Go for the food, stay for the cocktails: Inside KOKO Bengaluru’s new tasting menu

The newly launched tasting menu at KOKO Bengaluru tells a story from Southeast Asia in every bite. The Som Tum salad transports you to the bustling streets of Thailand. But if you prefer sipping over biting, the Tom Yum Cup cocktail does an even better job.

Once dominated by spicy coastal curries and south-Indian delicacies, Bengaluru’s bustling culinary landscape is now at par with the country’s food capital, Delhi, and Mumbai. 

Owing to its diverse and young population and economic growth, the Indian Silicon Valley has been garnering a lot of attention from restaurateurs and the F&B sector at large. Restaurants and bars from Mumbai and Delhi have either opened their outposts in Bengaluru or are eyeing to do so soon. 

Following this trend, Pebble Street Hospitality—helmed by the Tham brothers—has also ventured into Bengaluru. After the success of its Asian gastropub in Mumbai, brothers Ryan and Keen brought KOKO to the city earlier last year. 

Since then, the restaurant has been innovating by launching new IPs—Sakura (referring to Japan’s famous cherry blossom) brunch on Sundays; Sushi Sake Samba parties every two to three weeks; and the newly launched Tasting Thursdays. 

YS Life got an exclusive preview of the Tasting Thursdays menu at KOKO, where diners get to try unlimited portions of KOKO’s signature food and cocktails. The IP is aimed at colleagues and friends who wish to celebrate the ‘almost weekend’ state of mind with a side of Asian fare and booze. 

Small plates and beyond

KOKO takes extra care when it comes to diners’ food preferences. The restaurant offers an almost equal number of vegetarian and non-vegetarian delicacies. The Tham brothers go a notch higher by also presenting a Jain menu—sans animal products, eggs, seafood, dairy, and root vegetables—to cater to the diverse dietary principles. 

For every prawn tempura sushi, there’s an apsara tempura variation; for every chilli duck dumpling, there’s a crystal jade dumpling; and for every crispy pork belly, there’s crispy water chestnut with tofu. 

In fact, the restaurant rotates two 30-item tasting menus every month to ensure there’s something new to try, transporting you to a foreign land on every visit. The KOKO Signature roll—featuring prawn tempura, avocado, and the KOKO sauce—for instance, takes you to Tokyo’s riverside fish markets, while the poached dumplings are reminiscent of Shanghai’s suburbs. 

The menu—divided into soups, salads, sushi, dim sum, small plates, big plates, and dessert—might seem limiting at first glance, but as the food arrives, one might end up cutting their food wishlist shorter with every bite. 

A dim sum cart goes around the restaurant at regular intervals, serving three portions of warm, sticky dimsums at tables. One can choose from truffle, water chestnut, and sweet pea; chilli prawn; truffle chicken; spicy poached; water chestnut and king chilli; or ask for a portion of each—if the bite-sized treasure chest of flavours is your comfort food. 

Our favourite from the lot would easily be the Hong Kong Shuimai—the open dim sum bursting with meaty shrimp stuffing, packed in a little pillowy sack. Under small plates, the savoury edamame and truffle wrapped in crispy money bags were bursting with flavours and would make you want for more.

For mains, if you’re in the mood to experiment, skip the usual fried rice for the Braised Yee Mian Noodles—the chewy Cantonese wheat and egg noodles, deep fried and dunked in a broth. 

While the appetisers raise the expectations for the mains, the desserts, sort of, are underwhelming. The dessert menu is limited to three items with two of them having chocolate sponge as the main ingredient. The sweet treats are easily missable, but if you really crave something sweet, go for the honey noodles with ice cream, a usual crowd-favourite. 

Behind the bar 

While the food gives a flavour of KOKO’s signature and best-sellers, the cocktails are the real steal deal. Served at a price lower than usual—and as singles and flights of twos and fours—the Tasting Thursdays are a perfect opportunity to try more of the restaurant’s best concoctions. 

For those who prefer to focus on the food (although we suggest you absolutely try the cocktails), the fuss-free options include beers, sake, and wine. 

The cocktail menu, featuring 10 concoctions, has something for every drinker—Deconstructed G&T who like their drink easy and uncomplicated; the smokey KOKO Master for the whisky drinkers; Corpse Reviver #2 for those who wish to experience a glass; and Picante for those who enjoy the kick of spices. 

The absolute best, however, is the Tom Yum Cup—a concoction of Absolut, Madeira wine, galangal, lemongrass, lime, Thai chilli syrup, and kaffir lime—the whole of Thailand in a glass! 

The Tasting Thursdays menu at KOKO is a great way to try the best of the celebrated restaurant. What’s missing? Signature sashimi, nigiri, carpaccio, and the fluffy cloud-like baos. 

If authentic Japanese is what you are craving, skip the Tasting Thursdays for a regular meal at KOKO. Either way, there won’t be disappointments. 

YS Life picks: KOKO Signature Roll, Broccoli creamy planta with bird's eye chilli, Edamame Truffle Bag, and Braised Yee Mian Noodles; cocktails: Tom Yum Cup and Picante. 

Time: Every Thursday, 7 PM onwards 

Cost: Rs 2,100 + taxes (for food only); Rs 695 (each cocktail), Rs 1,250 (for a flight of two cocktails), Rs 2,450 (for a flight of four cocktails).