Rodeo, a cowboy-themed restobar in Kochi
| Photo Credit: R K Nithin
Sip a sundowner with touchings (bar snacks) in a 120-year-old heritage tharavad (ancestral house) turned hotel. Or, treat the family to drinks and dinner in a rodeo-themed setting. This is the age of restobars in Kochi.
These chic spaces with Instragrammable interiors and cleverly curated menus are a far cry from the dingy, dimly lit conventional bars of Kerala. Serving food and alcoholic beverages, restobars are family-friendly.
The drinking culture in the city has evolved greatly, especially in the past few years with the arrival of more inclusive spaces such as these. “When we designed O Porto, our restobar, we wanted it to be a space where one could take one’s children and parents and enjoy a meal and drinks,” says Liji
Katticaren, partner of Mai House Heritage Hotel in Fort Kochi, an ancient Christian mansion converted into a hotel.
Naveen Kottuvala flaring a drink at Mayabay
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
People have warmed up to the concept of a restobar and weekends are practically packed, says
Naveen Kottuvala, outlet manager of Mayabay, the tropical restobar at Hotel Park Residency. “Most families prefer going to a restobar now because there is something for everyone. We have families who even bring very young children,” adds Naveen. The Malayali way of drinking has quite the reputation, but restobars are trying to break that notion, he adds.
When Avenue Hotels launched its restobar Mezzo in 2008, Kochi was fairly new to the idea. “We have Mezzo at the lobby of the hotel on MG Road and we wanted to keep it open. It took about two years for people to adapt to it, but after that, families took to it extremely well. We created a new market and now, we are seeing a cultural shift. People are open to an interesting mix of experiences,” says Issac Alexander, director of Avenue Hotels. Their premium restobar, Hortus, launched in 2023, has its entire range of craft cocktails inspired by the 17th-century botanical treatise, Hortus Malabaricus.
Unlike traditional bars, where the food served is limited to snacks, most restobars have exhaustive menus. Post Covid-19, there has been a general increase in people eating out, and now the restobar space is sought after as much for the food as for the drinks, says Jerry John, managing partner of Velocity, which is packed to the rafters even on a week day. “A lot of thought as gone into our menu, we hired chefs from five star properties as we wanted to serve good food,” he adds. The highlights of the menu are pork ribs and malai chicken tikka.
Malai chicken tikka at Velocity
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Mai House Heritage Hotel at Fort Kochi
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Special Arrangement
Being in a heritage building in Fort Kochi, O Porto decided to stick to a Keralan menu. While the beef dry fry (BDF) is the piece de resistance, Liji recommends fish moilee, prawn pepper fry and fish pollichathu. “The fish moilee can be paired with kallappam, while fish pollichathu is best had with Kerala parotta,” she adds.
Francis restobar at Fort Kochi
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Special Arrangement
Kerala-inspired flavours always work well. Bengaluru-based pub Watson’s that opened in 2023 made cocktails with kanji and raw mango to connect with the crowd here; while Francis in Fort
Kochi, housed in a 300-year old colonial mansion, serves tiger prawns and calamari along with pork sausages and ribs.
Sapphire mirage cocktail at Mayabay
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
It is not just the food and the drinks, but the decor and music matter, too, says Gireesh TG, general manager of Rodeo, the newest restobar on the block. “We are in the age of social media, it is not just enough that the food and drinks taste good, the vibe has to be inviting,” he says. Inspired by the Wild West and done up in a cowboy-theme, the interiors have wooden beams and panelled floors. While the food is mainly Mexican and continental, you can also taste a bit of Kerala’s jumbo fried prawns.
For the regulars, restobars strike the perfect balance. “They are not as “foody” as a restaurant or “boozy” as a bar, they straddle the two worlds,” says Mathew M Joseph, a Kochi-based businessman. He adds: “The food is delicious, the drinks are on point and the music is just right, I prefer a restobar to unwind after a long day.”
Published – January 24, 2025 12:09 am IST
