What would it look like if Salvador Dalí designed a bar today? Elaborate, eccentric and unexpected. Doffing its hat to this surrealist’s genius is Dali & Gala, a 1,500 sqft, 69-seater bar located in the Museum building on Museum Road, Bengaluru. Designed by Siddharth Kerkar, artist, and restaurateur and Jatin Hukkeri, architect and founder, WDA Spaces, it is a salute to surrealism with 130-plus artworks that reflect Dalí’s spirit.
They embrace bold, dreamlike concepts, presenting a modern homage to the maverick artist. The entire space is a riot of colour—bright red walls filled with photo frames, teal and yellow sofas, and green walls adorned with multi-hued paintings. The maximalist interiors are neatly demarcated into six unique spaces.
The Rose Room is an intimate corner themed around romance while the Animal Room is a nod to Dalí’s animal sculptures. The Rooster Room is inspired by Portugal’s national bird. The Mirror Room showcases the people behind Dali & Gala, with over 50 photographs of the chefs, bartenders, labourers, delivery partners, electricians, and artists. A mirror between the photographs is a reminder to guests that they have contributed to making Dali & Gala.
Dalí’s Library room has several works centering around word play and philosophy. Room One toasts the success of Room One (a speakeasy) in Goa; the smoking section has been turned into a miniature version of the Goan Room One featuring Fluffy the giant dinosaur, rotating fish jars and the iconic yellow five-seater couch that can seat ten on a packed night.
“The piece here created around smoke features a two-headed sculpture emerging from a body of water with smoke jetting out. The head on one side is of Dali and the other is Gala, his wife, and celebrates their inseparability,” explains Siddharth. The bar counter exhibits his signature style of beaten copper featuring over 80 hand-beaten eyes, also made of copper. This creates a surreal effect of the bar looking back at you when you look at it.