Hyderabad’s Bar Scene Looks Beyond Menu With Ulysses Lisbon at Vayu
Lisbon’s Ulysses brings its personalised, menu-free cocktail philosophy to Vayu at Courtyard by Marriott Hyderabad this October, opening up a conversation about guest-led mixology, cultural exchange and the changing idea of luxury in hospitality.
The cocktail menu has long been the starting point of a night at a bar. But what happens when the guest is not asked to choose a drink at all? Ulysses Lisbon, known for its intimate, menu-free approach to cocktails, brings that question to Hyderabad this October with a takeover at Vayu, Courtyard by Marriott Hyderabad. The collaboration reflects a growing interest in hospitality experiences built around participation, personal preferences and the stories people bring to the table.
For Manuel Barreira, founder and liquid tailor at Ulysses Lisbon Speakeasy, the idea comes from more than 26 years in hospitality. His approach is not about inventing increasingly complicated cocktails, but about understanding the person who will drink them. At Ulysses, he starts with the DNA of a classic cocktail, reverse-engineers it through conversation, and builds something around the guest. There is no fixed menu or predetermined destination.
“After 26 years in hospitality, I'm still learning, creating and evolving. Lisbon has reinforced my belief that the future may be a return to something beautifully simple: genuine hospitality, connection and sharing,” says Barreira. “I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel or create the next great modern cocktail. At Ulysses, I take the DNA of a classic, reverse-engineer it through conversation and create something personal, the ultimate cocktail experience. No menu. No rules. No predetermined destination. The guest becomes the co-author of their own cocktail.”
That approach places conversation at the centre of mixology. Rather than beginning with a recipe, Barreira begins by understanding a guest's palate, memories and preferences. The spirits, ingredients, aromas, textures and balance emerge through the exchange. The cocktail is as much a product of that interaction as it is of the bartender's technical knowledge.
Barreira believes the philosophy can travel without losing its character because it is not dependent on replicating a set of recipes. Growing up in Canada and North America exposed him to different cultures, foods and palates, while his education at the University of Alberta encouraged him to question assumptions and approach situations critically. His roots, however, remain in Monção in northern Portugal.
“Absolutely! Because I'm not trying to scale recipes. I'm sharing a philosophy,” he says, explaining how he adapts the experience to different guests and locations. “The ingredients change. The country changes. The guest changes. But the warmth and joy of creating together remain. The greatest luxury in hospitality is making someone feel the experience belongs entirely to them.”
His idea of roots-to-glass goes beyond the provenance of an ingredient. One of his earliest childhood memories is the anticipation of getting an ice cream, a feeling he says he continues to chase decades later. For Barreira, those emotional connections are part of what makes a drink memorable. Ingredients may tell one story, but the person sitting across the bar brings another.
“Roots-to-glass isn't simply about where ingredients originate. It's about where we come from, our memories, senses and stories, and discovering where they meet in a glass. The most exciting ingredient is often the person sitting in front of me,” he says.
Ulysses has appeared on 50 Best Discovery for five consecutive years, recognition that Barreira says he approaches with gratitude. A feature in Canadian publication Quench Magazine, written by Christine Sismondo and titled “Ulysses Lisbon: The Greatest Cocktail Experience per Square Metre”, was particularly meaningful given the bar's small footprint. Yet he is reluctant to define its appeal through size or technical achievement alone.
“Perhaps that a truly great bar isn't really about the bar at all,” he says of what the industry is still learning. “But the magic isn't in the square metres. It's what we create together within them. Hospitality means welcoming, listening, laughing, sharing and creating memories. Did we spark curiosity? Did they leave with a story?”
For him, the work remains a process of learning and adjustment. He describes the ideal as being perfectly imperfect, with the experience shaped by the interaction rather than a rigid formula. The aim is not simply to serve a technically accomplished drink, but to leave the guest with a memory of how it came about.
Taking Ulysses beyond Lisbon, therefore, means protecting its intimacy, spontaneity and freedom to experiment while allowing the ingredients, techniques and presentation to change. Barreira sees the visiting bartender's role as an invitation to create something new with each guest, rather than reproduce a familiar signature cocktail.
“If I already know what I'm creating before meeting you, where's the adventure?” he says. “I want every destination and guest to become part of Ulysses' continuing evolution.”
At Vayu, that philosophy will meet Hyderabad's culinary traditions and cocktail culture. Guests will be encouraged to discuss their preferences with the visiting bartender as he builds drinks around them. Barreira plans to explore how different cocktail styles work with the restaurant's existing food offering, with bright, aromatic creations suited to lighter or spicy dishes and richer, spirit-forward drinks complementing deeper flavours.
“At Vayu, you're not simply watching me make cocktails. You're invited to create alongside me! We talk, discover your palate and reverse-engineer the DNA of a classic,” he says. “My Portuguese roots, North American journey and India's extraordinary flavours meet through you. Our creation may never have existed before and may never exist precisely that way again.”
For Amardeep Singh, Multi-Property General Manager of Hyderabad Marriott Hotel & Convention Centre and Courtyard by Marriott Hyderabad, the collaboration reflects a shift in what premium hospitality can offer beyond food and drink. Vayu's first international pop-up is intended to bring together different approaches to flavour, service and creativity, rather than reproduce a foreign bar's identity in Hyderabad.
“Hyderabad is becoming one of India's most exciting destinations for premium dining and bars, and this is the right moment to offer experiences that move from consumption to participation. We have always believed hospitality is about discovery,” says Singh. “This is not about importing a European bar and asking guests to consume someone else's culture. The value lies in the exchange. Lisbon's avant-garde, highly personalised mixology meets Hyderabad's culinary heritage, bold flavours and rapidly maturing cocktail culture.”
The collaboration is also intended to create an exchange of skills. The visiting bartenders will explore local ingredients and regional influences, while Vayu's team gets exposure to new techniques, creative thinking and improvisational craftsmanship. For Singh, the value of the takeover will be measured not only by the drinks served but also by what the teams learn and what guests carry away from the experience.
That exchange will take place alongside Vayu's existing menu. The restaurant has deliberately avoided creating a separate food menu or a fixed pairing dinner for the takeover. Instead, guests can order from its signature offering, explore regional flavours and discover combinations that suit their preferences. The format is designed to allow people to engage with the bartenders and the stories behind the drinks at their own pace.
For Singh, this is consistent with Vayu's culinary philosophy, which brings together flavours, traditions and cooking techniques from across India. The rooftop setting and the interaction with the visiting bartenders are intended to complement that offering rather than replace it with a separate event-specific format.
The larger question is whether personalised experiences can become a lasting part of the hospitality business without turning every visit into a spectacle. Barreira's answer lies in keeping the process human. The techniques matter, but the guest's curiosity, memories and willingness to participate are what make each drink different.
In a bar culture often driven by new ingredients, elaborate presentations and signature recipes, Ulysses offers another proposition: a cocktail that begins with a conversation and ends with something that belongs to the person who inspired it.
