Once upon a time a lake in Bengaluru got so toxic with pollutants, it started to foam, leading people to joke that it was ‘snowing’. These stories have now become part of the city’s lore. One resident took this memory and turned it into a better story.
Bellandur Foam is one of the star drinks at Bengaluru’s newest restaurant, Circa 11. We sip on the drink while listening to Sudhiksha Kaushik Anantharamu talk about her memories of the lake. The drink is a fun hat tip to the city she calls home, and which is now the base for her new restaurant, co-founded with her husband, chef Pradyumna Harithsa, and Ankit Agarwal. Circa 11 opened at the end of July.
Bellandur Foam cocktail
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Special arrangement
On a rainy evening in early August, Circa 11 is alive with the sound of pop music. The space is done minimally, with monochrome touches.
The main focus is the bar, which sits right in the centre of the room, visible from all directions. The bar is busy sending out some fun drinks: Bellandur foam pairs mezcal with mango and jalapeno for a smooth drink, Ctrl Alt drunk uses nori-infused gin and ginger for an earthy, umami drink, and Last night on 12th Main has sesame tincture and toasted rice infused bourbon but the flavours do not stand out much.
AtCirca 11, the food demands your attention. The kitchen is helmed by Pradyumna Harithsa, and Shubham Kulkarni. Pradyumna trained at and worked with two Michelin-starred restaurants in Chicago. His friend Shubham honed his craft at Relais & Chateaux’s Clayoquot Wilderness Lodge in British Columbia and at Treadwell, near Toronto.
Lettuce cups
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Special arrangement
Letting the ingredients take the lead
The food does not ascribe to any cuisine or region. Instead, the focus is on ingredients and technique. As the menu says, ‘Every dish begins with a good ingredient’ and it shows.
Stuffed Blossoms highlights zucchini flowers, which come from a farm near the city. Crisp on the outside, with an herbed ricotta stuffing, they are a cheesy delight. The chicken wings are an elevated bar bite: with fatty skin, delicately deboned meat, and sitting in a rich jus.
Though Pradyumna is a vegetarian, his meat- and fish-based dishes are stellar. Grilled tiger prawns have us ditching the cutlery to use our hands. It is perfectly cooked, served in the shells, succulent, smoky with a juicy bite.
Another tribute to good produce is the Seafood ceviche, featuring vinegar-cured fish and citrus, brought together by a tangy ponzu.
Chicken Thigh Terrine
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Special arrangement
Circa 11 makes 25 of their sauces in-house. Pro tip: ask for a tasting and they may oblige with a platter of their bestsellers including a punchy hot sauce, a briney XO, and an addictive Thai sweet chilli sauce. It is the sauce, and the accompanying pickles that make the DIY dish, Lettuce wraps, such a star.
This dish is ideal for a table, as the permutations and combination, especially with a platter of sauces, make for interesting morsels.
The restaurant’s signature dish, Claypot rice, takes the Assamese black rice and turns it into a sticky, umami rich, mushroom forward, savoury dish. The rice cracker, was not needed as the dish stands well on its own, and works well with a hot sauce.
As with any good restaurant, save space for dessert. The Panna cotta is given the sweet lime treatment with some black salt.
Circa 11 opens during the day as a small coffee shop. The coffee area is right at the front, and is a small space, ideal for coffee pickups. And yes, there is matcha on the menu.
Why Circa 11?
The number 11 has always had great significance for chef Pradyumna, being his birth date, and the day he met his wife. The birth of Circa 11 happened during the pandemic, when Pradyumna ran a cloud kitchen by the same name, with a friend and another chef, Abhijit Dwarakanath. The name stuck but the concept and scale changed.
Surprisingly for a Bengaluru restaurant, it has remained under the radar. It is a good thing, sometimes the unassuming spaces can lead to meals with delicious flavours, and a drink inspired by toxic foam!
Cost for two ₹2,500. At 12th Main Rd, Indiranagar. Breakfast is available Friday to Sunday, 8AM to 12 noon. Open for dinner, Tuesday to Sunday, 6PM to 11PM. For more details, call 08095511011
Published – August 25, 2025 06:02 pm IST
