Written by Celebrating Borderless Vegetarian Gastronomy: MOGLU Opens Its Doors in Bengaluru
MOGLU – ‘The Edgy Veggie Restaurant’, a premium establishment that celebrates vegetables in all their decadence and glory, opens its doors in central Bengaluru on 26th February. MOGLU, which takes fresh ingredients that are full of life and gives them the space to shine, stands poised to usher in a renaissance in vegetarian cuisine. Located at 1 Sobha on St Marks Road, this borderless vegetarian restaurant transcends the ordinary and emerges as a culinary beacon.
MOGLU, co-founded by Ankita Shree, an ex-IRS officer turned entrepreneur, and Dr. Kiran Narayanan, a computational physicist who switched to a culinary career at 40 after training at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York, crafts a cuisine that blends cross-cultural influences on a plate. Keeping food at its centre, it is a holistic experience curated and created by the couple over three years and bears their unmistakable signature. Chef-driven and vegetable-forward, it takes what nature offers at a given time of the year and elevates it with a bit of culinary magic. The restaurant launches under the banner of Mamacoco, a vegetarian-forward food and beverage group. MOGLU brings fun and complex vegetarian all-day dining to the city with breakfast, lunch, dinner, cafe, and zero-proof drinks offerings.
“Three things – more choice, better quality, and innovation, in our experience, are currently missing from the vegetarian dine-in segment. MOGLU is bringing to the city food that is inspired, creative, ingredient-driven, and generous. We serve sophisticated vegetarian food that can easily be a choice for a celebratory dinner for a vegetarian, meat-eater or a flexitarian!” says Ankita Shree, positioned as Managing Director at MOGLU.
Culinary Experience at MOGLU
With borderless at the heart of MOGLU’s philosophy, the food doesn’t pay allegiance to any particular cuisine but borrows the best from different culinary traditions to create modern plated dishes. Featuring a menu that evolves bi-annually, MOGLU offers its diners delightful new discoveries, making them want to return for more!
Indulge in signature dishes such as the Buratta with Green Beans & Toasted Lentils. This is a comforting dish where traditional South Indian parippu usli and vethakozhumbu are reinvented into a warm salad using lentil usli and ginger-tamarind sauce. The Barbecue Mushroom Burger – a lion’s mane mushroom barbecue burger with triple-cooked fries is another highlight on the menu. The hearty, meaty lion’s mane mushroom is grilled on a plancha, glazed with house hickory-smoked barbecue sauce and placed in double-raised potato burger buns made at the in-house bakery. The menu also features dishes like the Spinach Coconut Lentil Soup; Massaged Kale, Beets and Paneer Salad; Crispy Okra and Tamarind; Spaghetti Tempeh Bolognaise and more.
Dr. Kiran Narayanan, the Executive Chef at MOGLU, expresses his excitement around the launch.“MOGLU intends to celebrate vegetables by way of culinary art that plays on all of one’s senses. While we have kept many dish formats familiar (think tacos, burgers, steak and fries), we use cross-cultural techniques to make the dishes stand out with the vegetable as the centrepiece. Vegetarian food can be exciting if treated the right way, and that’s what we are committed to. We are ruled by one motto – if it’s on a MOGLU plate, it’s got to be delicious! In the immortal words of Matt Preston, Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris – We are in the flavour business after all!”
Taking a culinary approach to mixology, MOGLU is pioneering a trend of non-alcoholic beverages. Cutting-edge techniques are combined with local flavours like kokum, jackfruit and cardamom to curate a range of in-house base liqueurs, like Campari and Jamaican Rum, which are then used to make delightful zero-proof drinks. Zero, as the menu is called, can be enjoyed independently as exquisite multi-layered drinks or as accompaniments to MOGLU’s borderless vegetable-forward cuisine. From zero-proof base spirits like Mezcal and Jackfruit Rum to the zest of fresh seasonal fruits and herbs, each element is meticulously chosen to infuse zing and punch into every sip, turning your dining experience into a flavourful tale. Some of MOGLU’s signature creations are the Limoncello, Venetian Campari Spritzer, Lychee Champagne, Amaro & Coke and more.
The Breakfast Special
Further to MOGLU’s lunch, dinner, and beverage offerings, the establishment invites you to a delightful morning ritual with an exciting breakfast spread. Encouraging all-day indulgence, taste their array of exquisite tartines, eggless omelettes crafted with egg substitutes and delectable pastries perfectly complemented by a curated coffee programme. MOGLU uses the GI-tagged Arabica beans which are sourced directly from the farmers in Kodagu. Enjoy some of the team’s favourites like the Labneh grape tartine, where succulent grapes meet creamy hung curd and honey. Explore the diverse eggless omelette selection using egg substitutes, featuring the Superfood Omelette with kale, paneer, and vegetables, served alongside Texas hash browns, made the authentic American way, and house sourdough toast. Don’t miss the classic Truffle and Mushroom Omelette for an indulgent twist. Elevate your coffee, tea, or herbal drink experience with the perfect accompaniment of Biscotti or a choice of three delectable chocolate truffle flavours.
Where Architecture and Gastronomy Converge
Nestled within the iconic 1 SOBHA, the restaurant is a captivating fusion of form and style. Its irregular polyhedron shape, overlooking St. Marks Road, sets the stage for an exquisite premium casual dining experience. With a generous 800 sq. ft. seating area accommodating 55 covers, the space features a lofty three-floor-high ceiling and expansive windows that bathe it in natural light, offering panoramic views of the lively street in front. Warm neutral shades of terracotta and beige create an earthy canvas for the holistic dining experience. Versatile seating options cater to both intimate dinners and group gatherings. The high ceiling, taller windows, and charming balconettes create a welcoming ambience with a subtle hint of Roman architecture. Eco-friendly paint on textured walls reflects the commitment to sustainable living. Archways, double-height chandeliers, and strategic lighting add an extra layer of sophistication, making it an upscale and visually appealing hangout spot adorned with greenery accents and curated artwork, ensuring a relaxing and refined experience.
At MOGLU, the joy of dining isn’t just about savouring a good meal. it’s about being surprised and delighted and experiencing the joy of discovering something new with each meal. All of this against the backdrop of impeccable service and the unmistakable warmth of heartfelt hospitality. It is a harmonious blend of the perfect ambience, great music, and impeccable service, where each ingredient adds to the symphony of the MOGLU experience.
Fact Sheet
Address: 50, 1 Sobha, St Mark’s Rd, opposite Empire and KC Das, Shanthala Nagar, Ashok Nagar, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560001
For reservation call: +91 80 4952 7158
Timings: Open 7 days a week 10 AM to 12 AM
Average meal for one: INR 1200per person
Number of Seats: 55
IG Handle: https://www.instagram.com/moglurestaurant/?hl=en
About Mamacoco Hospitality Pvt. Ltd.
Mamacoco is a veg-forward food & beverage group founded by Ankita Shree and Kiran Narayanan. The group is launching two restaurants called MOGLU and MATKA JUNCTION. MOGLU is a premium dine-in restaurant serving an eclectic menu that celebrates vegetables as the highlight of the dish. MATKA JUNCTION is a quick-service restaurant, serving micro-cuisine from the ancient Mithila region of Bihar. Both restaurants are located in a premium commercial building called 1 SOBHA at the intersection of St Mark’s Road and Church Street in Central Bangalore District.
Our mission is to redefine vegetarian food in India across different customer segments. As a nation, we are sitting on a wealth of culinary heritage with few parallels from the world. Yet very few chefs have taken these diverse culinary traditions and used them as jazz notes to create truly modern dishes and unique flavours. That’s where we come in. Mamacoco’s mission is to create a novel modern Indian cuisine inspired not only by the varied regional cuisines of India but also by taking inspiration from the best that international cuisines have to offer.