Monkey Bar Bengaluru is celebrating mango season with the launch of ‘Monkey’s Going Mangoes’, a limited-run menu that brings together a selection of cocktails and a dessert centred around the king of fruits. Starting Monday, 13th April 2026, the menu will be available for a limited time, keeping the focus on fresh, seasonal flavours. Designed as a simple and honest take on mango-based creations, the menu highlights bold combinations without overdoing it. The idea is to let mango shine through in every offering, creating drinks and a dessert that feel easy, refreshing, and perfect for the season. The cocktail selection features five distinct options, each with its own flavour profile. The Golden Remedy combines grape brandy with honey, ginger, and mango for a smooth and slightly spiced drink. Beach, Please! brings together mango, yuzu, and passionfruit in a milk-punch style, offering a taste that feels light and summery. Teeny Bikini is a breezy gin cooler with coconut water, lemongrass, and galangal, making it a refreshing pick. Melt in Your Mouth blends brandy with mango and a house-made toasted jasmine rice coconut milk, giving it a rich and unique texture. For those who enjoy a hint of spice, Hot Minute mixes tequila with mango-basil puree, citrus, and chilli for a slow-building kick. On the dessert side, the menu keeps things simple with Mangoes and Vanilla Ice Cream. Made with hand-cut seasonal fruit, house-made vanilla bean ice cream, and fresh cream, the dish focuses on the natural sweetness of mango without any extra additions. Known as a popular spot in the city’s social scene, Monkey Bar continues to bring people together with experiences that feel relaxed and engaging. With ‘Monkey’s Going Mangoes’, the gastropub adds a seasonal twist, making it a great place to enjoy mangoes in a fun and easy setting. Venue: Monkey Bar, Museum Road, Bengaluru. Date: Monday, 13th April 2026 onwards. Timings: 12 PM to 1 AM.

Taj Coromandel introduces a refined evening experience with Juniper Nights – A Gin & Jazz Evening at its stylish bar, Chipstead. Blending the timeless appeal of jazz with the versatility of gin, the curated series offers a sophisticated addition to the city’s nightlife. Set within the intimate and elegant ambiance of Chipstead, the experience unfolds as a seamless pairing of smooth jazz melodies and thoughtfully crafted cocktails. The menu highlights gin’s botanical character through a range of inventive creations, each designed to balance freshness with depth. Signature serves include Truly Tropical, a bright combination of gin, passionfruit, pineapple, and lime, and Spread Green, which brings together cucumber, celery, and lime cordial with a distinctive celery air. For those seeking richer profiles, Spirit Forward features rosemary-infused gin with sweet vermouth, orgeat, and aromatic bitters, while Purple Rain pairs blue pea gin with elderflower and tonic for a visually striking drink. A locally inspired touch comes through South Side, blending gin with holy basil, sweet lime, and palm sugar. Complementing the cocktail programme is a selection of bar bites that combine comfort with bold flavours. Vegetarian options such as Hara Bhara Kebabs, Crispy Sichuan Vegetables, and Honey Chilli Lotus Stem sit alongside indulgent non-vegetarian offerings including Gilafi Seekh Kebabs, smoked chilli chicken morsels, and seafood dishes like Seafarer Fish Sticks and butter garlic prawns. Positioned as both a social and sensory experience, Juniper Nights caters to intimate catch-ups and relaxed evenings alike. With its blend of music, mixology, and curated bites, the offering reflects a growing trend in luxury hospitality—where dining and nightlife are shaped into immersive, experience-led formats. Event Details:What: Juniper Nights – Gin & Jazz EveningWhere: Chipstead, Taj CoromandelDate: Until April 30, 2026Time: 4:00 PM – 12:00 AM

India’s food service and hospitality sector is entering a phase of recalibration, where expansion is gradually giving way to structured, system-led growth. At the Saksham seminar held in New Delhi, industry leaders, regulators, and operators came together to address the growing impact of cost pressures and evolving compliance expectations on business continuity. The discussions reflected a clear shift in priorities. Rising energy costs, input volatility, and tightening margins are now influencing everyday operational decisions from procurement and maintenance to consistency in compliance practices. For many businesses, maintaining operational rigour in this environment is becoming increasingly complex. As regulatory expectations evolve, the focus is also moving beyond enforcement-driven compliance to building systems that ensure consistency at scale. Highlighting this transition, Pawan Agarwal, CEO of Food Future Foundation and former head of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, noted that inconsistency in execution remains a key challenge. He emphasised that licensing should be viewed as a foundation for quality and safety, rather than just a regulatory requirement. Operators on the ground are already navigating difficult trade-offs. Rising LPG costs, logistics pressures, and input inflation are impacting day-to-day decisions. Rahul Singh, Founder and CEO of Beer Café and Trustee at National Restaurant Association of India, underlined the importance of maintaining discipline even as costs rise, stressing that growth cannot come at the expense of operational and regulatory boundaries. The conversation also highlighted how cost pressures are beginning to affect areas critical to long-term sustainability. P. Sravan Kumar pointed to the interdependence of safety, sustainability, and compliance, noting that neglecting any one of these pillars could destabilise the entire ecosystem over time. From an industry solutions perspective, Sanjay Jain, Director at Elanpro, emphasised the need to move from intent to execution. Platforms like Saksham are designed to bridge this gap by bringing together expertise, frameworks, and industry dialogue to enable more consistent operations. The Delhi edition of Saksham brought together over 125 participants, including chefs, hotel engineers, restaurant operators, consultants, and emerging entrepreneurs. Organised by Elanpro in association with HCF, the initiative focuses on advancing safety, sustainability, and compliance across the sector. Notable participants included Chef Manjit Gill, Animesh Gupta of Varun Beverages, Swapnil Deshpande, and Vikas Ahluwalia of The Park Hotels, reflecting a cross-section of leadership across policy, operations, and hospitality. As the platform evolves, Saksham is moving beyond dialogue towards implementation. Participants are being offered access to expert advisory support, including diagnostic audits across safety, compliance, and sustainability. These interventions aim to provide structured assessments, identify key risks, and deliver actionable recommendations, helping businesses translate insights into measurable improvements. Having already been conducted in Bengaluru and Pune, Saksham is set to expand to cities like Kolkata and Indore. As it scales, the initiative aims to strengthen operational standards, improve workforce capability, and support the transition towards more resilient and compliant food businesses across India. In a sector navigating both growth ambitions and operational pressures, the message from Saksham is clear: the future of hospitality will be defined not just by expansion, but by how effectively it builds systems that can sustain it.