Kerala’s first cricket-themed restaurant opens in Kochi

With indoor practice nets and match screenings, this place is haven for cricket enthusiasts
Kerala’s first cricket-themed restaurant opens in Kochi

Thevara is now the best place for a date—with cricket! This new 15,250 sqft area at Thevara is a haven for enthusiasts of the sport, with match screening facilities, indoor training nets, a dining area facing the backwaters and an extensive menu featuring specials like crab potato masala. Considering the city’s lack of dedicated space for the bat-and-ball game enthusiasts, we decide to visit the eatery named Cricket Village, to find out what the fuzz is all about.

Practice is in full swing at the nets, despite the heavy rain, as we walk past it to the 40-cover facility—split into a fine-dining establishment and an elevated boat-shaped diner. A healthy concentrate of carrot juice is the perfect welcome drink from the kitchen staff. “The idea is to create a family-friendly place for people to hangout, relax and catch the game,” says co-owner Sui Joseph, who credits himself as the man behind the bowling machine in the Nivin Pauly-starrer movie 1983. Sitting in the comfort of the air-conditioned dining hall, I peruse the menu which features a multitude of seafood options like calamari grill.

Freshly sourced
We begin the meal with a shrimp salad with a mix of partially-boiled veggies including carrots and potatoes. Noticing that the menu sports Indo-Chinese dishes, we opt for their dragon beef. Paired with fried rice, this sweet and hot dish leaves a tinge of spiciness on my palate.

“We focus on seafood to make the best of the location. All the raw materials are freshly sourced from Fort Kochi,” informs the 31-year-old, as their signature dish, pineapple fish curry arrives on the spread. Although the butterfish is charred, the fruit and onion gravy is pleasantly sweet and best pairs with naadan vellayappam.    

Perfect pitch
As the rain rages on outside, our next dish arrives—flaky Kerala parotta with a side of (rather dry) tawa-fried chicken. Just as we think we’re loaded, a heavy platter of seafood arrives, with tiger prawns, crab, calamari, and grilled snapper.

Though the constituents are fresh and marinated with turmeric, they turn out to be rather bland. “We’ve plans to host an acoustic band every day of the week after the monsoons and also arrange cookouts for interested groups,” informs Sui, as we finish the meal.  

Meal for two from `500 onwards
Details: 9048107777

 

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