The two-storey building on Ponsonby Rd where Kol resides has seen a good deal of highs and lows. Some may call it iconic, others cursed. The pessimistic sentiment stems from remembering the fate of previous tenants Marvel, 10Eleven and Teddy’s — all establishments which were short lived and broadly panned. Before that ill-fated trio, though, the space was home to MooChowChow and, before that, Rocco — hence the “iconic” part.

Now under the ownership of restaurateurs Sid and Chand Sahrawat, known for Cassia, Sid at The French Café and more recently Anise, Kol (pronounced ‘coal’) has brought fresh spark to the space. As far as concepts go, this is a bar and eatery centred on charcoal, flames, and all the heat in between. Most everything here is cooked over coals or in the tandoor, and intended to be paired with one of their splashy cocktails. While less tethered to Indian food than Cassia, Kol still seems to draw from it, particularly in the vividness of flavours like fenugreek or tamarind that appear throughout the menu, and in the influence of the chulha — a traditional Indian clay stove over which foods are cooked. 

Recent dishes we’ve eaten, such as the torched wagyu beef with Szechuan pepper and cabbage, and the tandoori chicken in a smoked cashew sauce, were permeated with a deep charcoal richness. Meanwhile, small plates, like the servings of cured kingfish with grapefruit and crème fraîche, or prawn toast with lemon and makrut lime, were necessarily light and bright to contrast. With these spices and the elemental power of charcoal, there’s a lot to ooh and ahh over during the course of a meal here. Proof, perhaps, that this Ponsonby Rd space’s curse has been burned off through the purifying power of flame.