Hosa brings lesser-known South to North

The worldly dwellers of Delhi-NCR have come a long-long way from the days of equating South Indian cuisine with the triumvirate of idli-dosa-sambar in all its forms.

If the likes of Carnatic Café and Café Amudham have been welcome alternatives to ubiquitous Sagar Ratnas and Saravana Bhavans in the budget-friendly space, the opening of Avartana at ITC Maurya gave fine-diners another reason to rejoice. Chef Ruchira Hoon’s Dakshin Canteen introduced all to home and mess style recipes with a hint of twist. Owing to new restaurants, and frequent collaborations and pop-ups, they are now well versed with the geographic and gastronomic distinctions between Chettinad, Udupi, Andhra, Mangalorean, and more.

And, with the opening of Hosa at Gurugram’s One Horizon Centre, brand chef, Harish Rao, is not only eager to uncover a bit more of that culinary iceberg but also make the most of the space for experimental South Indian food. And with his plates and their stories, ranging from the temples of Karnataka, kalan shops of Chennai, to toddy rituals of the coasts, he seems to have achieved that.

The 90-seater Hosa Gurugram adds a dash of beach to the very business vibe of the plaza. A patio full of rattan chairs and palms gives way to tropical minimalism with white angled rafters on the ceiling, earthen-toned decor, and blooming bird of paradise plants. Designed by Rohini Kapur, who brought to life a century-old Portuguese villa in Siolim for Hosa Goa some years back, the unpretentious theme continues in food too, albeit only till the presentation. For Rao does not play to the flashy tunes of the food and beverage world, but rather packs his plate with loads of flavours and experiments.

Taste maximised

Hence, his ode to the much-loved northern winter staple of aloo-gobhi is cleverly-timed too. With the nip in the air what else could open the act better than crisp Cracked Potatoes in chilli gunpowder with cauliflower playing the supporting role in a mousse form, drizzled with curry leaf oil and hibiscus dust. Perhaps this is precisely what Rao, an Andhraite from Chennai, means when he says, “the ideology behind it might be the same (as its predecessor Hosa Goa), but Hosa Gurugram is definitely a more robust ode to the South Indian cuisines, representing more regions”.

The menu not only revels in the familiarity of Hosa Goa with elaneer pepper fry, kari dosa, Madurai lamb shank, and more, it gives Hosa Gurugram a different character too with Hosa masala bun, southern pork curry, pesto snapper, and rice featuring prominently as compared to dosas and appams in the Goan menu. “While there are several new dishes in this menu as per the seasonal availability here, even the ones from the Goa menu have been adapted a bit to suit the customer palate here,” Rao adds.

While toddy shop prawns with raw mango salad, and Karwar fried fish with raw mango chutney quickly transports one to shores of Kerala and Goa, shimeji mushroom varuval surprises this Chennai frequenter. The popular street food of mushroom-cabbage fritters in a semi-dry gravy has been reinvented as sautéed mushrooms in onion pepper with a velvety mushroom pate.

“Similarly, the no onion-no garlic sweet n sour pineapple is a modern interpretation of prasadam in the temples of Karnataka,” Rao says of ananas menaskai, a pineapple curry recipe finding its origins in Udupi and Mangalore. “As is the aubergine steak (in a peanut sesame curry with ghee rice and yoghurt) – a take on Andhra’s stuffed eggplant curry called gutti vankaya kura.”

Served with a side of comfort

His sorakkai salad, though, needs more than a mere delicate cashew nut sauce in its attempt to making bottle gourd a first choice here. Especially for someone who has enjoyed the unloved vegetable. And, as the sharp sour of potato gassi and Alleppey curry, reminding one of its milder origins in Alleppey meen moilee, hit the taste buds a tad too boldly, Rao’s version of bunny chow – bun and stew – balances it all. Even the liberally salted fried chicken that comes accompanying an aromatic Dindigul mutton biryani.

Almost like a soothing lullaby, a soft bun sits pretty in the calming flavours of a coconut milk gravy. Another instance of how Rao’s menu effortlessly steers these tailored southern flavours into titillating northern palates rather than beating them into submission. Mango and coconut cake is another case in point.

In that spirit of South-inspired, North-adjusted menu, Varun Sharma, head, Bars, EHV International, has capitalised the yuujin cocktail by taking it away from its feni way of life in Goa and replacing it with whisky. He has not only made a shandy by combining it with beer, but also discovered his very own black pepper penicillin by adding coconut jaggery, ginger-black pepper tincture, and a smoky scotch for a seemingly cure-it-all winter remedy.

The cerebrally-inclined cocktail menu is divided into three categories – tall and fizzy, short and boozy, and tikki – for different moods and times of day. Even his zero-proof hot toddy, that one so blissfully savoured between the tender bites of decoction-soaked rusks of filter coffee tiramisu, is a proof enough that as the temperature takes a further dip in the coming days, Sharma’s tipples would make for those perfect companions on the patio under a winter sky.

Hosa is at One Horizon Centre, Golf Course Road, DLF Ph-V, Sector-43, Gurugram. Open Sunday to Thursday – noon to midnight; Friday-Saturday – noon to 1am. A meal for two costs ₹3,000+ (without alcohol) and ₹5,000+ (with alcohol)

Published – January 07, 2026 01:50 pm IST