A Bar Takeover Where North Meets Okinawa: El Lequio x LOYA, Taj West End, Bangalore

This August, LOYA Qissa at Taj West End, Bengaluru brings an extraordinary blend of Okinawan heritage and Latin spirit to the city with a special bar takeover by El Lequio, the Okinawa-based Latin-Ryukyu cocktail bar founded by Shingo Gokan and led by Satoshi Sugiura.

Part of LOYA's ongoing series of storytelling experiences & events, this edition brings together two distinct but deeply rooted philosophies, one from the tropical islands of southern Japan, the other from the northern heartlands of India. At the centre of this exchange is Satoshi Sugiura, visionary mixologist leading the programme of El Lequio and Brand Ambassador for Kokuto de Lequio, whose work blends the delicate nuance of Japanese bartending with the expressive flavours of the Latin world.

Ranked #80 on Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2023 and featured on 50 Best Discovery, El Lequio is known for its reflective, layered approach, cocktails crafted with restraint, elegance, and a strong sense of place. Sugiura-san’s drinks often draw from Okinawa’s natural landscape and cultural history, shaped by tropical ingredients, floral accents, and the quiet intensity of kokuto, the island’s traditional black sugar spirit.

Together, LOYA and El Lequio offer a unified narrative, a shared table where craftsmanship, cultural memory, and hospitality come together. The result is not simply a bar takeover, but a curated evening of exchange, where flavours, stories, and techniques flow seamlessly across borders.