A gastronomic ‘Lokah’room

When Mollywood director Anjali Menon was writing the script for the blockbuster Ustad Hotel about a young man who aspires to study hotel management abroad in defiance of his dad’s plans, she turned to Abhishek Nair, a family friend. “No, it is not my story that she shows in the movie but for authenticity, she used the name of the institute in Switzerland where I did my course and even collected my certificate,” says Abhishek, who did his graduation in engineering and worked in Infosys and IBM for about five years before deciding enough was enough.

“Something seemed missing and I wanted my job to revolve around what I liked the most, food,” says Abhishek. Before the admission to the prestigious Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne in Switzerland came through, he did stints in a few five-star hotels. “Like any newcomer with zero experience, I had to wash dishes and wait on guests.”

The course, which focused on European cuisine, opened his eyes to the immense possibilities of food. Armed with his new knowledge, Abhishek returned to Kochi to open Lokah, a world cuisine restaurant, that aspires to bring the entire world to its tables for the sake of the guests.

Five years down the line, Lokah has earned a name among foodies for its truly international menu. If you check the soups section, for instance, there is only one from India – Gosht Yakhni Shorba — while the rest are from France, Thailand, Ukraine, Vietnam, Mexico and China. The same is true of other courses too.

This is exactly what attracted Maya Menon and friends a few years ago to the restaurant and Maya, who grew up in Bahrain, was floored not only by the authentic dishes but also by the young man who brought them to her. After their marriage over a year ago, they now run the restaurant together and Maya is making her own little additions including a range of non-veg pickles which have been flying off the shelf.

“A connoisseur can taste the dishes from around the world without leaving Kochi’s shores,” says Maya. Abhishek adds: “These days, Kochi has a lot of people who are well-travelled and for them, dining at our place is a nostalgic experience.”

‘Travel’ is the keyword for the hotel that has posters of various places on the walls. The couple keeps travelling to various cities of the world, food being their biggest motivation to visit them. “We go to the best restaurants and taste the street food. We also make it a point to visit the markets where they source the ingredients from,” says Abhishek, who picks Thai as his all-time favourite cuisine.