As one of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2025, Farmlore has taken the culinary world by storm, and we’re here to get the inside scoop on what makes this Bengaluru-based restaurant tick. We sat down with Chef-Patron Johnson Ebenezer to talk food, sustainability, and what’s next for this award-winning eatery.

1. Asia’s Best 50 and World’s Best 50 are platforms that chefs always look up to for inspiration. To get featured as one of those 50 restaurants is an encouragement for our work in itself.
2. To get featured as one of those 50 restaurants is a surprise for me because we don’t have a fancy profile. We’ve always put ourselves out there very organically, while finding an ethical footing, having a philosophy, and telling stories through food.
3. Maybe my past experience in opening a restaurant in Malaysia back in the day helped. And we were on the award’s radar as well for the past four years— with them keenly following our work—because we participated in different competitions.
4. But none of this would have happened without Farmlore’s founder and owner Kaushik Raju, who actually gave me the freedom of expression to execute my ideas. He helped us put our philosophy first so that we could let the food do the talking.

The restaurant is cuisine-agnostic, meaning it doesn’t follow a specific culinary tradition or style. Instead, it draws inspiration from the surroundings and the ingredients available. “We use ingredients from this part of the world and create dishes, so the ingredients are the star always,” explains Chef-Patron Johnson Ebenezer.

“Cuisine is just a label, and I wanted to be completely devoid of that. By doing so, we can focus on the story of the food, and the people who grew it, harvested it, and prepared it.” — Johnson Ebenezer

Farm-to-table outlets have been around for a while now, but Farmlore takes it to a new level by interpreting it in a unique way. The restaurant is situated on a 37-acre farm, where the environment dictates what they cook, what they serve, and what they eat. “We don’t interpret farm-to-table as a concept, we just live it,” says Chef-Patron.

Sustainability has become a keyword in the past few years, but Farmlore has always prioritized it. “It’s something we deeply value and feel is ethical to do. It’s the way we’ve always wanted to operate as a business,” says Chef-Patron. The restaurant uses solar panels, grows its own vegetables in a hydroponic setup, and even has a farm on the premises where the cows graze and provide milk.

With the award and recognition, Chef-Patron plans to expand the restaurant’s reach, but not in the classical sense. “We’re not looking to expand, though. It’s the philosophy that we hope travels everywhere,” he says.

For now, the restaurant is adding a private dining area, which will take the seating capacity from 18 to 32. This expansion will allow them to continue telling stories through food and maintain their unique approach to sustainability.

As the culinary world continues to evolve, Farmlore remains committed to its mission of sustainability and delicious food.