Eateries that opened in Covid-19 time add innovation to the mix

Launching a restaurant in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic might seem imprudent. But as Farial Sabrina, owner of Hauz Khas-based café Planterie, puts it: “Entrepreneurs are dreamers.” And passionate ones at that, given how some decided to turn their dreams into reality at a time when reality was biting hard.

Sabrina, for instance, opened Planterie in Hauz Khas, an area of Delhi steeped in history, in September 2021, shortly after the devastating second wave of the pandemic. Dining out was largely a no-no for many at that time. A report released by the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) barely a month after Planterie’s launch pointed out that the Indian food services industry had contracted by 53 per cent and more than a quarter of the country’s restaurants had been permanently closed in FY21. Consumption, instead, had moved to digital platforms. The share of deliveries and takeaways had increased from 13 per cent in pre-Covid times to 33 per cent, said the report.

Planterie had bucked the trend. The garden centre-cum-café has in a short span of time become famous for its wild tea, served at the café, and its other healthy beverages such as tea brewed with herbs from the subcontinent. The open garden space is an advantage.

Like Planterie, restaurants that were born in the tough Covid time and which have never operated in “normal” working conditions, are counting on their nimbleness to adapt to a changed world.

Says Nishant Sinha, co-founder of Colocal (New Delhi) and Roastery Coffee House (Noida): “One advantage the new-age restaurants have is the capability to evolve and change quickly since the world after Covid will not be the same. Opening a restaurant during Covid gives us an upper hand on the specificities of the job. Our layout caters to the time we are living in, which gives us an advantage.”

Colocal came up in November 2020 and Roastery Noida a year later, in December 2021. Both places have been planned with a Covid-suitable design — open, spacious, with ample distance between tables.

With takeaways and deliveries forming an important aspect of the new normal, Sinha says the taste of the food has taken precedence over all else. For instance, he says, “even though Roastery is a café, we don’t deliver hot coffee as it compromises the quality of the product”.

Vaibhav Bhargava, the chef behind Cho, a newly opened Vietnamese restaurant in Mehrauli, a short walk from Qutub Minar, reiterates the point. “Although the presentation is important, the most important aspect of an off-premise dining experience is the taste,” he says. “Since delivery has become a major game changer for the new-age restaurants, from using proper packaging to choosing the best ingredients, each aspect is carefully considered and meticulously operated so that customer satisfaction is ensured. Customers expect food to arrive at the right temperature and in proper condition. We take strict quality control measures and ensure that the delivery framework fits the right period that maintains the quality of the food.”

No mean feat

At a time when restaurants were shutting down across the country, opening one was far from easy. Karan Rai, business head of iSKATE by Roseate, which operates Roasted, a café that opened in October last year, says some overhead costs have gone up due to the pandemic.

Sabrina, a first-timer in the industry, says despite the pandemic, the process of setting up a restaurant hasn’t been made any easier. “The government’s fee and the process is unchanged,” she says, adding, “The legal barriers to the business continue to take a toll. Squabbles with market associations and multiple licensing processes add to the woes.”

Another challenge the new restaurants faced was hiring the staff as thousands had returned to their hometowns in the early months of the pandemic. Sinha, who has been in the hospitality sector for 15 years, says this was the most trying time of his career.

Bhargava agrees that putting the team together proved to be the toughest. “Since the entire workforce had gone back to their hometowns, things were at a standstill. Half of them didn’t return, so we had to integrate and train new people on the job. This made the task even more challenging,” he says.

Open kitchens

Guest experience, too, has seen a seismic change post-Covid.

“Before the pandemic, nobody wanted to know what was going on in the kitchen. But now, the guest experience starts with the kitchen itself,” says Rai. “Seeing the food being cooked and smelling the ingredients leads to better customer satisfaction. It’s not enough to tell the customer about the safety measures; you have to show it to them.”

Sinha adds, “Customer consciousness towards what they consume has changed.”  

Health has been on the top of peoples’ minds since the pandemic began, and these restaurants had to pivot towards this demand. One aspect of this change is the shift towards mock meat.

“Even though the quality of the food is the same, mock meat is being relished by meat and non-meat lovers alike,” says Bhargava. Rai adds, “Certain additions to the menu that have evoked a great response are avocado tostadas and cauliflower hummus bowls.”

Home-cooked food is now another favourite. “For us, the focus is on locally sourced and home-cooked food. Customers have also taken a liking to no-milk and no-sugar herbal tea,” says Sabrina. Covid and future curbs, if any, might still take a bite out of these restaurants but for now happy hours are returning.