“Let’s bring the fire back into Koshy’s”: Koshy’s hosts a nostalgic supper club in Bengaluru
Prem Koshy (left) with chef Kiran Narayanan of Moglu
| Photo Credit: ALLEN EGENUSE J
You need to be “old Bangalore” to understand the charm of Koshy’s, often described as the unofficial living room of the city’s intellectuals.
The iconic restaurant, set on St Mark’s Road since 1952, may feel languid and humdrum to younger clientele and new city transplants. But to regulars there is a comforting familiarity in the unhurried service, old creaky fans and fluffy white bread served with soft butter.
“I wanted to bring some life back to Koshy’s,” says the owner, Prem Koshy, discussing their supper pop-up on May 22, at Koshy’s dining section called Jewel Box, by chef Kiran Narayanan from Moglu restaurant. Friday evening will see live jazz music, classic cocktails and a menu starring Anglo-Indian and Syrian Christian recipes.
Chef Kiran Narayanan, the man behind the restaurant Moglu, has a culinary style that leans to a modern and global outlook, but is rooted in south Indian flavours.
We meet at the cafe with the comforting hum of the regulars in the background. “I have been coming to Koshy’s for many years and became friends with Mr Koshy. Once I invited him to dinner to my place, and created dishes that were a take on the classic dishes at the restaurant, like the mutton cutlet and the lamb roast,” he says, explaining how the pop up came together.
The supper pop-up is for one night only
| Photo Credit:
Special arrangement
On the menu
The one-night-only seven course menu will open with jackfruit appalam, Coorgi ham and a cheese dip. The dinner then moves on to charred Brussel sprouts, dynamite shrimp cocktail and inji pulli chicken lollipops. For the main course, there are dishes inspired by classics on the Koshy’s menu, including Bannur lamb, Syrian Christian ularthiyathu and a Kuttanadan duck roast. Vegetarians can savour oyster mushroom roast, Kerala idichakka roast and inji puli kohlrabi.
The dinner with have live music played by Joshua Pereira, and cocktails that will take you back to old Bengaluru such as the refreshing gin-based Cubbon Park Smash, and their feisty 1952 Bloody Mary is made with a secret spice mix.
The history of Koshy’s in Bengaluru
The Koshy’s bakery was started on St Mark’s Road in 1940, by PO Koshy from Kerala. In 1952, they expanded to open Parade Cafe, its restaurant. It captured a colonial charm, and has hosted names from Queen Elizabeth II, and Jawaharlal Nehru, to Ramachandra Guha and Arundhati Roy. In 1962, they opened an AC dining section called Jewel Box, and it claims to be the first AC restaurant in South India and had a live band and a dance floor. The wooden interiors, high ceilings and brass teapots have served at the city’s third space for decades.
On the menu are appam and stew, pork roast, cutlets, tea in brass teapots, and the beloved potato smileys. Third generation Prem Koshy now manages the restaurant with his affable charm.
Koshy’s in 1999, a photo from The Hindu archives
As I wind up my interview, Prem Koshy walks over with a plate of jamuns picked from a tree he planted outside the restaurant. “People told me you cannot grow a fruiting tree on St Mark’s Road,” he says with a grin. They were wrong, evidently. Koshy’s has, after all, survived for decades by doing things its own way.
₹2,200 per head. May 22. At Jewel Box, Koshy’s, St Mark’s Road. For more details, call 9162300685
Published – May 22, 2026 07:30 am IST
