Shadow Play
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
From “botanical-forward” speakeasies in Vasant Vihar to high-concept “cocktail laboratories” in Greater Kailash, the cocktail landscape in Delhi has evolved into a sophisticated theatre of consumption, where menus often read more like literary anthologies. It is not uncommon to find your beverage accompanied by a multi-paragraph backstory or your meal described as a “sensory journey” through lands far away. While this may have pushed the boundaries of mixology, there is an undeniable fatigue setting in for the average diner. Honestly, sometimes all one wants is a reliable drink that hits the spot, a good meal that doesn’t require lengthy explanations, and a corner of a room where the atmosphere is defined by your friends’ laughter rather than the bartender’s script.
Along comes Top Banana. It could easily pass off as the name of a fancy detective agency, but it is, in fact, the newest watering hole in the capital, by Rajan Sethi, created along with Chef Tarannum Sehgal and beverage specialists CounterTop. Inspired by a popular American slang for ‘top boss’, the name certainly is a conversation-starter, and as the evening progresses, we discover that much of the space and F&B programme too, heads in that direction.
Top Banana interiors
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Located on the third and fourth floors of a building that also houses Rajan’s Ikk Panjab, one feels instantly at ease with the green-grey micro concrete, the bar elevated by softly glowing green glass bricks, the close tables with comfortable seating and the wall light illustrations with witty one-liners such as ‘Babe, he’s only as deep as a kiddie pool’ and a relatable favourite – ‘Too many tabs, too little time’. On the fourth floor which is also a rooftop terrace, there are more tables, a cocktail lab, a washroom that doubles up as a quirky selfie point and an outdoor smoking area with the most gorgeous view of a silk cotton tree.
The cocktail bar’s been two years in the making owing to various factors, and Rajan acknowledges that the initial vision was scrapped to make way for Top Banana – a place which is “neither too simple, nor too nerdy”.
Chef Tarannum Sehgal
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
From behind the “zero-concept bar”, Beverage head Sushil Pant presents us with Salt Before Sense. An easy to sip highball, the tequila-based drink with lychee and salted Sakura sets the pace. Another tequila-based drink, Fat Chance, made with bacon, plum and hoisin sauce, stands out for its slightly savoury and smoky notes. Shadow Play is a martini-style drink with gin, vodka, pickled onion and olive and is suitably briny and punchy, with a sophisticated, umami-forward twist. But the drink we end up ordering twice turns out to be the quirkily named Debate Over Debauchery, a strawberry whisky, Hojicha, plum and yuzu drink which balances the earthiness of the roasted tea with a citrusy tartness. Pro tip: get someone on the table to order at least one of their three zero ABV drinks – they really hold their own against the cocktails, offering a sophisticated complexity that ensures no one feels like they’re missing out on the craft.
Wings got pigs
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
When it comes to the food, Tarannum wanted something that would appeal to anyone visiting a neighbourhood bar. The inspirations come from everywhere – places she has travelled to, drank at and textures that spoke to her. The Fritto Misto vegetable chips that arrive as an accompaniment to the drinks are fried and sprinkled with a salty onion chive dust and served with a homemade ketchup of veggie trimmings. It is a crunchy, umami-rich snack that goes perfectly with cocktails. The Silverfish Crunch stands out for the crisp fish paired with the rich, nutty creaminess of a pesto-cashew sauce.
Menu at Top Banana
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Until the time the food doesn’t try too hard, it works really well. Take the Scampi Prawn Frenzy for instance – the buttery richness of the prawn-head sauce finds a vibrant, smoky counterpart in the charred seasonal narangi. The TBFC Blitz is a karaage style-fried chicken with an addictive pickled sauce of gherkins, chillies, onions and radish. These are dishes you keep digging into. But some, like the Kimchi Corn Popper with kimchi-stuffed charred cobs; or the Oeuf Mimosa – devilled pickled eggs with salmon roe feel overly conceptual and cluttered. Give us another plate of Fritto Misto, anyday!
Top Banana is at Third and Fourth Floor, M-5, M Block Market, Block M, Greater Kailash II, New Delhi. They are open from Tuesday to Sunday 6pm to 1am. Cost for two is ₹2,000. For reservations call 8929096135.
Published – March 18, 2026 01:25 pm IST
