Lila - Curated Experiences — Restaurant in Kerala

Lila cafe came to our radar of "all you can eat" dine outs when we family with our immediate cousins were exploring options for the much awaited and desired Easter Lunch. Lila, a name which was lesser known to us until then came into the grand scheme of things when they announced their epic Easter buffet, an indulgent spread of Kerala delicacies, global specials, carving stations, live cooking, desserts and much more. At first glance one would wonder how they managed to include all that food at very economical pricing. All the same, the ballot was broken in favour of Lila and even before we knew it..we were trotting towards Fort Kochi.

The Lila cafe, a 200 year old dutch mansion converted to a heritage restaurant blending art, culture and a boutique shop is more than just food. The spacious & quant ambience resonates with the old worldly charm of fort kochi. With more than 25 non-veg dishes handpicked for the spread, the effort of the team upfront had to be admired and praised.

Beginning with the carving station, you needed to carefully navigate through the dishes & the portion you take so that at least a little bit of each item could be tried & savoured. While I thought the slow roasted meats & carving station did their justice..few of the conti dishes were a hit & miss. The elaborate naadan delicacies were well received and it did kindle a sense of nostalgia to me of the yesteryears. The desserts table had limited options and I thought it lacked innovation barring a couple of items. No doubt the service and the hospitality were top grade.

All in all..the almost unanimous decision to go with Lila proved to be a success and a memorable experience. The curators of the business have plans to continue with such seasonal buffets along with their usual sunday brunches. In fact their ala-carte menu has some interesting fusion dishes & concepts which needs another round of gathering. I would definitely recommend this place. Do give them a chance and experience a kind of novelty...

The place is an old prison or some sort of heritage home. The way they have done the interior and decor is nice. Now, i absolutely adore the food. I had Beef and Banana fritters which was nice but I expected more banana fritter slices. It's an excellent fusion though. Next we had Kanthari prawns with butter croissant which was amazing. Then we had an overpriced Lemon tea, a ginger ale and an African South Indian fusion dish called Bunny Chow . It was not as great as the rest of them, not because of the quality, but the taste. Then we had Kori Ghasi with porotta which looks the same as Butter chicken but has a different flavour, again not bad. Since, it was our anniversary we had a slice of cake, chocolate red velvet pastry which was also nice. Overall I liked the food and the ambience. We went for a last minute anniversary dinner and food and decor lived up to it. But there are a couple of things I take offence with. I had asked if they could arrange something as it was the anniversary. They said they will set up a nice table and for privacy they would keep a 7 seater for us. I said that much is not necessary and the person insisted that it's fine. They charge almost 500 ₹, for that, and didn't bother to mention that at all, which I consider as really bad business etiquette. It was a Monday night and the place was near vacant, I believe they tricked me into that. They arranged candles but would not light it up saying that it would melt..duh! It had been lit before, and why would anyone keep candles that can't be lit? It was a candle night dinner for god sake! I had also told them that we would be coming by 9 PM and the person asked if I could make it earlier which we tried and reached by 8:30 PM. But still it felt like they were rushing me out at 9:45 PM. They were insisting me to not take my Dinner rewards so that they can get rid of me. So, the user...

Huge fan of this BEAUTIFULLY designed space which is definitely more than just a cafe and lives true to the experiential centre tag. I was so smitten by the experience that I read up about the place online after my first visit and it turns out it's run by 4 women. The brand that they're creating is looking super promising!!

On my trip to Kochi this time I've been to the cafe 2 times to try their desserts and coffee. It was spectacular in taste and a 10/10 in service starting from the warm welcome to the seating to recommending items on the menu. I didn't get a lot of time to spend exploring the lifestyle space within because I've always been biased to food experiences more than shopping but there's definitely a lot more to do than just eat. I happened to spot 2 of the entrepreneurs each time I visited and I'm sure they seem really approachable :) Although I did not get a chance to experience this myself, I heard such spectacular things about their buffet and large plate meals as well- although I think it has a particular timing.

It's also set up in a renovated setting of house built 4 centuries ago which adds to the homely vibe and charm evidenced by friends meeting for a quick catch-up or youngsters snugly working away by the courtyard or couples meeting up for a coffee date.

10/10 recommend (bonus recomend to pair it up w the quaint bar (called Francis) on the parallel road to Lila, right after or before for music and great food! My favourite items on their menu for the cafè was: Hot chocolate...