“There is something people don’t know about me,” starts owner Pankaj Gupta, “is that I cook and the first thing I learnt to cook is South Indian food,” he muses. “My true love is Mangalorean and Kerala food,” he grins, as he pops a few Kerala-style banana chips deep-fried in coconut oil at his newly launched restaurant Kerala Quarters. Located in Lower Parel’s Mathuradas Mill, the ground floor of the popular cocktail bar Cirqa 1960 makes way for its Kerala food neighbour!
Gupta, the founder of Flavour Pot Foods—behind popular restaurants such as Cirqa 1960, a cocktail bar, Oye Kake, an Amritsari food restaurant chain, and Taftoon, known for its food from The Grand Trunk Road—has diversified into South Indian cuisine with Kerala Quarters.
Brand Chef Sudheesan PG has crafted the menu. Hailing from Kannur, Kerala, he has curated a menu of authentic dishes that showcase the state’s diverse regions, with special emphasis on the culinary diaspora of Kerala featuring the rich food traditions of the Namboodiri Brahmins, Nambiars, Menons, Nairs, Pillai, Warriers, and so on. The kitchen also has locals who have been cooking for over two decades. “They are the real gangsters that cook Kerala cuisine,” says Gupta who has engineered the menu as an aspiring food historian.
The bar team at Kerala Quarters is the same as Cirqa, their upstairs neighbour. “I will always push the people who have spent a lot of time in this bar and the company to do the menu rather than a consultant,” says Gupta.
He also attributes food historian and author Shobha Pillai-Coutinho, a Kerala native for her contribution and guidance. She acted as a tutor and exposed Gupta to Kerala culture, executing the menu and the Malayalee pronunciations, and more. Gupta doesn’t shy away from admitting that most of his team otherwise is Gen Z. “She [Pillai-Coutinho] played the role of a tutor to me and all the Gen Z.”
“While growing up as a teenager, I have spent much time in Gokul, Janta, Sunlight, Toto’s Garage – the quarter bars,” Gupta recalls. However, he felt that these places had to be updated. “The upgrade was long due and I thought, ‘You know what? Let’s upgrade that!’” “And when I say upgrade, we are priced as a quarter bar. So I got the quarter bar and married it to traditional Kerala, unpretentious cuisine.” Gupta suggests that his focus with Kerala Quarters is mainly being a spot for good and authentic Kerala food in Mumbai. “There are some brilliant restaurants [in Mumbai] for Kerala food. But the problem is that they are taking Kerala too seriously,” he observes. “Kerala is laid back, it’s fun. I’m just trying to have fun by taking the food out, minus the seriousness.”
When you enter the hand-painted graffiti kind of signage of ‘Kerala Quarters’ is a ground floor arrangement with al-fresco seating and an indoor one.
The décor doesn’t scream stereotypical Kerala and Gupta made a conscious effort to keep it that way. The warm earthy tones, wooden furniture, and brass accents evoke the charm of Fort Kochi. However, the adjacent triangle-shaped windows, with wooden shutters, hand-woven cane mats, and a not-so-over-the-top décor feel like a Kerala home with a comforting vibe. The best part? It is well-lit, so no need to squint your eyes to read the menu!
“You know, the beautiful part about South India is that they sell food they eat at home,” states Gupta. “Every single dish on this menu is made in a Kerala household.”
We started our meal with Sambaram, a Kerala-style buttermilk spiced with onions, green chilies, and ginger. This was the perfect welcome drink to be paired with Kerala-style banana and jackfruit chips. The Palkatty and crispy root 65 (₹489) consisted of assorted roots and paneer, coated with a blend of Kerala spices and fried to be crispy. Fried food – be it desi Chinese or a Kerala dish – is unarguably the best combination to have with your drink or as an option at a quarter bar. Brownie points for it not being too greasy and a rather sophisticated (and tasty!) version of the usual paneer 65.
The slightly sweet, yet spicy red chutney with the Vazhapoo Parippu cutlets (₹389) had us scooping out a generous portion with the banana flower and masoor gram patties. However, what stood out in their vegetarian small plates was the Coin Parotta with Pineapple Kichadi (₹459). A sweet and tangy ripe pineapple kind of raita served on a mini-Malabari parotta was as good as it looked. If we were left unsupervised, we would’ve popped an entire plate of these bite-sized parottas. Another tangy and spicy dish was the Pacha Manga Curry (₹589), a raw mango curry that we had with red rice, and New Pathiri, a puri of sorts made with rice dough mixed with coconut, aniseed, and cumin seeds.
The Idiyappam and Khao Suey (₹649) are not the forcible fusion you think it is. Instead, it is a coastal twist on the Burmese classic but with a Kerala spiced coconut curry served with the usual khao suey ingredients such as peanuts, roasted garlic, and onion, paired with our very own idiyappam! This was a warm bowl of comfort food. The curry? We wish to have it again and drink it like soup as well!
We ended our meal with a Banoffee Crepe Cake (₹489) which was their take on chatti pathiri, a crepe cake layered with Kerala red bananas, and cream cheese and served with a coffee caramel sauce. The coffee caramel sauce was the highlight that really brought this dessert together!
“I told them to use as much Kerala they [the team] wants but shouldn’t be on the face,” says Gupta. He explains that since Kerala has a lot of roots and coconut, they decided to use that. Expect a lot of coconut and ghee-washed drinks, to give it a nice silk texture. The 10 cocktails on the menu feature ingredients such as Kerala chilli, Kudampuli, rice, and much more. We tried the Agave & Vadagam (₹799) which had vadagam-infused camino silver tequila, pineapple juice, salted chilli cordial, tabasco, and black tamarind. It was spicy, sour, and umami. The Rise of Tribals (₹729), on the other hand, was a mahua-based cocktail with ginger liqueur, and lime. It was tropical, yet had a kick to it.
But if you want a more upgraded quarter bar vibe, we recommend you to order alcohol as per the quarter at similar prices as these traditional bars!
The best part about a quarter bar besides affordable alcohol is the music they play and Kerala Quarters has nailed that detail. Popular retro Bollywood music is always on the playlist at Kerala Quarters and the best part? It’s just the right volume to be able to have a conversation and yet enjoy the music.
Mathuradas Mill Compound, Plot 126, Senapati Bapat Pawar Marg, opposite
Zeba, Lower Parel, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400013
Time: Lunch- 11:30 am to 3:30 pm
Dinner- 6:00 pm to 12:30 am
