Know the password? There's a table at Chennai's new speakeasy-style restobar, MadCo

First, find the door

Getting into MadCo (Madras Cocktail Company) is not as simple as walking into a restaurant. Tucked away from Chennai’s busy dining and nightlife scene, the speakeasy-style restobar keeps its entrance discreet. Guests book through Instagram and receive the day’s password. First-timers reveal the code at reception before being ushered inside, while regulars have grown familiar with the ritual.

For managing partner Santhosh Zachariah Abraham and founding partner RVS Kiran, the concept draws inspiration from the backroom bars of Prohibition-era America, where people gathered to drink, exchange ideas, enjoy music and socialise.

After spending 15 years in different parts of India, Santhosh returned to Chennai, finding the city’s bars and clubs too loud, with overly sweet drinks and food that fell short of his expectations. Along with Kiran, he set out to create a space for conversations over punchy food and thoughtfully prepared drinks. “Kiran and I started MadCo out of necessity rather than a whim,” he says.

The reservations-only format has helped build a community of regulars, with Santhosh estimating that nearly 80 per cent of guests return. Many eventually become friends of the team. The Instagram booking system also allows the team to connect with guests before they arrive, while feedback from regulars helps maintain consistency.

The food, meanwhile, is far from an afterthought. Drawing on South Indian flavours, particularly Andhra influences, alongside Asian inspirations and comfort food, the menu reflects culinary consultant and chef Mathangi Kumar’s approach to experimentation.

Santhosh recalls that the initial menu trials, based on the founders’ conflicting suggestions, resulted in enjoyable but generic dishes. They eventually stepped back and gave Mathangi the freedom to follow her instincts.

The brief was to avoid trends and familiar bar offerings while ensuring every dish retained at least one recognisable flavour. Food, Santhosh believes, should surprise people while remaining enjoyable and evoking memories. The cocktail list caters to different palates, from refreshing serves to clarified cocktails and spirit-forward options. The team prepares shrubs, tinctures, syrups and cordials in-house wherever possible, using premium spirits. MadCo also offers a Temperance menu of non-alcoholic drinks for guests who want the complexity of a cocktail without the alcohol.

There are no rigid food-and-drink pairings, Santhosh says. The drinks list includes Jasmine Tequila, a Penicillin shot, Bramble Tart and Pirate’s Old Fashioned, while the Temperance menu offers an alternative for those who prefer not to drink.

Then, follow your appetite

For Mathangi, the freedom to experiment has been central to developing MadCo’s menu. Rather than pursuing fusion for its own sake, she explores how familiar flavours can be presented differently. The Gongura Tempura is a good example. After finding the idea of palak patta chaat uninspiring, she experimented with other greens and settled on gongura, a sorrel leaf commonly used in Andhra cooking.

She developed a batter at home that would remain crisp, finishing the fried leaves with veluli karam, a spice mix of chilli, dried garlic, cumin and salt. A chilli pickle aioli completes the dish. The combination brings together the tempura technique and gongura’s pungent flavour without deliberately setting out to fuse Japanese and Andhra cuisines. Mathangi also hopes better-quality gongura can eventually be grown locally. “It’s not fusion for the sake of fusion. It’s just food that is exciting,” she explains.

Her approach draws on childhood memories, too. Mathangi recalls her mother adding boiled vegetables to avocado fried rice to encourage her to eat them. That memory inspired MadCo’s Avakkai Oil Fried Rice, which combines spicy avakkai pickle oil with a tornado egg.

Her take on Sri Lankan kothu features vegetables, parotta, spiced masala and cheese that melts into the gravy. The Omu Rice combines ghee-coconut rice, pandan and kalpasi with a tornado egg, salna and a choice of chicken or mutton. Both offer complete, personal-sized meals.

Kiran says ingredient quality is central to the menu. The founders source meat from Kerala, use freshly made cheeses and obtain avakkai pickle from a home cook in Andhra Pradesh. The Black Pepper Lotus Stem, featured in MadCo’s Hall of Fame, uses lotus stem imported from Thailand, cooked with black pepper, curry leaves and butter to preserve its flavour.

Weekend pop-ups allow the team to test dishes inspired by Mexican, Asian, Sri Lankan and modern Indian cooking. Feedback from regulars helps determine which creations make it onto the permanent menu. Mathangi works closely with the founders to refine flavours, balance and texture, while Kiran focuses on ensuring the dishes can be prepared consistently by the kitchen team.

And save room for more

The Gongura Tempura makes an immediate impression. Crisp, golden leaves dusted with podi are balanced by the chilli pickle aioli, giving a familiar South Indian ingredient a different form without losing its character.

The Truffle Toast, made with mushroom cream cheese pâté, mushroom duxelle and truffle oil, delivers concentrated mushroom flavour in a simple preparation.

The Amritsari Paneer, served with Hokkaido pao buns, stracciatella and coriander chilli butter, is rich and creamy. The Five-Spice Mushrooms, with spring onion bulbs and garlic-chilli crumble, pair particularly well with rice.

The standout is the Avakkai Oil Fried Rice. The heat of the pickle oil gives the dish a distinctive character, while the tornado egg adds to its appeal. The garlic rice is another highlight, with the garlic cooked just right. Paired with the Five-Spice Mushrooms, it makes for a satisfying combination.

Among the non-vegetarian options, the Spicy Beef with Basil stands out. Thinly sliced, velveted beef is tossed with banana peppers, onions, green peppercorns, basil and minced chilli. The beef remains tender, while the basil adds freshness to the punchy, peppery flavours.

Dessert comes in the form of the Boozy Chocolate Orange Cake. Soft and rich, with a complementary hint of orange, it provides a satisfying finish.