24-04-2025
Bengaluru's cocktail bar Toast & Tonic closes its doors; a look back
Somewhere between simple and artful, cosy and chic, there was everyone's favourite restaurant, Toast & Tonic, tucked in a corner of Bengaluru's Wood Street. As you entered, you could never escape the warm, homey feel of the space, the friendly staff always happy to welcome you back. A fine celebration of the art of a perfectly mixed gin & tonic, best enjoyed on unhurried afternoons or when one of those famed, surprise showers came down. A place that championed seasonality, hyper-local, fermented or raw, with a clever use of simple ingredients alchemised into the most delicious dishes; always ahead of the gastronomic curve.
It also held a lot of sentiment for its patrons, many of whom returned again and again, bringing with them new friends who spread the word. Since opening its doors in March 2016, Toast & Tonic has been just that; a place to reconnect. Because, here, it was not just about what was on the table, but also those who were around it.
When I first moved to Bengaluru, it was here that I came on my first date. When a dear friend, moved back to Italy alone at the end of her two-decade marriage, it was here that we met to laugh and cry into our tonics infused with elderflower, jasmine and rosemary. So, many memories!
And now, after nine years of joy and laughter, Toast & Tonic will close its doors for the very last time on June 15, 2025.
'We knew we were much loved in Bengaluru and so many of our diners had some of their best memories with us over the years,' says AD Singh, founder and managing director of the Olive Group of Restaurants. 'However, we assessed that they were now looking for a refreshed Toast & Tonic for the future, and we are in the process of creating that. Our senior management team and I are deep in discussions on refreshing the vision and design and figuring the way forward.'
The end of something good
It is not easy to decode the spectrum of emotion behind closing a restaurant. After all, it involves a whole range of human occasions. There was a little bump in the road when Chef patron and a force to himself, Manu Chandra, parted ways with the group in August 2021. With him, went a bit of the shine, of course, but some patrons kept coming due to the restaurant's longtime repute. 'Years ago, they started the gin revolution in India here in Bengaluru. We had never seen ice set with rose petals or spices. I'm so heartbroken that they are shutting; it's the end of an era for wholesome and innovative food and drinks,' said Ila Dorairaj Naidu, a loyal regular.
The menu - the meeting of comfort food and innovation
The menu, as they say, is often a mirror into the soul of a restaurant, and this has been the cornerstone at Toast & Tonic. The Bajra and ricotta gnudi with creamed amaranth and spinach was a revered adaptation of a classic; one that claimed many hearts, as did the jackfruit tacos, long before jackfruit became a sensation. I remember tasting India's first artisanal cheese, Begum Victoria here, during those initial days of its launch. 'The OG gin address of Bengaluru had a regularly changing menu that always leaned into seasonal and sustainable, using local ingredients with bright flavours. The Roast Sweet Potato salad with the perfect balance of textures and sweet-tangy-briny-smoky flavours was a favourite I often ordered,' said Rupa Balachandar, food writer and a vegetarian food proponent.
Adios, in T&T style
As a last hurray, the restaurant will unveil the Hall of Fame Menu, a nostalgic tribute to the dishes that defined its legacy. All those T&T shrimp tempura fans can look forward to the last crunch, replete with the customary seaweed powder and sesame seed spike. Gracing the menu, will be other darlings such as fried chicken buns, beer-battered avocado tacos, and the indulgent 3 cheese & 3 pepper flatbread. Lightly perfumed nolen gur tres leches, for those with a sweet tooth.
To raise a befitting toast and a last goodbye, expect signature cocktails such as the herbalist, made with gin, basil and orange shrub, tonic and coriander-orange ice for that extra pizzazz. My favourite British Raj will be there; a regal rendition of gin, pomegranate and cinnamon shrub, tonic, with rose petal and cucumber ice. Green apple martini and the fiery jalapeño margarita for the twisted classic lovers.
When foraging, fermenting, smoking meats, brining, growing edible flowers and herbs, incorporating ingredients like seaweed or homegrown millets were not yet such fashionable catch phrases, they were the heartbeats of the menu. Toast & Tonic certainly redefined the culinary landscape of India, in the truest way that Bengaluru is known to do. Quietly, but resolutely.
The Hall of Fame Menu will be served from April 24 until the day of closure on June 15, 2025. On Wood Street. For more details, call 8976733443
