Restaurants to look forward to in 2026 At whose tables should you eat and drink?
By Anoothi Vishal
As we enter a whole new cycle of life and living in 2026, some things are more important than ever before. Food and restaurants have always been about community, about fostering connections and this sense of a shared meal as a way to create or reinforce social bonds is something that will be the most defining trend of 2026. Exit the narcissistic restaurants of yore? Some of these were built as shrines to vanity and the cult of the “chef-artist” but in reality featured food that was laboured, smacking of artifice and guzzling attention that should ideally have been focussed on one’s dining companions. While we may not see a definite end to this buzz-led dining, it is definitely on the wane. Look forward to food that allows you to have conversations, fun and a sense of something warm and happy outlasting just the meal. More casual formats though with sophisticated and layered offerings are back in vogue, and the diners certainly want to eat out in groups, and enjoy unique experiences but with a sense of ease to these.
There are some coveted openings and relatively new discoveries that we are looking forward to in the New Year:
- Chef Dhruv Oberoi’s Hood, Bangalore: The first restaurant conceptualised by this grossly underrated, but uber talented chef, opens in Bangalore later this week, in the space where Toast and Tonic used to be. Hood, as it is called, is inspired by neighbourhoods of the world. The good chef kicks off with fun but nuanced plates inspired Kyoto, Beirut and Florence to begin with and every few months, a new neighbourhood will be added, we hear, including from cities like Kochi. Having known Dhruv for a while, I can bet that the food will be stylish, intelligent, with nods to local Bangalore and Indian inspirations and yet deceptively easy and fun to eat— exactly the sort of experience you hope to have as you go to a restaurant for a meal that allows you to bond with friends who enjoy food, travel and culture.
2. Chef Manish Mehrotra’s next, Delhi: Manish Mehrotra Culinary Arts (MMCA), the new company launched by the super chef this year in partnership with Amit Khanna and Binny Bansal, is almost ready to open its first concept and we should see this roll out in Jan 2026. After Indian Accent and its immense impact on “modern” Indian food, all eyes are on this venture with conjectures as to what the format is going to be — super fine dine, super casual, take your pick? Our guess is this is going to be elevated comfort food, sophisticated is a given but not fine dine. Brunch worthy, binge worthy but not tasting menus led. Let’s see.
3. Zorawar Kalra’s new “Masala Library”, Delhi: The Janpath restaurant had a fantastic location and some great food, and this is set to reopen in the first quarter of 2026 with a bang! Keep your eyes, ears and mouths open.
4. Chef Picu’s Moira masterpiece, Mister Merchant’s, Goa: If you haven’t been there, go there pronto. The restaurant opened a few months ago in the idyllic and still untrammelled village of Moira in north Goa, inside the beautifully done up 115-year-old house and estate that is home to the private member’s club Solene. The food is “Middle-Eastern”, think Rumi, but there are so many layers to the way Picu has added little touches of Goa and Moira in everything—from the unfiltered Portuguese olive oil in the scrumptious chocolate mousse to moira chillies and bananas in different surprising forms; gunpowder hummus, a fried pitaesque bread with poee dough that also gives you Mangalore bun feels or then again Italian fritelle “feels”. The menu is clever, fun and above all just delicious.
5. Upstairs at Indian Accent, martini bar by EHV’s Varun Sharma: If community is going to be a bigger trend in eating out in 2026, bars that are more sophisticated, luxury and enable conversations over ingenious not many drinks are definitely coming into their own. Upstairs at Indian Accent is primarily a martini bar with a jazz singer, where you can sit back and relax softly with your own inner circle. It’s turning into a member’s only space, which adds to the close-knit community trope.
6. Fielia, Mumbai: Of all the celebrity-created and promoted spaces, the most interesting and coveted seems to be Fielia, an invite-only bar at the Mahalaxmi Race Course designed by Gauri Khan. Member’s only bars are going to be the next with it F&B spaces given the fact that the Indian audience has matured and is seeking luxury and premium experiences when it comes to drinking out rather than the gin and hype millennial hot spots of yore.
