More the better

There is a timeless charm that invites one to Have More.

A name for a restaurant couldn't be more apt "" Have More. Located in the posh Pandara Market, it has been, for years, a place you head to if you want a meal that doesn't disappoint.

Ask any old-timer and he will tell you that you can't recognise Have More from its original setup. When it began in 1959, it was a humble dhaba started by Karan Singh Bajaj opposite the Rail Bhawan at India Gate.

A popular hangout for generations since then, it is recalled that in 1969 a plate of meat cost 50 paise, a roti for six paise, 12 paise for dal or chana masala and six paise for tea.

The dhaba moved to its present location at Pandara Market in the 1980s when a new generation of Bajajs took over. Today, the whole affair is handled by Pravesh Bajaj along with his brothers Sushil and Sunil.

"When we started, there were very few restaurants in the area and thus, by default, everyone hung out here. We were especially popular with young college students, cricket players and hockey players. They used to come here for the rock-bottom prices and they gave it the name Have More," recalls Pravesh Bajaj.

The list of patrons over the years includes Sharmila Tagore, Shabana Azmi, Salman Khursheed, Jeetendra, Shah Nawaz Husain, Farooq and Omar Abdullah, Robert and Priyanka Vadra, Gayatri Devi and Shekhar Suman.

The ambience of the restaurant is now one that includes uniformed waiters. But you would still want to devour the butter chicken, chicken malai tikka, tandoori chicken, mutton burra, dal makhani and paneer makhani, which regulars swear still taste the same.

Bajaj is especially proud of the fish tikka for which he says they choose only the most tender fish and the mutton for which only goats weighing between 8 kg and 10 kg are slaughtered.

"We are very particular about our suppliers and the quality of our ingredients," he says. A meal at Have More today can cost upwards of Rs 400 for two.

Bajaj is keen to take Have More to other parts of Delhi, but admits he has very little time on his hands to handle more than one restaurant.

"My son will soon finish his studies. Hopefully he will take on the task of expansion. We have had a regular clientele that spans generations and it will be good if my future generations continue the brand," he says.