It is Thursday, 8 pm. Also read | I dined with chef Kunal Kapur at his new Bengaluru restaurant: 3.5 hours, 8 courses, 1 serious tofu conversation You are on 12th Main Road in Bengaluru ‘s Indiranagar, caught in the particular standstill that defines this neighbourhood. An auto-rickshaw cuts you off. You have already trekked a full hour across town in peak traffic, long enough for your ‘Bonita’ playlist to loop twice, long enough to have memorised a menu you have not yet ordered from. And then you remember: you chose this.
Because tacos (and churros). Because Mezcalita.
Mezcalita is not just a restaurant. It is an immersive cultural mood capsule, a two-storey love letter to ‘la buena vida’, the good life. By day, sunlight floods through grand arched windows. By night, warm bulb glow, neon backlights and shadowy textures transform the room into a moody, elevated sanctuary. In Mexico, a cantina is more than a place to eat: it is where a meal turns into a fiesta, and strangers become friends, Mezcalita founder and chef Rizwan Amlani shared in a post-visit interview with HT Lifestyle. “When we started, Mexican food in India meant tacos, maybe nachos, and not much else. We wanted a lot more, so the mission was simple: forget the cliches and bring all of México to India. We began with the food, the drinks and the art, and then added that unmistakable love of living well, la buena vida. Every wall tells a story, courtesy of renowned Mexican street artist Senkoe. His sprawling murals blend pre-Hispanic mythology, Mexican folklore, dreamlike creatures and native flora into a contemporary street-art tapestry. The brief was never to recreate Mexico like a postcard, Rizwan explained: “Senkoe is a Mexican muralista. I wanted him to interpret it in his own hand, so the walls carry real stories rather than a theme. Bengaluru marks Mezcalita’s first footprint outside its home turf While Mumbai holds three locations. Bengaluru was the natural first city outside Mumbai: curious without being pretentious, a city that wants the real thing, served honestly, no ceremony. That is exactly what a cantina is. If you are vegetarian, you are in luck. Mexico has always eaten plant-rich foods — beans, squash, corn and chillies — and Mezcalita treats its veg offerings as superstars rather than afterthought side dishes, Rizwan highlighted. The jackfruit taco is a signature for a reason.”
Occupying a striking 4,200-square-foot standalone space with a pink facade and cobalt-blue arched windows, the venue does half the heavy lifting before you even cross the threshold. Inside, the dining areas seat 104 covers. It opened in 2025.
You eat with your eyes first, so the murals and the music do as much of the work as the plate,” he said. Rizwan said: “From Churchgate to Bandra and Indiranagar, we have always chosen neighbourhoods with a strong sense of culture, and Indiranagar has that. He said: “Vegetarian food was never a section on our menu.
That is why you stop noticing which city you are in: your eyes have their fill before the food arrives.
