The most misleading object at Neon Castle in Mysuru is a terracotta pot. It comes with a sprig of mint sticking out of what looks like soil, and at first glance it looks ready for a windowsill. It’s Muddona, a Death by Chocolate-style dessert with ice cream and toasted nuts. Look up from the pot and you’re in an old Mysuru bungalow that once housed a laser-tag venture. Look back at the menu and there’s a bowl of ramen that Keerthana first made for Shamanth when he was ill. At Neon Castle, the things that draw you in all started out doing something else.
Inside Neon Castle’s Old Mysuru Bungalow
Before the food, there’s the pleasure of sitting in that house. In the dining room, timber beams run across the ceiling, botanical paintings hang between tall windows, and warm light catches on the glass-topped tables. The rooms still have the proportions of a home. You want to pick a chair and settle in. Keerthana put up her own artwork, taking cues from the way her mother made a home. The paintings sit close enough to the tables that you can spend a course looking at one.
Shamanth Ramachandra and Keerthana Ramegowda started Neon Castle in 2017, when they were 22. The name makes more sense once you know that the early enterprise involved laser tag, painted walls and makeshift furniture. Their friends Pandith and Aakarsh helped get the venture off the ground. Once customers started showing up for food, the division of labour was simple. Keerthana cooked and Shamanth looked after guests. The partnership now extends across the kitchen and dining room, and the menu contains ideas that could only have come from knowing each other’s tastes and family tables well.
The Story Behind Classic Mysuru Ramen
The Classic Mysuru Ramen began as something Keerthana made for Shamanth. He was unwell, and she wanted to cook him something comforting. The bowl took years of tinkering to reach the menu. The restaurant listed it as Classic Ramen in 2022, and diners started calling it Mysore ramen. The seasoning helps explain why the city stuck to the name. Coriander seeds season the broth, fresh coriander goes over the bowl, and Guntur chilli oil supplies the heat. The Japanese structure of broth, concentrated seasoning, chilli oil and noodles gives those familiar ingredients a different way to arrive at the table.
Shamanth’s family has its own entry on the menu. The chefs took Hainanese chicken rice as a starting point for their broth and rice with chicken, drawing on his mother’s pepper rasam for the accompanying broth. Put the origin of that dish next to the ramen and you get a sense of how the two chefs think together. A dish they’ve encountered elsewhere presents a question, and something they remember eating at home helps them answer it. Their Dasara experiments took that curiosity out into the city. They visited the kitchens behind World of Mysore Pak and Hanumanthu Palav before developing their own festive interpretations. Their Mysore Pak became a cake served with jasmine ice cream and candied orange. Hanumanthu Palav inspired a version with roast lamb and sherva foam. Those dishes were part of a Dasara menu. I’d look for the same instinct in the regular dishes, where a familiar taste can lead you somewhere unexpected.
What to Order at Neon Castle Mysuru
At my table, the Watermelon Feta and Guava Chilli made sense together. The watermelon’s sweetness had salty feta and fresh mint to keep it company. The drink reminded me of the appeal of fruit with chilli, where you take another sip partly to see how much of the kick you’ll get this time. If I were ordering the pair again, I’d keep the watermelon for the middle of the meal. The cold fruit and mint are especially welcome once the prawns arrive.
The Mushroom Belluli Kabab is the starter I’d send to the middle first. Oyster mushrooms have frilly edges that take beautifully to frying, and those edges make a convincing case for serving a mushroom with the kind of garlic seasoning you’d want on a kabab. The cool herb dip makes it easy to keep going back. The Spicy Chilli Prawns take things in a saucier direction, with a bright red gravy that puts chilli up front. I’d order a plate for the table so the heat doesn’t set the pace of the whole meal. Peruvian Chicken has a softer landing, with charred edges and a creamy green sauce. If I were choosing one starter, I’d order the mushrooms. The crisp folds catch the garlic seasoning and hold up when dipped.
Muddona, the Chocolate Dessert in a Flowerpot
Muddona could get by on the photograph alone. A terracotta pot makes it harder to see what you’re getting into, which is half the fun of digging in. Cold ice cream and the crunch of toasted nuts give the rich chocolate enough variety to make the second spoonful as appealing as the first. I’d still share it after the kabab and prawns. A few bites are plenty when the chocolate is this rich and you’ve already worked through the savoury dishes. Its best party trick is how quickly a table goes from discussing whether that’s a real mint sprig to negotiating the last spoonful.
Is Neon Castle Worth Visiting in Mysuru?
Yes. Put Neon Castle on your Mysuru itinerary if you want a meal that tells you something about the city and the people who cook there. For a first visit, I’d order the Mushroom Belluli Kabab for the table, make the Classic Mysuru Ramen the centre of the meal and share a Muddona. That order gives you the kitchen’s sharpest ideas and time to look properly around the old house. They’ve spent years finding out what their guests want to eat in this house, beginning with the people who turned up for a game and asked for dinner. By the time you’re digging into a flowerpot, you can see what those first guests were onto.
For reservations, visit Neon Castle’s official website.
