Top Banana doesn’t go bananas. So, a good cocktail means just that

A pub crawl in Delhi did not always mean heading to GK2. But over the past few years, this bougie market has quietly turned into one of the city’s most reliable drinking circuits. Within a few minutes’ walking distance you can move between Sidecar, still one of India’s most celebrated cocktail bars, newer arrivals like Refuge, the recently opened cocktail bar inside Barbet and Pals, and old favourites such as Depot 48. On a good evening the lanes fill up with people drifting between tables, deciding whether the next drink should be across the road or two doors down.

Into this already crowded nightlife map arrives Top Banana, the newest bar from Bright Hospitality, led by restaurateur Rajan Sethi. The bar sits right at the entrance of the GK2 market, in the same building as Ikk Punjab, almost greeting anyone who needs a drink.

It also arrives at a moment when Delhi’s bar scene feels increasingly theatrical. There are speakeasies that are not really speakeasies, menus that require explanations longer than the drink itself, and cocktails that arrive with a story, a garnish, and sometimes a full-blown lecture. Top Banana asks a simpler question: Where does one go when they just want a drink and good company?

“We wanted to balance it between a cocktail bar that isn’t too nerdy but also a not-too-basic neighbourhood spot,” says Sethi. “You’re coming from work to relax. You don’t want to enter another space where someone is coaching you about your drink.” That balance took almost two years to get right.

The 56-seater, designed by the bar’s in-house team, leans deliberately into restraint. Green-grey walls, soft brass lighting, and a strip of glowing glass bricks along the bar give the room a warm, understated glow. The bar top quickly becomes the centre of the room, the kind of place where conversations start and strangers occasionally join in. Along one wall, a series of illustrated plates adds a playful counterpoint to the otherwise minimal space. The current set of illustrations is by Kamini, the artist behind the Instagram handle @confettiandcolours, and they bring a slightly irreverent energy to the room. The drawings feature quirky characters, cheeky phrases, and doodle-like sketches that feel half bar humour, half visual diary. Some read like bartender confessions; others look like little inside jokes from the kitchen. These illustrations will rotate over time as different artists are commissioned, meaning the wall will keep changing and the space will never look quite the same twice.

Music gets equal attention. In one corner sits a growing vinyl station curated by Avishek Bhowmik, Top Banana’s music and vinyl curator. As vinyl listening quietly returns to bars and restaurants around the world, Bhowmik’s collection of around 270 records, sourced over 14 years from record stores and markets across the world, sets the tone with electro, Detroit house, and leftfield techno.

If the music invites you to relax, the food menu by chef Tarannum Sehgal encourages you to loosen up further. Sehgal’s menu leans heavily into the joy of eating with your hands. Many dishes are intentionally designed to be cutlery-free, the kind of food that works best when plates are passed around the table and nobody is trying to behave too politely. “A lot of the dishes are inspired by things people eat casually across different regions,” she explains. “We wanted to take those ideas and make them more fun for a bar.”

That philosophy shows up in what Sehgal describes as an elevated take on chakna, the small savoury bites that typically accompany drinks across India. For quick, snacky plates, there are options like the Pickle Mutton Seal, a rich rillette locked in curry ginger butter and served with soft shio pan bread for tearing and scooping. Then there is the Artichoke Ice Riot, where fried artichoke hearts meet goat cheese and chilli gremolata for a sharp, creamy contrast. The Silverfish Crunch is another playful nod to bar snacks, inspired by the tiny fried fish eaten across coastal India and parts of southeast Asia.

For diners looking for something more substantial, Sehgal moves into richer territory. The Crispy Octopus Whirl arrives with wok-tossed tentacles paired with a smoked potato cloud and a sharp green sriracha zip, the creamy potatoes balancing the crisp, briny bite of the octopus. It also turned out to be a surprise hit at my table. My dining companion had arrived declaring themselves firmly sceptical of octopus, only to quietly abandon that position halfway through the plate.

Sehgal says the menu often pulls from places she has cooked and travelled through over the years. “I like the idea that when someone eats a dish, it reminds them of something,” she says. “Maybe a memory from travelling, maybe something they grew up eating. The flavours might come from different places, but the feeling should still be familiar.” That thinking carries through to the Duck Pate Rocket, finished with a glossy caramelised glaze and a punchy duck sauce that cuts through the richness. The dish nods loosely to the Vietnamese banh mi, which traditionally uses pork liver pâté. “Duck liver has a softer flavour,” she tells me, “so it becomes more palatable while still giving you that indulgent pâté experience.”

The drinks follow the same easy-going philosophy. The cocktail programme, created in collaboration with mixologist Pankaj Balachandran of Countertop India alongside Top Banana’s beverage team, currently features six drinks with another six on the way. Instead of complicated tasting flights, the menu riffs on familiar classics. There is a tequila highball called First Day of Summer layered with lychee, coconut water, and honey ginger that feels built for Delhi’s approaching heat. Good on Paper plays with the structure of a New York Sour using whisky, roasted quinoa, and star fruit. My personal favourite ended up being Fair Chances, a cocktail made with bacon-fat-washed tequila, plum juice and hoisin.

By the time the cocktails made a second appearance at the table, the room had settled into its natural rhythm. The vinyl had slipped into a deeper groove, plates were migrating across tables with very little regard for who ordered them, and somewhere nearby someone was passionately explaining why the kitchen’s accidental Thai chilli hot sauce deserved to be bottled and sold. It was the kind of scene that doesn’t feel particularly orchestrated, which is exactly the point. After a long day when the last thing you want is another thing to overthink, Top Banana offers a place where the drinks are interesting without demanding your attention, the food encourages you to loosen up a little, and the conversation ends up doing most of the work.

Address: Top Banana, Third floor, M-5 Greater Kailash 2, New Delhi
Timings: 6 pm to 1 am, Tuesdays to Sundays
Meal for two: ₹2,000 (not including drinks)
Reservations: +91 8929096135