday 15 July.
