The award-winning speakeasy from The Leela Palace Bengaluru heads to GK2 for a one-night collaboration pairing Kyoto-inspired cocktails with Top Banana’s neighbourhood energy, food and vinyl-led nights.
New Delhi, September 2026: For one night, two very different bar worlds will meet in Greater Kailash II.
On 17 September 2026, Top Banana, the bar-first neighbourhood space by Bright Hospitality Pvt. Ltd., will welcome ZLB23, the award-winning Kyoto-inspired speakeasy at The Leela Palace Bengaluru, for a one-night cocktail collaboration.
Usually tucked away behind an unassuming entrance within Zia’s Garden, ZLB23 will step outside its hidden setting and into Top Banana’s more social, energetic environment — bringing its East-inspired cocktail philosophy along with it.
When Two Bar Cultures Meet
ZLB23 has built its reputation around carefully composed cocktails, unusual flavour combinations and an atmosphere inspired by Kyoto’s intimate speakeasy culture.
The bar was ranked No. 31 on Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2025 and named The Best Bar in India 2024, adding to its growing reputation within Asia’s cocktail landscape.
But this collaboration isn’t intended to recreate ZLB23 in Delhi.
Instead, the evening explores what happens when its highly curated cocktail philosophy meets Top Banana’s instinctive neighbourhood-bar energy.
One is deliberately hidden and intimate; the other is built around food, music, conversation and the spontaneous rhythm of a long night.
For one evening, they share the same counter.
Four Cocktails, Two Signatures, One Collaboration
The cocktail menu has been kept deliberately focused.
Guests can expect two ZLB23 signature cocktails, offering a taste of the Bengaluru bar’s distinctive flavour-led approach, alongside two cocktails created specially for the collaboration by the ZLB23 and Top Banana teams.
Leading the ZLB23 takeover will be Kripal Singh, Senior Mixologist, ZLB23 & The Leela Palace Bengaluru.
The collaborative drinks will bring together the two teams’ different perspectives, creating new combinations specifically for the evening.
Alongside the drinks, Top Banana’s Euro-Japanese kitchen will serve its selection of small, shareable plates — keeping food firmly within the social rhythm of the evening.
Where Music Becomes Part of the Experience
At Top Banana, music isn’t simply background.
Vinyl, conversation, cocktails and food are designed to move together as the night progresses. Records change, the room becomes louder and the atmosphere evolves organically.
For the ZLB23 collaboration, that same philosophy will shape the soundtrack, allowing the music to respond to the energy of the room rather than dictate it.
The result is less a formal takeover and more a meeting of two distinct approaches to drinking, eating and spending a night out.
Two bars. Four cocktails. One night built around flavour, food and music.
The Details
Venue: Top Banana, Third & Fourth Floor, M-5, M Block Market, Greater Kailash II, New Delhi – 110048
Date: Thursday, 17 September 2026
Time: 6 PM onwards
Reservations: +91 89290 96135
About Top Banana
Top Banana is a bar-first neighbourhood space in Greater Kailash II, New Delhi, by Bright Hospitality Private Limited.
The concept combines a craft-led cocktail programme developed with beverage consultancy CounterTop and a Euro-Japanese kitchen led by Chef Tarannum Sehgal, with a menu designed around grazing and sharing.
The space places the bar at the centre of the experience, bringing together cocktails, food and vinyl-led music in a setting designed for conversation and extended evenings.
About Bright Hospitality
Founded by Rajan Sethi in 2007, Bright Hospitality Private Limited operates experiential food and hospitality concepts across Delhi NCR and other Indian cities.
The company’s portfolio includes multiple restaurant and hospitality brands, with 14 operating outlets across seven brands across markets including Delhi NCR, Calcutta, Chandigarh and Indore.
