Toddy shop staples get the Cordon Bleu treatment in Kochi’s newest restobar

How disruptive can mashed tapioca get, we wonder, as we eye the paal kappa (cassava cooked with coconut cream) on Repeat’s menu under ‘Small & Shared Plates’? The restobar, which opened in earlier this month, serves Kerala’s favourite starchy staple associated with the state’s toddy shops, or shappu, as a velvety carb bomb. But the crowning glory is not the customary shallot and green chilli squished with coconut oil but the add-on of bacon jam—a stand-out pairing! The smoky, sweet notes of bacon and the cassava drunk on coconut milk snuggle up like long-lost lovers on my tongue.

As my partner and I scan the menu, we spot many small plates driven by local flavours and nuanced experimentation. However, there is no singular way to describe what is on offer at Repeat. It seems as if the black-and-red-themed restobar, which sprawls as an open-air lounge at one end, has arrived just in time to meet Kochi’s sudden and insatiable appetite for adventure. A decade ago, the buzzy port city didn’t have much to show for its upwardly mobile lifestyle choices. But Covid, reverse migration, and the consequent mad grab at life changed all that. Right now, the city teems with a cultish vibe all its own. It is not just to do with the slew of pickleball courts but also the growing enthusiasm for Hyrox drills, busking huddles, kayaking, stand-up paddle boarding, and extreme deep metal gigs. Oddly, the verve does not quite echo in the city’s bar habits.

“In Kochi, we are early in the culture of drinking cocktails. Malayalis in Kerala have mostly stuck to beer, whisky, and rum, along with the standard sides of chilli pork, fried chicken or liver fry,” says founder Nithin Simon. “It’s not as if we are introducing something radical; we just want to share flavours that we have enjoyed on our travels abroad and yet honour our Malayali roots.” By ‘we’, Simon is referring to his childhood friend and business partner Shouri Akkineni. Together, the two helm Yaegar Hospitality, which also owns ‘Coz Cafe, a popular cafe chain with outlets in Kochi and Coimbatore.

For Repeat, Simon is not aiming for dead posh but an easygoing, conversational space. He is averse to the word ‘fusion cuisine’ and has teamed up with a chef who is just as scornful towards it. Antony Jose, founder of Kochi’s famed Tony’s Kitchen, is the man behind the menu at Repeat. Trained at Le Cordon Bleu, Ottawa, Jose is borderline devout about the technical aspects of culinary concepts. “We decided on starting a bar because one can do more experimentation with food when there is alcohol involved,” says Jose. “We wanted to chase flavours that would be both exciting and comforting without being gimmicky.”

His words return to me in full force when our order arrives. The beef tartare, composed of raw tenderloin dressed up in a French-bistro flourish of capers, pecorino cheese, shallots, and an in-house balsamic glaze, all layered on crisp sheets of baked-fried potato pavé, is a guilty pleasure worth diving into. The Kerala karaage, on the other hand, plays with complex Japanese cooking techniques. Bite-sized pieces of chicken dredged in starch and deep-fried to a crunchy finish are tossed with Kerala seasoning, aided with a dip of curry mayo.

My moment of greed peaked with the chicken liver pâté. Mellowed with raspberry coulis, hazelnut, balsamic glaze, and pecorino cheese, it’s full of intriguing textures. I also loved the spiffy makeover offered to the classic curry-leafed beef dry fry (BDF). Served in taco shells, it came with a side of beef jus. (Not a casual jus this but one that has spent three days on a flaming stove top with red wine, thyme, and rosemary to reduce itself to a saucy yield.) Another standout affair was the egg bhajji—batter-fried devilled eggs topped with masala egg yolk, pickled red chilli, and shallots, served with a sauce of fermented red chilli and garlic that harks to Kerala’s traditional chaaya kadas. The juicy slivers of crackling pork belly come with a green apple and scallion salad that merits a place of its own on the menu.

It helps that Simon and Jose have been equally thoughtful with the mains, which include chicken sando, mac & cheese, beef burger, and Tony’s Noods, a dense mystery scripted in soup-less ramen. For the drinks menu too, the duo agreed to have an anchoring file of classic cocktails first—negroni, whisky sour, LIIT, espresso martini, Old Fashioned—and then advance into a list of signatures. Simon’s fascination for clarified cocktails is stamped all over the menu. The pineapple picante, rimmed with flecks of salt and chilli, is a mean seduction of fresh pineapple accents and tequila tarted up with lime. The Gooseberry, underlined in gin, is a refreshing cooler to beat Kerala’s sweltering temps, although not everyone may take to the zesty thrust of skewered mala slices. My favourite turned out to be Jasmine, with its sensory overload of fragrance and flavour reined in by gin and lime. “There have been days, recently, when our bar counter has struggled with 20 orders each of pineapple picante and Jasmine flying in at the same time. We can’t be complaining,” says Jose, with a grin.

It could feel more chaotic if the music was set to a blast, but at Repeat the music is mostly soft till 9:30 pm. Afterwards, it amps up. “We want this to be a place where people can hold a conversation and also play their own vinyls. We see it as a shapeshifting space that will hold pub quizzes, lectures on AI, and DJ evenings once or twice a month.”

As Simon goes around the floor, he explains to patrons the story behind their food and drink choices. He is also waiting for a set of tables that he has ordered for a 10-seater private den. “It is designed like a living room, with an L-shaped couch, TV, lamps, rug, tables, a private bar counter, et al. It is for evenings when friends want to get together and watch Premier League or F1 without the headache of cleaning up.” No one knows that there are multiple tabs open in his mind, with moodboards for all the future ideas he is firing up. For now he smiles warmly when people dance to the music near the bar counter. “We don’t have a dance floor. But that should not stop our customers from having a happy moment.”

Address: Fourth floor, Hotel Cochin Palace, KP Vallon Road, Kadavanthra, Kochi

Phone: +91 070253 22662

Timings: 6 pm to 11 pm; reserve your slot at bookings.airmenus.in/repeat/order

Price for two (without alcohol): ₹3,000 for two people