I travelled 145 km from Bengaluru to Mysuru to try the famous ‘Mysore ramen’ at Neon Castle, a couple-run restaurant inside a 90-year-old bungalow

Neon Castle is what happens when two self-taught creatives decide to have fun and never stop — meet the founders, Shamanth Ramachandra and Keerthana Ramegowda.

One Sunday, I did something slightly unhinged: I packed a day bag, took to the state highway, and travelled 145 km from Bengaluru to Mysuru. Not for the Mysore Palace. Not for the Mylari ghee dosa. I left around 9 am, made the three-hour journey south, had lunch, and was back home by dinner.

I made the day trip to eat ramen (and more) inside a beautifully restored 90-year-old heritage home — a place that 10 years ago was a neon-painted laser tag arena built from tyres and wooden sticks. Welcome to Neon Castle in Mysuru. If you love food with soul, stubborn founders, and stories that stay with you, this is your spot.

First, let's talk about the vibe

Open courtyard, white marble fountain with floating petals, ivy everywhere, vintage iron chairs. It feels like a heritage bungalow, and not a 'heritage-themed' restaurant. Inside, the bungalow keeps its bones. High ceilings, cream and biscuit walls, amber lighting, wooden chairs with cane backs. It feels like someone’s tasteful grandmother’s home — if your grandmother also served killer ramen and chocolate dessert in a flowerpot. Neon Castle looks refined but not pretentious. Which makes perfect sense when you meet the people who built it.

Co-founders Shamanth Ramachandra (left) and Keerthana Ramegowda (right) attend to guests and prepare tables inside the restored 90-year-old heritage bungalow. (Pics: Neon Castle)

The origin story

Neon Castle is run by Shamanth Ramachandra and Keerthana Ramegowda, now in their early 30s. In 2017, they were just two fresh college grads who said no to corporate jobs. "We started right after college. It was just like a fun college project for us. It didn't start like a business plan. The goal was to have fun, that's all it was," Shamanth told Hindustan Times.

Think tiny laser tag cafe for 10-12 people. Fully DIY. "We did all the seating and everything ourselves. We got wooden sticks, and we hammered them into tyres to make tables," Shamanth shared. Keerthana added, "Everything was done by us. It's like you have this out-of-the-box idea which you can't explain to people. So we were like, 'Okay, fine, no problem, we'll do everything by ourselves.' But there was no neon paint in Mysore or Bengaluru back then."

So what did Shamanth do? He got it from another city: "I ordered the neon paint from Pune. Everything was neon, actually. That's why we called it Neon Castle. Now there's nothing neon about it. That was 22-year-old us, now it's 32-year-old us. The place evolved with us."

For a year, they were the neon laser tag kids. Then, one random group of customers changed everything. "There was this group one day who came in, and they said, 'No, we are not here for the game, we are here for the food.' That changed something. People started waiting, standing and eating on the pavement because we had so little seating," Shamanth said. By 2018, gaming went backseat. They hosted pop-ups like a 'Game of Thrones feast with dry ice' and 'Mysuru's first Halloween party'.

The cosy indoor dining area of Neon Castle — complete with high ceilings and soft natural light. A fresh bowl of 'Mysore ramen' — the signature dish featuring a spicy broth (right). (Pics: Sanya Panwar and Neon Castle)

How Mysuru got its own ramen

Neither Shamanth, nor Keerthana went to culinary school. Shamanth interned at a CA firm. Keerthana grew up on food TV, not cartoons. "I didn't grow up watching cartoons. For me, watching food channels like Fox Traveller, NDTV Good Times, and TLC was my favourite pastime. I used to watch YouTuber Mark Wiens every night before sleeping. He used to eat ramen a lot, and I was fascinated by what it was," she shared.

In the early days, they worked 24/7 with no staff, often skipping meals. "One day, Shamanth was sick, and soup was comforting for him. So I was like, 'Let's try and make ramen.' I've always loved spicy food, so to bring that kick, I added more chilli flakes. I wanted South Indian flavours as well, so I added coriander, which in every south Indian household is an integral herb. 2017 is when I created ramen for us," Keerthana recalled.

They didn’t put it on the menu. Not for five years. They just kept tweaking it. More heat. More garlic. More soul. In 2022, they listed it as 'classic ramen' on their menu. But people renamed it. "We just called it the 'classic ramen'. But people started calling it 'Mysore ramen.' So, even from Bengaluru, a lot of people started travelling and asking, 'Do you have the Mysore ramen?' It was a very organic thing that happened," Shamanth said.

That is their philosophy: food adaptation. Not copying Tokyo, but reimagining global comfort food through a very south Indian, very personal filter. Like their torched nachos. Why torched? "We wanted to have nachos with melted cheese during the World Cup, and we didn't have an oven back then. So I took a blowtorch and charred the cheese directly. It got this charred, charcoal-burnt flavour, and people still love it," Shamanth shared.

Or their broth rice and chicken, which is literally inspired by his mother’s pepper rasam. As Shamanth put it: "The goal is not to be the best. Because what is 'the best'? How do you compare one idli or one bowl of ramen to another? It's about being distinguished. It's about having your own identity and your own personal voice."

What I actually ate at Neon Castle

I arrived starving — and let the kitchen do its thing. Mushroom belluli kebab came first. Belluli means garlic in Kannada, and they delivered. Golden-fried oyster mushroom fronds, crisp and garlicky, with herb dip and lemon. Plus a cold glass of apple cinnamon cider that tasted like autumn.

Then came the main character: 'Mysore ramen'. Orange-hued broth that smells like heaven, springy noodles, bok choy, and a fresh coriander shower. First sip? It’s ramen, but it’s also familiar. It was spicy, slurpy, soul-warming comfort food with south Indian warmth. Now I get why Bangaloreans road-trip for it. Next, bubbling cast-iron skillet of molten charred cheese with tomato salsa and artisanal toast (so good), plus avarekai shitake — shiitake in-house sauce topped with blanched avarekai flat beans.

Then came the showstopper dessert. The 'muddonna' arrived in an actual terracotta flowerpot. Like, a real muddy pot. Topped with a sprig of live mint, so it looks like a potted plant. You dig your spoon in, and it’s this insanely velvety, rich chocolate with ice cream. Whimsical, decadent, Instagram-perfect but actually delicious. It alone is worth the drive.

Golden-fried mushroom belluli kebabs paired with a house herb dip (left). The 'muddonna' — a velvety chocolate dessert served inside an actual terracotta flowerpot. (Pics: Neon Castle)

But what is it like running a restaurant with your partner?

Watching Keerthana and Shamanth work is pure rhythm. "I'm not good at managing daily operations at all. She's perfect with that. Staff, inventory, daily operations — she handles a hundred things every day. Often, a staff member comes up to me and says, 'Sir, I need to talk to ma'am, not you!' They know she's the one running the floor," Shamanth admitted.

Keerthana said, "He's the brains. But because we are partners, it has its own positives and negatives. We know the worst and best sides of each other. When his morale is low, I boost him up. When my morale is down, he boosts me up."

Their rule is brutal honesty. "When it comes to recipes, there are no rules — you have to give your honest opinion. You can't just brush things under the floor," Keerthana said. Shamanth added, "For me, when I create a dish, unless she gives her opinion on it, the loop doesn't feel finished. Most often, she actually completes the dish."

When I asked how they survived 'the early days when friends stopped showing up' or the months of the Covid-19 pandemic that killed so many food spots, their answer was so simple and so 'stubborn'. "For me, going back to a safe job was never an option," Keerthana said. Shamanth added, "We're just too stubborn to give up. If we decide we want to do something, we just do it."

Why this place matters beyond the ramen

Neon Castle proves destination dining is not just in Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru anymore. Tier-2 cities like Mysuru, Indore, Kochi, and Jaipur are becoming the culinary labs right now. Lower rent, tighter communities, less pressure to be 'conceptual' every five minutes — it gives young founders like Shamanth and Keerthana space to actually experiment for years, fail, iterate, and build a loyal crowd that shows up.

Even their parents came around. “Our parents were sceptical at first. But once they saw we were actually working hard and managing everything ourselves, they slowly began to accept it. Now they're super proud. They bring their friends here all the time,” Keerthana said. “Now it's like, 'Our kids own Neon Castle,'” Shamanth added.

So, was 290 km in one day worth it?

On the drive back to Bengaluru, windows down, still tasting that 'muddonna', I kept thinking: Would I do it again? Absolutely. And next time I’m bringing friends so we can order the entire menu.

The author was hosted by Neon Castle upon editorial invitation.