Working Designs

When Chi Kitchen opened an outlet at Select Citywalk last month,owner Sohrab Sitaram decided to "go a bit nuts" on the theme.

After the kitchen,restaurateurs are focusing on quirky interiors and innovative themes

When Chi Kitchen opened an outlet at Select Citywalk last month,owner Sohrab Sitaram decided to “go a bit nuts” on the theme. The ceiling is dotted with what Sitaram calls nest lamps. Mish-mashed with strings of crimson coloured jute strips and resembling an egg,they add an interesting twist to the restaurant’s ambience. There is a Chi Community board stationed in one corner where you can post you comments and one of the table mats on the table is left blank for you to pen your thoughts. Along with bowls of ramen and noodle soups,the staff will also serve you packs of crayons to scribble with. We are trying to make the dining more interactive. It helps people recall the experience, he says. Most restaurants in the city serve good food but you can get an edge if you offer a different concept, adds Sitaram,who is sure that if nothing else,people will remember the dining experience at Chi Kitchen.

In times of recession,when everyones vying for the same slice of a rapidly shrinking pie,restaurant owners have to resort to every trick in the book to retain clients,and hopefully create new ones. It is not about decking the restaurant in black and red anymore,kitschy designs and shocking colours are moving into fine dining.

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At the Nawab Ganj Safari in Ambience Mall in Gurgaon,the restaurant lives up to its name. Walk in and you can soak in a bit of a night safari along with succulent tikkas and shammis. Open only for dinner,the entrance is fenced on both sides with mannequins of tribal men and the staff is kitted out in cowboy outfits. Creepy crocodiles (dummy,of course) trail the floor and tall bushes cast gloomy shadows on the dining tables.

If you want something slightly more relaxed there is The Living Room Cafe & Kitchen at Hauz Khas Village. When owner Gautam Aurora decided to set up a cosy diner in the urban village,he brought in the necessities of a comfortable living room rather than sweating over imported tapestry or plush lounge chairs. The idea is to increase customer interaction time and they will always recall the ambience. The mood of the restaurant says a lot about the food it serves, says food consultant Manu Mohindra. Among his current projects,quirky themes and innovative ideas are an integral part of the menu,almost as much as the food. We are doing a Caribbean themed restaurant and bar in Gurgaon and a beer café in Faridabad will go by the name CDB,that is Come Drink Beer, he says. While the former will literally bring alive the playful theme of the movie Madagascar,CDB will be a tony spot serving beer and finger food. Restaurateurs invest at least 40 per cent of the budget over designs and concept. There is a lot of stress on getting the right theme and emphasis on promoting an experience, quips Mohindra.

When Shalom in Greater Kailash-I completed five years in Delhi,owner Dhiraj Arora decided it was time to sprinkle some colour on the white walls of the diner. So,he brought in a four budding artists and let them pour out their creative palette on the walls of the med-diner. Whatever it takes to keep it going.

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