Kochi’s Chariot Hotel to close after 50 years, ending a chapter in city’s Chinese food history

KOCHI: Chariot Hotel, one of Kochi’s longstanding names in Chinese cuisine, is closing after five decades in business, bringing an end to a restaurant closely associated with the evolution of Chinese food in the city.

The restaurant has served generations of diners over its 50-year run, becoming particularly known for its Chinese dishes and its founder, C.J. Charlie.

Charlie, now 86, is credited with introducing chilli chicken to Malayali diners, a dish that would later become a fixture on restaurant menus across Kerala.

As Chariot prepared to close, Charlie returned to the kitchen to make his signature chilli chicken one final time before retirement, marking an emotional end to his decades-long association with the restaurant.

Chariot’s closure also marks the disappearance of a familiar part of Kochi’s culinary landscape. Over the decades, Chinese cuisine in Kerala has evolved considerably, with locally adapted dishes becoming deeply embedded in the state’s restaurant culture.

For many customers, Chariot was more than a place to eat. Its five-decade journey reflected a period when Chinese flavours were still relatively unfamiliar to many Malayali diners and restaurants such as Chariot helped bring them into the mainstream.

With Charlie stepping away and Chariot shutting its doors, Kochi is bidding farewell to a restaurant that helped shape a cherished chapter of the city’s food history.