Delhi’s GK2 locality has long been that bustling corner of the city that never quite goes dull. But of late, the neighbourhood feels even more alive, with a new name popping up almost every other day. From inventive cocktail bars to easygoing coffee addas, the area continues to reinvent itself while keeping its familiar buzz intact. It’s the kind of place where something new is always around the corner, giving regulars and first-timers alike a reason to keep coming back.
Amid GK2’s ever-growing nightlife scene, Top Banana makes its entry as the newest bar from Bright Hospitality, helmed by restaurateur Rajan Sethi. The bar sits at the entrance of the GK2 market alongside Ikk Panjab—almost like a welcoming stop for anyone looking to begin the evening with a drink.
The Team
Top Banana is led by restaurateur Rajan Sethi of Bright Hospitality, the team behind Ikk Panjab, OMO, AMPM, and Espressos Anyday. He is joined by co-owner Aditi Uppal and chef Tarannum Sehgal, whose experience in Michelin kitchens in Provence shapes the compact food menu. Meanwhile, the cocktail programme at Top Banana has been developed in-house by Pankaj Balachandran alongside Bright Hospitality’s beverage head Sushil Pant.
Interiors
As we sit and chat and happen to ask Rajan about the name, quick comes the reply “Top Banana—because we are top,” he says, summing up the bar-first idea with disarming simplicity. That playful spirit spills into the details around the room: banana-shaped flasks behind the counter, bar tops guests can scribble on, and rotating wall tiles illustrated jokes that bit cheeky and surely Instagrammable. Not to miss that credit for those illustrations goes to Kamini. The illustrations bring a playful energy to the space—filled with offbeat characters, mischievous one-liners, and sketchy doodles that feel part bar banter.
With seating for 56, the space has been designed by the bar’s own team—keeps things intentionally pared back. Muted green-grey walls set a calm tone, while soft brass lights cast a gentle warmth across. Along the counter, a line of glowing glass bricks adds a subtle shimmer, drawing the eye toward the bar. It naturally becomes the focal point of the room, the kind of spot where conversations unfold easily. But when quizzed why the place took two years, Sethi explains, “We didn’t want it to feel like a bar only cocktail geeks would understand, but we also didn’t want it to be just another easy neighbourhood hangout,” he says. “The thought was simple — you’ve finished work, you step in, and you can just unwind with a good drink.”
Music here has also been thoughtfully curated. A dedicated vinyl corner, Avishek Bhowmik, anchors the room’s soundscape. As vinyl listening finds its way back into bars globally, Bhowmik’s collection of nearly 270 records—gathered over 14 years spins through electro, Detroit house, and leftfield techno, setting a quietly distinctive rhythm for the space.
Food and drink
Starting with food, the menu has been designed by Chef Tarannum Sehgal. With her six years working in Michelin-starred kitchens in France’s Occitanie region, Tarannum returned to India to shape Top Banana’s food programme. Drawing on flavours and memories from her travels, she has channelled those experiences onto the plate with her Euro-Japanese approach to bar dining, where European technique meets Japanese balance and precision. “We looked at everyday foods people enjoy across different regions and used them as a starting point,” she says. “The idea was to reinterpret those familiar flavours in a way that feels playful and perfect for a bar.”
We started off with the line-up of snackable plates built for easy bar eating. The Pickle Mutton Seal brings a rich mutton rillette sealed with curry-ginger butter, served alongside pillowy shio pan for scooping. The Artichoke Ice Riot pairs crisp fried artichokes with goat cheese and chilli gremolata, while the Silverfish Crunch riffs on the tiny fried fish beloved across coastal India and Southeast Asia. Not to miss the Gougère Soué -Onion jam centre, molten Mornay, a savoury sip-in-a-bite and the Oeuf Mimosa- those Jammy beet-cured eggs topped with salmon roe. Fermentation, pickling, slow braises and bright acids appear throughout the menu, building depth while keeping the food immediate and approachable.
Moving to something more for substantiate on a plate we tried the Scampi Prawn Frenzy is served with a belacan sambal, Wings Got Pigs- Chorizo-stuffed wings with a gradient ranch drizzle.
Sehgal has kept the desserts things short yet memorable, with just two options on the menu. The Truffle Vice Trove – that sees a mix of Vanilla, chocolate, porcini with a fresh truffle shave strikes the perfect line between sweet and savoury. While strawberry All Ways sees layers of crisp pastry stacked high, waiting to be cracked open to reveal strawberries in three forms: fresh, fermented and pickled, all tucked into a soft cloud of cream.
The drinks menu also sees the same relaxed spirit. The menu takes familiar cocktail structures and nudges to something new. Salt Before Sense, a tequila highball, blends lychee, coconut water and honey-ginger—light, bright and suited to Delhi’s creeping summer heat, while Good on Paper reimagines the New York Sour with whisky, roasted quinoa and star fruit. A standout is Fair Chances, where bacon-fat-washed tequila meets plum juice and hoisin for a rich, savoury edge. Martini lovers are not forgotten either; Shadow Play offers Top Banana’s playful version, laced with pickles three ways. Another one, Salt Before Sunset, sees tequila, lychee and salted sakura are finished with a crisp house soda.
At the end of a long day, Top Banana becomes your kinda place where you can simply settle into. The drinks are inventive yet easy, the food nudges the table, and the music and chatter slowly take over. Nothing here feels staged or forced. Instead, the evening unfolds on its own—starting with a quiet drink and gradually building into a room that grows louder, warmer and full of life.