This new restobar in Chennai is a harmonious blend of spaces and flavours

Making a sprawling restobar feel coherent is not easy, yet No Name pulls it off with an unexpected charm. Spread across four levels—a breezy café, a plush fine-dining room, a lively bar, and a rooftop that hums with the city—it gives you the sense of exploring a new space each time you move floors. And yet the food manages to knit the whole experience together.

We began, quite naturally, with a bowl that set the tone for the evening: the Tom kha phak. The broth arrived warm and aromatic, the first hit being the perfume of galangal and kaffir lime. The balance of spicy, creamy, and sour was beautifully held together by the coconut milk, and the mushrooms soaked up those flavours like sponges.

The starters took us in multiple directions. The Bruschetta was simple and honest, with ripe tomatoes, basil, and balsamic spooned over warm garlic bread. The olives added just the right amount of brininess. The Paneer bhurji tartlets surprised us with their homestyle warmth. However, their non-vegetarian counterpart, Crab tartlets, were far more indulgent, packed with sweet crab meat folded into a creamy sauce.

Among beverages, The No Name cocktail was the most intriguing, a six-ingredient mystery that unfolds with every sip.

Next, the Sate ayam brought a hit of Indonesian street-side nostalgia. The chicken was tender, smoky from the grill and coated in a peanut sauce marinade that was mildly sweet.

For mains, we leaned into their Asian offerings with the Nasi goreng. It came tumbling with prawns, egg, coriander, and chicken satay, every forkful hitting that sweet–spicy–smoky profile that makes the dish so addictive. The Cannelloni con crema di zucca e ricotta, in contrast, was all softness and subtlety—handmade pasta stuffed with ricotta, shallots and garlic, held together by a gentle pumpkin cream. It was elegant in appearance too.

We sipped the tropical and indulgent The Pine meister along with it. We reached the end of our culinary trail with Blancmange con salsa di frutti di bosco, an almond panna cotta that wobbled delicately under a bright berry sauce.

Meal for two: INR 2,500++. From 12 pm to 11 pm. At No Name, Nandanam.