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Vinyl Cafés, Listening Rooms, And Sonic Spaces Across India That Honour The Art Of Listening

Drop the needle and pass the plate – lend your dining experience a groovy update with these music-led cafes, restaurants and bars.

| Vaishnavi Rana
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In most restaurants, music is an afterthought. It hums faintly under conversations, fills silences, or serves as a mood-setter with hit pop songs repeating over like elevator music, rarely asked to do more. But a handful of venues across India are doing things differently. These aren’t themed cafés or novelty bars. Some are quiet restaurants where jazz plays through carefully chosen speakers. Others host communal vinyl brunches, bring-your-own-record nights, or analogue listening sessions where an entire album plays, uninterrupted. A few go further still, designing acoustically treated listening rooms where sound takes the lead. And if you are someone who cherishes what they hear just as much as what they eat at a restaurant, here are spaces in Mumbai, Bangalore, Goa, and Guwahati, where the act of listening is part of the experience.

Mumbai

1. Baroke

South Mumbai has a new focused listening bar with acoustically treated interiors and a growing collection of records. Baroke is arranged to encourage stillness, and music is played on a high-fidelity setup, with little else competing for attention. 

Where: Grant Road, South Mumbai

For Reservation: 98193 53915

2. The Dimsum Room

The Dimsum Room's Listening Room has been inspired by Hong Kong’s bustling tea houses and the golden age of vinyl. Equipped with a state-of-the-art sonic room designed by Munro Acoustics, this space combines jazz and modern electronic beats to create an atmosphere that complements the flavours on the table.

Where: 3rd Floor, Building 30, K Dubash Marg, Kala Ghoda, Fort, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400001

For Reservation: zomato.com, eazydiner.com, onelink.me

3. Records.Coffee by Veranda

A quiet corner in Bandra where the shelves are lined with records and a turntable hums softly in the background. Visitors can browse, select an album, and play it while sipping coffee. The space blends casual dining with a musical ritual.

Where: 24th Road, Bandra West, Mumbai

For Reservation: 098200 09984

4. Journal Bombay

This Santacruz café hosts vinyl brunches on select Sundays. The focus is on listening together, from demos on turntable basics to curated playlists shared by guests and the in-house team. A communal, low-key space for analogue enthusiasts.

Where: Nirmal Building, North Ave, Potohar Nagar, Santacruz (West), Mumbai, Maharashtra 400054

For Reservation:090046 99654

5. Port Kitchen & Bar

This open-air café hosts events that are often an outlet for musicians to jam out with the people. It’s informal, but intentional, more about connection than curation. Their Port After Dark also features DJs that get you grooving as you eat.

Where: G5, Laxmi Woollen Mills, Shakti Mills Lane, Mahalaxmi, Mumbai

For Reservation: 098338 97317

Bengaluru

Middle Room

This intimate analogue space in Bengaluru, styled after Japanese music bars, hosts vinyl sets, live performances, and analogue markets, making it as much about listening as it is about the social pause.

Where: 105, Kengal Hanumanthaiah Rd, Raja Ram Mohanroy Extension, Shanti Nagar, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560027

Goa

1. For the Record – Vinyl Bar

Tucked in a quiet lane in Assagao, this bar is designed around the act of listening. Inspired by Japanese kissaten culture, it plays handpicked vinyl sets through a high-fidelity system. Lighting is low, playlists are long, and you would want to linger till long.

Where: Jukebox, H no 49, Next to Audiophile Goa, nr. The Hotel Mandovi Maruti, Fontainhas (quarter), Mala, Panaji, Goa 403001

For Reservation: 075074 72587

Chennai

1. Vinyl & Brew

A vinyl-forward coffee bar in Chennai where you can pick a record to play while sipping slow-brewed coffee. The space blends analogue sound with a minimalistic vibe made for comfort night out in the city.

Where: 135, TTK Road, Chennai

For Reservation: 091769 84695

Ahmedabad

1. Blockheads

Ahmedabad’s vinyl-listening café is inspired by intimate Japanese music bars (kissaten). Open afternoons to late evening, it offers a turntable setup where the record you choose becomes the backdrop to your meal. A shrine to the crackle of vinyl and the pause between tracks.

Where: Ground Floor, ONE42, Bopal‑Ambli Road, Ahmedabad

For Reservation: 090990 12739

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