A Restaurant a Day

You might often find it difficult to get into Olive, but its success only makes Singh work harder. Indians may be eating out like never before but Singh, like so many others, is acutely aware that his patrons also get bored like never before.

So what makes8212;or breaks8212;a restaurant in these opportunistic but uncertain times? We uncovered ten commandments for all you eager entrepreneurs.

1 Thou shalt notch up years

Anyone who8217;s survived the fickle palates of metros knows the key is experience. 8220;Anyone with money feels it8217;s an easy, glamorous field to enter,8221; shrugs Singh, a veteran with Olive and Suzie Wong, his barge on Mumbai8217;s neon-tinged bay.

In Delhi8217;s buzzing Greater Kailash neighbourhood 8212; with a restaurant around every corner8212;London-returned Ritu Dalmia, owner and chief chef at popular Italian restaurant Diva, acknowledges restaurants are a high-risk business. 8216;8216;In the first two years,8217;8217; explains the neat, intense Marwari, 8220;expect no profits and lots of hard work.8217;8217;

Kishore F will attest to that. After a decade8217;s reign at the ever-crowded Pot Pourri in Mumbai, he has just set up the already-popular South East Asian kerbside cafe, Lemon Grass, with chef-partner Nitin Tandon. 8220;From interiors to suppliers, it was so easy for me the second time round,8221; says the former marketing man. Another of this ilk is Moshe Shek. Involved with hip outlets like Athena and Cafe Sin, the global-roaming chef now runs the streetside Cafe Basilico in the heritage precinct of Colaba, south Mumbai. 8220;You have to know what you8217;re jumping into or 8212; if your chef quits 8212; you won8217;t survive.8221; That8217;s a situation Olive will soon tackle, as chef Dev Mullick heads for Canada.

2 Thou shalt worship the stomach

Many make the fatal error of banking more on coolness than cuisine. But the only route to turn visitors into patrons is via the stomach.

8216;8216;Remain true to the food,8217;8217; intones shaven-headed Rahul Akerkar, who turned Indigo 8212; situated in a refurbished old bungalow in a leafy Colaba lane 8212; into a fusion haven.

First-time restaurateur Ritu Prasad, of New Delhi8217;s Spirit, says her survival strategy includes constantly working with the food. Spirit started out as a Lebanese joint. 8216;8216;At the time, it was the only restaurant dedicated to the cuisine,8217;8217; she says. But as soon as others cropped up, she decided to look at other cuisines, and now includes Continental and Italian fare.

3 Thou shalt win comrades

While Pot Pourri8217;s management brainstorms with staff 8212; who know most regulars by name 8212; thrice a week, Shek trains local boys to charm clients into returning. 8220;We get guests commenting on their good looks, appreciating their recommendations and thanking them for memorable evenings,8221; he laughs.

This is all the more necessary with chains. 8220;I believe in delegation and facilitating my employees8217; needs,8221; declares Sanjay Narang, the boyish Mumbai restaurateur, of the Mars Restaurants chain and his tie-up with Sachin Tendulkar for Tendulkar8217;s. He has an in-house training department for induction and refresher courses.

4 Thou shalt create aura

You can8217;t escape it. With a plethora of choices to tempt tasters, grub just isn8217;t enough. 8220;Our Bohemian atmosphere and the kitsch feel gels well with guests,8221; explains Mumbai8217;s banker-turned-restaurateur Nikhil Chib of the swinging Busaba.

Flowers dominate the decor at Kolkata8217;s Floriana. 8216;8216;The name8217;s derived from the word 8216;floriade8217;, or 8216;colours of the world8217;. It8217;s a festival held every decade in Amsterdam,8217;8217; says manager Gautam Chakrabarthy. While Narang8217;s Tendulkar8217;s is pegged on the Little Master8217;s memorabilia and food choices, Singh8217;s Olive hosts theme nights with exotic settings. 8220;The ambience has to suit the cuisine, they aren8217;t contradictory factors,8221; he believes. Adding the finishing touch is architect-interior designer Hafeez Contractor, 8220;One gets transformed during a movie. Similarly, the restaurant8217;s ambience and decor sends you into a dream world!8221;

5 Thou shalt put on a show

The days of smoky, live acts are passing, but there still are cheerleaders for music and revelry. Mumbai8217;s sea-facing Not Just Jazz By The Bay features live bands 8212; pop, rock, blues, jazz, reggae 8212; every evening. 8220;People like to move with the beat, even if it8217;s just a good DJ,8221; remarks Chib, whose joint moves from lounge to hip-hop rhythms.

Dalmia keeps in the public eye too. 8220;We do four-five events annually. When clients read about it, they think, 8216;Oh, I haven8217;t been there in a while8217;.8221; Meldon D8217;Cunha promises everything from limbo dancers to jazz bands, at his all-new Trafalgar Chowk in Bandra. 8220;We call this a 8216;dining terminus8217;8230; food is just the take-off point,8221; smiles the charming host who has it easy, as most of the musicians are his pals.

At his popular Soul Fry in Bandra, one regular announced how she met her husband, conducted her courtship and planned her wedding guest-list 8212; all during the jazz session.

6 Thou shalt woo the Faces

Celebrities draped across seats. Strategic publicity photos. Names dropped within the Circle. It all helps the 8220;Coolness Quotient8221;, as Kishore calls it.

8216;8216;Some people come to be seen. And a few actors or cricketers do attract attention,8217;8217; shrugs Chib. Singh, whose outlets are a magnet for celebs, figures it works both ways. 8216;8216;You define your product and your clientele defines your restaurant.8221;

8216;8216;It8217;s not about the number of faces, but their level of involvement,8217;8217; says ad guru Prahlad Kakkar. 8216;8216;Tendulkar8217;s offers his mum8217;s Bombay Duck. If a celeb feels a sense of ownership and serves a guest; that8217;s direct association.8217;8217;

7 Thou shalt scout for land

Location, it8217;s integral to success, stresses Olive8217;s Singh. 8216;8216;There should be adequate space and proximity to your target audience. In Mumbai, the best belts are between Cuffe Parade-Worli and Bandra-Juhu,8217;8217; explains Singh, who8217;s also checking out sites in New Delhi, Bangalore, Goa and Pune. 8216;8216;Earlier we had guests from all over. But Bandraites now consider Olive their adda.8217;8217;

Shek follows this dictum too, 8220;Visibility and environment are key factors. I can8217;t set up a Basilico in Bhindi Bazaar!8221; While tucked away outlets have their own charm, 8220;it works only in areas which are cool, anyway,8221; warns Kishore.

8 Thou shalt be pristine

As MNC chains accustom one to gloved attendants, sparkling kitchens and ever-swabbed floors, diners now settle for nothing less. 8220;It8217;s a cultural thing and awareness is slowly increasing. A visible kitchen is the mark of confidence,8221; asserts Kishore about Pot Pourri. Lemon Grass Cafe has a live satay bar. So the proof of the pudding now lies in watching it being made. As Floriana8217;s Chakrabarthy says, 8216;8216;We don8217;t keep the kitchen under wraps. The wall8217;s made of glass and you can see the cooks working.8217;8217;

9 Thou shalt be of service

After all, the customer-king is always liable to shift patronage. D8217;Cunha8217;s multi-pronged response gauge 8212; verbal feedback, suggestion cards and guest book 8212; is popular with many. What8217;s more, Shek personally tastes any 8216;sent back8217; dish and even if something8217;s half-eaten, the guest8217;s opinion is requested.

8216;8216;I am always here, seven days a week, 365 days a year,8217;8217; says Dalmia. 8216;8216;There8217;s nothing left in your life, but my guests see me and feel reassured that they8217;re well-taken care of. I know everyone, they8217;re not just table numbers.8217;8217; That8217;s why Busaba staff serve guests who arrive after the kitchen8217;s closed with rolls from roadside kebab joint Bade Mian!

10 Thou shalt evolve

While fast-shifting palates only confuse the guest, it8217;s important to move with culinary growth.

Akerkar says you need to maintain consistency in 8216;8216;quality and concept8217;8217;, yet keep abreast of the latest. While Shek, in keeping with international trends, has forsaken fusion for simplicity, Chib ensures that menu changes retain popular dishes. Dalmia says she changes the dishes every three months. Dasgupta ensures surprise, with food festivals, usually one every 15 days. Of course, there are exceptions. Delhi8217;s Moti Mahal, a pre-independence landmark, hasn8217;t changed the menu in decades. 8216;8216;Our hotel is like a brand now,8217;8217; smiles S N Shukla, manager of 16 years.

With inputs from Suman Mishra and Priyamvada Kowshik in New Delhi, Debanjana Chaudhuri in Mumbai and Sabyasachi Bandopadhya in Kolkata