Bagheera is one of Vancouver’s most transportive drinking experiences, a cocktail bar that combines immersive design with deep storytelling. Hidden in the city’s heart, the bar’s shape mirrors a vintage train car – narrow, enclosed, and atmospheric, drawing guests into a journey that recalls the opulence and intrigue of early 20th-century rail travel in India. Jewel tones, brass, carved wood, and velvets envelop the space, while lighting casts guests in a golden glow, offering both mystery and intimacy.

The concept is born from the personal heritages of co-owners Lewis Hart, Brijeshkumar Rathi, and Joban Mann, intertwining British and Indian lineages to create something both historically resonant and refreshingly contemporary. Rather than defaulting to well-trodden colonial tropes, Bagheera draws inspiration from Kipling’s writing not as empire, but as myth, instinct, and imagination.

Menus at Bagheera are designed as literary chapters, drawing from timeless stories and reinterpreting them through flavour and form. Each drink begins with a classic backbone – whether a Martini, Old Fashioned, or Highball – and evolves into something unique through unusual ingredients, creative techniques, and allegorical garnishes. Their process is rigorous: ideas are workshopped, blind-tested with friends and family, and refined with feedback from industry peers. The result is cocktails that are not only imaginative, but also balanced, consistent, and accessible.

Guests enjoy table service only, ensuring each drink is presented with theatre and care. The experience is further built out with a careful music selection, from funky house to vinyl DJ sets, resonating through the train-car acoustics. 

Behind all this visual opulence is a serious commitment to technique. A series of bota bags are used for leather-aging spirits, carefully monitored and blended in a solera system for depth and consistency. The team describe them as great conversation starters. Their Martini program uses four separate water tanks with varying levels of salinity, allowing guests to experience nuanced variations of a classic serve. Clarification is executed with precision, sometimes with dairy, other times with dehydrated camel milk, while sous-vide infusions, bespoke syrups, and in-house cordials are prepared daily by a dedicated prep team. Even the ice programme is exacting, with blocks frozen in a miniature Clinebell, cut to specification, and stamped with animal motifs that reflect the stories behind the drinks.

The bar itself is a spectacle. A 45-foot tiger onyx counter illuminated to suggest a tiger prowling through reeds, with 1,000 pieces of Indian jewellery and trinkets embedded above. Essential oils of fresh tobacco leaf and coconut subtly scent the air, adding to the multi-sensory experience. 

Beneath this sense of escapism lies a strong ethos. Ingredients are sourced locally, often within a two-block radius, with suppliers delivering on foot. Partnerships with Chinatown merchants are deliberate, ensuring new businesses contribute rather than replace legacy ones. Waste is minimised through careful inventory management and ingredient sharing with a sister venue.

Staff are nurtured through quarterly check-ins with management, who create bespoke development paths that reflect both professional and personal goals. Leadership is shared to give every team member ownership of the space, while the co-owners themselves are active voices in Vancouver’s hospitality community— lobbying for fairer licensing laws, fighting for migrant workers’ rights, and raising funds for Chinatown’s seniors.