From Inja x Bandra Born to Benares x Indian Accent—how India’s top restaurants (and their chefs) are bringing pop-up collaborations to life

Pop-ups have officially graduated from being niche chef stunts to full-blown cultural events. Once considered offbeat experiments or temporary gigs, these one-off dining collabs are now the main event. Restaurants are moving beyond the safety of their signature menus to collaborate with other chefs, bartenders, and brands in ways that feel like culinary jam sessions. It’s no longer just about eating well; it’s about experiencing something rare, limited-edition, and totally unlike a regular night out. And diners are eating it up.

These events are buzzy, beautifully designed, and built for a crowd that’s as interested in the story behind a dish as the dish itself. They’re made to be talked about, shared on social media, and remembered long after the final course. The anticipation starts days before the event—when the teaser posts go up, when a menu preview drops, when two names appear side by side on a poster. The food world holds its breath not just for what’s being served, but how it will unfold. 

For Chef Gresham Fernandes of Bandra Born, that suspense is part of the magic. “It’s like music,” he says. “There’s tension, release, highs, and lows. It should feel like that.” Fernandes, who recently collaborated with Inja’s Advait Suhas for a joint dining event, draws a sharp line between a simple pop-up and a true collaboration. In the former, you bring your food to someone else’s kitchen. In the latter, you build something together from scratch. “A real collab means adapting—your pace, your style, your dishes. It’s about seeing how two different approaches can come together to create a third, unexpected experience.”

That unpredictability is what sets the pop-up format apart from conventional dining. Menus are often exclusive to the event. Some dishes will never be served again. And yet, the planning behind them can be intricate, even obsessive. “We share kitchen videos before we even finalise dishes,” Fernandes explains. “You need to know the layout—how many plates can fit on a table, what the equipment is like. That affects everything.”

But beyond logistics, what really defines today’s pop-up is performance. It’s a theme echoed by every chef we spoke to. “A pop-up is definitely a stage—it’s a platform to perform,” says Chef Sameer Taneja of Benares, who’s bringing his Michelin-starred restaurant from London to Indian Accent in Delhi and Mumbai for a two-city, four-day collaborative event. “The energy is different. The atmosphere is heightened. You’re in a new space, cooking for a new crowd, and there’s more storytelling involved.”

That heightened storytelling is what makes these events resonate far beyond the dinner table. Social media has become a crucial part of the experience—not just in marketing the event, but in amplifying its emotion and urgency. A post of a smoky cocktail. A reel of chefs plating in sync. A carousel of unfamiliar-but-beautiful dishes that disappear after one night. It’s theatre, but edible.

At Inja, the beverage programme is given just as much thought as the food. “With Inja and Bandra Born coming together, there’s a lot of personality in the room—flavours, textures, stories,” says the Inja bar team. “The drinks have to match that energy. It’s not about just complementing the food, it’s about standing in conversation with it.” Their approach: bold ingredients, bold statements. “We’re not trying to make Instagram cocktails—we’re making drinks that happen to look good because they are good.” In a setting this transient, that willingness to experiment is key. “You can take risks here that you wouldn’t on your regular menu,” says the team. “We’re playing with flavour clashes, unconventional techniques, and unusual presentations. That’s the freedom of a pop-up—it lets you go further.”

That sense of freedom runs deep for chefs, too. “Pop-ups give us a chance to step outside the rhythm of our kitchens,” says Indian Accent’s executive chef Shantanu Mehrotra. “You think differently, you work differently. You’re not just recreating your greatest hits—you’re designing something new for that space, that night.” In fact, Mehrotra sees pop-ups as a form of creative reset. “When two chefs work together, it’s not about who has the better dish. It’s about building a menu that makes sense together. That’s when it clicks.”

For diners, that sense of co-creation adds to the allure. “There’s a kind of curiosity that’s unique to this format,” says Chef Taneja. “Diners are more present, more engaged. They’ve taken time out, booked in advance, and they’re hoping to walk away not just full, but inspired.” Which is why every moment matters—from the way a drink is introduced to the final dessert. “We’re not just serving food,” says Fernandes. “We’re offering a moment, a memory. Something that feels homely, or reminds you of a place, or just hits unexpectedly. That’s what people carry with them.”

Sometimes, it’s something as simple as a nostalgic dish. “We’re taking our Venus Jam Cake from Bandra Born to the pop-up,” says Fernandes. “It’s this really comforting dessert. Childlike, unpretentious. The kind that resets the energy in the room. You’ve had all these bold flavours, and suddenly, here’s this soft, emotional endnote.”

And emotion is, arguably, the most underrated ingredient in the pop-up format. For Taneja, it’s what lingers long after the event ends. “These experiences go far beyond just the food. If someone chooses to attend your pop-up—to see you perform—it’s not just about the meal. That’s where the relationship starts.”

More than anything, today’s food pop-ups are about creating culture in real time. They’re about shifting the usual dynamics of what dining out looks like. The chef is visible. The back-of-house becomes front-of-stage. The diner is part of the story. And the story doesn’t repeat. In a moment where attention is scarce and experiences are currency, a food pop-up becomes more than just dinner—it becomes a flex. A conversation starter. A snapshot of where culture is going next. As Fernandes puts it, “It’s not about cooking in someone else’s kitchen. It’s about showing up with your ideas, your style, your flavour and then being open to changing it all in the moment. That’s when it gets interesting. That’s when it becomes something worth remembering.” 

Lead Image: Indian Accent 

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