Shillong runs on coffee and live music. The cafe scene clusters in Laitumkhrah, where most of the city's bands cut their teeth. Police Bazar has more conventional bars and a handful of lounges in the bigger hotels, but the soul of nightlife here is in the small first-floor cafes with an acoustic set in the corner.
Meghalaya is one of the few Indian states where licensed bars stay open late by national standards — last orders are usually 10pm rather than 11.