This latest Chennai pop-up offers an inventive take on Indian flavours

Chennai is no stranger to fine dining, but every now and then, the city gets a chance to taste something truly rare. This week, Pullman Chennai has opened its glasshouse rooftop restaurant, Up North, to host a pop-up with the globally acclaimed Indian Accent, that food lovers will not want to miss. At the heart of this three-day collaboration is Chef Rijul Gulati leading the kitchen.

Chef Rijul Gulati on the pop-up, his journey, and more

In a conversation with Indulge, Rijul says, “I joined Indian Accent as a young trainee in 2015, when we were still a tiny property with just 40 covers. Over the years, I’ve seen the restaurant grow, and expand to New York, Mumbai, and beyond. For me, it has been a journey of learning, of introducing diners to ingredients that once felt completely alien to them.” He laughs as he recalls diners mistaking blue cheese for “spoilt cheese” in the early days. “Now the very same diners ask for truffle, wasabi, or blue cheese naan with confidence,” he says.

For Chennai, Chef Rijul and his team have crafted a menu that is steeped in nostalgia and innovation. Here the comfort in a monsoon corn shorba is paired with a blue cheese naan, a combination that teases the palate between familiar warmth and bold surprise. Then there’s tofu medu vadai resting in a coconut and sago stew, a dish born from Rijul’s fascination with southern flavours, almost pongal-like in its soulfulness.

The tawa paneer pinwheel in a sweet pepper curry offers colour and charm, while dishes like the Kashmiri morel musallam with murg malai or the braised goat shank with bone marrow nihari remind us of the richness of India’s kitchens, retold with modern finesse. “We’ve even brought in our Manipuri black pottery cups to serve the shorba. They’ve become something of an identity for us,” the chef says.

The pop-up closes with desserts that tug at nostalgia: daulat ki chaat, rose petal chikki, and an almond and doda burfi treacle tart paired with vanilla bean ice cream. “This city has always welcomed us with warmth. The last time we did a pop-up here, six years ago, I ate in small messes to understand how Chennai really eats. Those flavours never left me. To come back with Indian Accent feels like a circle completed,” he says.

Meal for one: INR 5,999 ++. The pop-up runs till September 13. 7 pm onwards. At Up North, Pullman Chennai, Anna Salai.

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