The midnight kitchens

Bengaluru has a curfew of 11.30 pm on weekdays and 1 am on weekends. But for many Bengalureans, their stomachs don’t understand the concept of curfews; they stumble home later than Cinderella with a craving for comfort food. Thanks to these late-night soldiers, one does not have to go to bed on an empty stomach or open the fridge every 10 minutes and hope for food to magically appear.

Karthik, the owner of ‘Midnight Food Point’, has been a lifesaver for many in the past year. With his team working as hard as an elf on Christmas eve, they deliver one’s craving at even odd hours. He says, “We found that people feel hungry after 12 am, the time when the City finally goes to sleep. So we decided to start something that could help the poor souls who get hungry then. We work on all seven days of the week from 10 pm to 4 am and deliver food to everyone from Whitefield to EGL.” He found a need to start this venture as he witnessed many hungry Bengalureans knocking on restaurant doors at late hours.

Since cops don’t allow anyone to keep restaurants open after closing time, he took the initiative to feed the late nighters. With an in-house chef who cooks up delicious North Indian, Mughlai and Chinese food items, one can place an order either by calling them or through their website.

Making mouth-watering treats like ‘biryani’, rolls, ‘kebabs’, and desserts, ‘Nite Out’ is another enterprise that makes pit stops at one’s doors. Vivek, the owner, says, “The outlet started about two years back because of a drive to start something of my own. There were very few ventures like this when it began, but the City has grown so much in terms of demand.” The software engineer gave up his full-time job to take care of his passion so that everyone can sleep peacefully. Apart from delivering food, they also deliver impromptu party items like plastic cups and sodas. “We believe in a ‘no-leave-policy’ because we want to be at people’s aid at all times. We’re glad that people call us everyday between 10 pm to 3 am for their requirements, and we are happy to be at their service,” he adds.

While there are many such services in the City, ‘Kick Out The Jams’ is one of the latest venture. A group of school friends, who had a dream of starting their own bar and restaurant, decided to start something on the smaller scale first and eventually climb up the ladder. Run by Shriram, Sooraj, Gurkirat, Adarsh, Ashwin and their lively mascot Dimitri, they deliver from 8 pm to 2 am around Koramangala, Indiranagar and HSR Layout.

“We picked Ejipura as our kitchen as it gives easy access to nearby locations. It’s been a month since we started and so far we’ve got some great response. Our friends and family have been very supportive and we hope to expand our business very soon,” says Shriram. These youngsters provide exciting dishes like ‘The Habit Burger’ (bacon and fries burger), pizza by the slice, ‘White Knight Pasta’, strawberry and chocolate cheesecakes and more.

This trend has been around for years, but now, with many new places mushrooming in the City, it is growing. With students burning the midnight oil, people working late and movie-goers who pick night shows, people are also demanding these services.

But Alex Thomas, a working professional, wishes that it wouldn’t take so long to deliver. “I am very thankful that there are a plethora of options for midnight deliveries, but it would be nice if they didn’t take one and a half hour to get to my house. I’m either too sleepy by then or not hungry anymore.”

Prebitha Abraham, a youngster, says, “I have a bunch of lively friends who love to plan parties out of nowhere. But no one remembers that it’s night and food is a must-have for a party to survive. Thanks to many of these ventures, we are able to keep the night alive, not stay hungry and keep the party going!” So be it ‘biryani’, ‘roti and daal’ or even burgers and pizzas, we are spoilt for choice.