Rakshay Dhariwal is a Delhi based entrepreneur, whose ventures focus on the food and beverage
industry. In 2012 he made his mark on the F&B industry in India by launching India’s first
speakeasy-style cocktail bar, the award winning PCO. Since its inception, the bar has won
several awards for Best Bar and has featured in the list of 500 best bars in the world and
as well as ranking 54th in Asia. Over the next few years he has launched some of India’s
most exciting boutique F&B brands including Ping’s Cafe Orient, his casual fun dining
concept that does Healthy Asian Street food, Jamun, an Indian regional-specialty fun-fine
dine restaurant and SAZ, a contemporary take on an American Brasserie.
Currently, Rakshay owns and manages 21 restaurants and he plans to launch 30 new restaurants
and bars all over the world in the next 5 years. In 2019, Rakshay co-founded India Cocktail
Week, a large scale festival that travels to Delhi, Goa, Bangalore, and Bombay, celebrating
all things Cocktails. Furthermore, during the lockdown, Rakshay decided to use his new found
time to launch Asia's first aged 100% Agave spirit. When he discovered that very good
quality agave grows in India, he thought he would try his hand at the craft spirits
industry. What started out as a passion project, is now becoming one of India's most awarded
spirit brands in 2024 -- Maya Pistola Agavepura.
Rakshay has lived and studied in India, Australia, South Africa, Hungary, Philippines,
Singapore and the USA. He studied Marketing in Telecommunications from Indiana University -
Bloomington. His accolades include being included in GQs 50 Most Influential Young Indians
in 2018 list, GQs 30 Most Influential Indians List in 2022 amongst others.
IRC PASS