In a relief for tourists just before Christmas, Kolkata High Court on Wednesday ordered temporary reopening of Darjeeling’s iconic Glenary’s Bar & Pub, one of the hill town’s prominent restaurants for the Christmas and New Year festive season. A hearing on the matter was held on Wednesday, December 24 before Justice Amrita Sinha of the High Court’s Jalpaiguri Circuit Bench. After the hearing, the High Court ordered that Glenary’s restaurant bar will remain open until January 12.
Christmas is here, and North Bengal’s hill town Darjeeling is bustling with tourists. The order to reopen the British era bar will bring relief to these visitors.
Why is Darjeeling Glenary’s Bar & Pub so famous?
Glenary’s Bar & Pub in Darjeeling is famous for being a century-old iconic landmark, offering a nostalgic colonial vibe, legendary baked goods (puffs, cakes), hearty breakfasts, great views, live music, and a combined experience of a bakery, cafe, restaurant, and pub (The Buzz), making it a quintessential Darjeeling tourist spot for history, food, and ambiance.
It was temporarily sealed in December 2025 for 90 days by the Excise Department due to alleged violations, including issues with live music permits, liquor storage, and accounting, though owner Ajay Edwards claimed it was politically motivated retaliation after he inaugurated a “Gorkhaland Bridge,” leading to debates about strict rules versus political vendetta impacting tourism. The bakery, cafe, and restaurant sections remained open, but the popular bar faced a significant shutdown just before the holiday season.
Glenary’s is one of the main attractions for tourists in the hill town. Established in 1888, this restaurant and bar was ordered to close its bar and music section by the Darjeeling Bengal Excise Crime Branch on charges of violating excise rules. Glenary’s owner, Ajay Edward, had previously expressed his anger over this. He alleged political conspiracy. He said, “All of Glenary’s documents are in order. But my live music license has been suspended for a year.” He further added, “The closure of the bar will result in a loss of Rs. 1.5 crore this season. There’s nothing I can do. We also suffered losses during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Following this, a case was filed against the closure order in the Jalpaiguri Circuit Bench of the Kolkata High Court. In the hearing, Justice Amrita Sinha issued an interim stay order on the closure of the bar. Furthermore, the High Court ordered that Glenary’s restaurant bar will remain open until January 12.
What is Gorkhaland Bridge controversy and why Glenary’s got dragged into it?
Glenary’s got involved in the Gorkhaland Bridge controversy because its owner, Ajay Edwards, is a prominent local political figure who helped facilitate the construction of the community-built bridge and publicly named it “Gorkhaland”.
Ajay Edwards is the leader of the Indian Gorkha Janshakti Front (IGJF), the main opposition party in the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA). He supported the construction of a local bridge with material donations (cement, iron rods) after appeals to the government for aid were ignored. He named the bridge “Gorkhaland” to symbolize the local people’s aspirations for a separate state, a long-standing and sensitive political issue in the region.
Within hours of the bridge’s inauguration, the excise department sealed the bar section of the iconic Glenary’s restaurant for 90 days, citing various license violations. Edwards has publicly labelled the excise action a “political vendetta” orchestrated by the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) hill allies in retaliation for the politically charged bridge inauguration.
District officials maintain that the sealing was due to legitimate irregularities, including operating a live band without written permission, improper account maintenance, and unauthorized storage of liquor, violations that they claim were flagged weeks earlier.