Many reservations

Predictably,regulars of JATC are up in arms against these changes. Besides the cover charge,what they can’t digest is that now all the tables are numbered and patrons get tokens indicating where they’re supposed to sit. Since the ‘all-you-can-eat-salad’ option is gone as well,JATC regular Rohan Talwar finds complains,“I used to come here for the salad only. I’m completely put off by the fixed salads they have now.”

Sanjay Narang,Chairman of Mars Entertainment which runs EATC,explains,“People may enjoy coming here and just spending hours on one coffee or muffin,but frankly,it doesn’t make much business sense for us.” According to Narang,a lot of people are all praises for the new place. “We have customers telling us how happy they are about the change because now they actually have place to sit; earlier it used to be crowded with people just hanging out,” says Narang,“The food is also much appreciated. So what if we’ve increased the price? I would say that we serve very high-quality food,priced very reasonably when compared to other restaurants of a similar nature.”

So what does EATC have going in its favour? The al fresco dining area,with the black and white murals,and large parasols is lovely in a Parisian cafe style. Inside too,with a clever use of mirrors and white walls,the space looks much less cramped than it did before. The food counters are cleaner and certainly look more inviting than they did at JATC,and although it’s still self-service,the staff remains attentive.

As for the food itself,it’s got more hits than misses. The bread,which is now baked on the premises,is fresh and delicious; the pizzas are now served by the slice and are definitely tastier. Besides these,there are wonderful sandwiches,wraps and hot meals,which are updated regularly. Sixteen delectable desserts are on offer too,including Ferrero Rocher gateau and lemon cake. One new attraction here are the fixed breakfasts—French,English and American,but this could use a lot of work. There does not seem to be a system of heating the food in their serving trays,while the juices are unforgivably watery. One unhappy breakfaster,Harpreet Chadha complains,“R 420 for a fixed American breakfast strikes me as exorbitant. For a little more than that I can have an breakfast buffet at the Grand Hyatt,and refill my plate as many times as I like.”