10th Anniversary Special: How Hyderabad is redefining food and cocktail pairings, one thoughtful sip at a time

For a long time, drinking adhered to a predictable rhythm. Alcohol came first, food followed, usually fried, salty, and designed to keep pace rather than savoured. The concept of bar bites wasn’t about flavour or memory; it was functional. Cocktails, when they appeared, were often overly sweet or aggressively strong, meant to impress quickly and disappear just as fast.

Find your perfect food and drink pairings at these spots in Hyderabad

Today, that culture is changing. Across Indian cities, people are slowing down. They’re paying attention to what they eat with their drinks, how flavours interact, and how a cocktail feels mid-meal rather than only at the first sip. In Hyderabad, a city where food is unconditionally revered, people are looking for equal care towards what’s in their glass as well.

At Park Hyatt Hyderabad’s Rika After Dark, the cocktails are designed to move with the menu, not around it. Pushp Chauhan, director of food & beverage, explains that drinks here are built with the plate in mind. “The process usually begins with a flavour or a texture we want to highlight, and from there, the food menu naturally shapes the drink. The goal is harmony,” he says.

That harmony is important with Asian cuisine, where spice, umami, sweetness, and acidity often appear in the same bite. “Asian food moves through highs and lows of flavour,” he says. “Our cocktails follow a similar journey, layered, balanced, and with clean finishes that refresh the palate, so the next bite tastes just as exciting.”

Speaking of pairings that work with the food menu, Pushp shares, “Gin and sake work particularly well with delicate flavours like lemongrass and ginger, as they allow them to shine. Tequila and rum bring warmth or fruit forward notes.”

Here, luxury is also expressed through how food and drink arrive together. “Aroma, colour, glassware, these are not decorative choices. We keep the visual language elegant and understated, allowing the drink’s flavour and the room’s ambience to tell the story together,” he explains.

This thoughtful pairing has changed how guests approach late-night dining. Rather than ordering drinks first and food later, diners are now treating both as a single experience, something Rehan Guha has noticed clearly at his speakeasy, Oxymorons.

“Food isn’t a side act for us,” Rehan says. “The bar is an extension of the kitchen and vice versa. If the food menu uses tamarind, banana, soy, or broth, those flavours become part of the cocktail conversation as well.”

While keeping the roots in mind, Oxymorons shines a spotlight on local ingredients.“We work with the flavours we’ve grown up with — gongura, curry leaf, jackfruit, amaranth, banana, and other pantry staples — reimagining them in ways that feel fresh and surprising,” Rehan elaborates. “It’s not about chasing exotic or foreign ingredients we don’t fully understand; it’s about doing more with less and elevating the familiar.”

Indian food, Rehan points out, presents real technical challenges.“Capsaicin interacts with bitterness and alcohol to intensify heat, while fats coat the palate and mute flavours. So the cocktail has to work harder, acidity to refresh, carbonation to cleanse, aromatics to carry flavour,” he explains.

The result is pairings that feel intuitive. Dishes with umami and richness are matched with drinks that cut through or lift them. “Comfort on the plate creates curiosity in the drink,” Rehan says. “Once people trust the food, they’re more open to experimenting. Guests are drinking for flavour first.Otherwise, how do you explain cocktails like our chicken broth drink or banana-soy rum being among our bestsellers?”

That same principle guides Moai Kitchen’s approach. Co-founder Shashidhar Kasi explains that food and cocktails move as part of a single dining rhythm. “We think about weight, texture, and intensity on both sides,” he says. “A rich or fatty dish might need a crisp, effervescent cocktail, while a lighter plate can carry something creamy or silky.”

Moai Kitchen’s belief is that technique should serve flavour, not dominate it. “We don’t see drinks as something that sits outside the meal. Each cocktail is crafted to complement the flavours of the food it is served with,” Sashidhar explains.

The cocktail menu features spirits like whisky, tequila, gin, and vodka, paired with local ingredients like house-fermented wine, spices, and hyper-local infusions. These complement the globally inspired dishes, emphasising flavour, texture, and ingredient integrity.

At Loqa, food and drink reflect an emotional sentiment. Chief mixologist Krishna Kumar explains that the menus aren’t strictly paired, but deeply connected. “When the food and cocktails speak the same language of nostalgia, humour, south Indian soul with a twist, the ideas overlap, and pairings happen naturally.” The menu is also an ode to the city. “Fifth Dimension is basically the emotion of curd rice in a glass. Road No. 999 is Hyderabad’s navigation culture,” shares Krishna.

Their food has to have a backbone, bold and spiced to let the cocktails be just as expressive. “We don’t avoid strong flavours,” founders Rohit Kasuganti and Anisha Deevakonda share. “We match them. Drinks need personality if they’re going to stand up to food like Andhra fried chicken or dishes built around fermentation and spice.” That confidence allows for pairings that feel playful yet precise. Krishna adds, “We grew up with fermented, spicy, tangy food. So we anchor the unfamiliar with something familiar, and then push just enough to make it exciting.”

On the evolution of the Hyderabadi audience, Pushp refers to it as curious. “Approachability is still important, but people are more willing to explore once they trust the craft behind the bar,” he adds.

Anisha and Rohit say, “As people travel, they reconnect with regional flavours. They want comfort and discovery, and a little mischief on the plate and in the glass.”

Today, Hyderabad drinks the way it eats — with love. “A few years ago, it was all about the ritual — celebrating, socialising, nightlife. Now, guests ask about technique, spirits, ferments, and pairings. Experience and social rituals are still the chassis, but flavour has become the real driver. They care about stories, not just ABV,” shares Rehan.

The plate and the glass now arrive as equals, each shaping the other.

Email: anshula.u@newindianexpress.com

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