Bartender / bar director
Karan Dhanelia
- Discipline
- Bartender / bar director
i. Biography
World Class recognized Karan Dhanelia in 2026 for innovative cocktails, including a black garlic gin cocktail at Atelier V. The nod fits a bartender whose work is built on precision, imagination, and controlled surprise. His drinks sit where technique meets curiosity: familiar ingredients are pushed into a different register, and each pour is shaped to do more than satisfy.
The Climb
Today, Karan Dhanelia is a professional bartender of ATELIER CULINAIRE RESTAURANTS LLP. The role points to the demands of the trade: discipline, consistency, and enough range to keep creativity in check without flattening it. In that setting, his craft reads as measured and attentive, built on the details that separate a competent drink from one that stays with the guest. Bartending, in his hands, becomes composition, with aroma, texture, and balance each treated as part of the build.
Today
Atelier V is where the black garlic gin cocktail sits among his innovative drinks, and the combination shows the kind of flavor work Karan Dhanelia has made his own. The drink pairs deep, savory notes with the clean structure of gin, using contrast as the point rather than the effect. It is the sort of build that earns attention before the first sip and keeps it after. Within the broader repertoire, Atelier V gives those ideas a setting where craft stays visible and the unexpected still feels disciplined.
Career - professional bartender — ATELIER CULINAIRE RESTAURANTS LLP
Signature
Karan's signature dishes include Geonbae and Jowar ki Roti ka Kvass and names that signal a palate open to cultural reference and inventive change. The two together suggest a maker who can move across styles without losing balance. As signatures, they point less to repetition than to recall: a profile of work that keeps character in view while allowing for surprise. In Karan's case, the signature is something made to be remembered because it is built with intent.
Recognition
Karan's honors include Bartender of the Year title (2026), a distinction that marks the level of regard his work has earned. Alongside the recognition from World Class, 2026, it places his approach in a period where inventive drink-making has been met with clear approval. For a bartender working in nuance, the pairing of those honors confirms that originality and precision can travel together, and that a carefully imagined cocktail can carry both personality and purpose.
FAQ What recognition has Karan Dhanelia received? Bartender of the Year title (2026). What is Karan Dhanelia known for? Innovative cocktails.
