Dishy diners and brands

It's a rare occasion when PRS "Biki" Oberoi meets the press, therefore it goes without saying that the introduction to The Oberoi's Travertino restaurant on Monday must have been a special occasion.

The luxe Italian restaurant, launched Tuesday, is part of the redesigned food and beverage outlets at the New Delhi hotel that have seen La Rochelle replaced by a speciality 24-hour restaurant, and now Travertino is taking over from what was the small coffee shop Palms.

Closeted between the two diners is a wine tasting room where guests can be helped to choose their wines and, as one understands it, even do food samplings.

The Rs 3.5 crore turnaround for Travertino and its kitchen includes an international partner, Rome's distinguished Hotel Hassler. And partnering with the wine room is the International Wine Academy of Roma.

"Italian food seems to be trendy and I like it," said Biki Oberoi. He promises that the restaurant will not dilute its authenticity, and if the queues at neighbouring Threesixty (the coffee shop) are anything to go by, he appears to have another winner on his hand.

Nor is the partnership with Hotel Hassler's Roberto Wirth, president, limited to just the Delhi operation. In Mumbai, Oberoi says, The Grill will make way for another Hassler-Oberoi Italian restaurant in September 2005. "These have been part of our plans for the last four years," Oberoi said.

In fact, in Mumbai, the Tiffin Room was recently opened while in Delhi, the Indian restaurant Kandahar is to undergo a facelift.

Arjun Oberoi, who is in charge of new developments within the group, confirms that there are other changes being planned, not least of which is going to be growth in luxury retail space. "It pays very well," he said, "and we would like to grow that segment."

Major brands Hugo Boss and Louis Vuitton have set up shop in the hotel's arcade, and to introduce more retail outlets, it is clear that the management will have to re-designate current usage of the lobby.

If that happens, clearly a major renovation for the hotel may well be on the cards, to which Arjun Oberoi has only hinted so far.