Come dine with us

A kansa thali embellished with eight little katoris sits on our marbletopped table The thali is empty only until we tell the captain in charge of our table that wersquore ready to eat Immediately he uses his hands to wave a code to the waiters and within seconds our mini thali meant especially for starters is filled with chutneys samosa and khandvi We munch on the appetisers expecting the next course to be thrust on us just as quickly But even though an assembly of waiters hovers around the restaurant no one rushes us further And thatrsquos the major difference between Rajdhanirsquos 37 other outlets and its Lower Parelbased Rasovara The fine dining restaurant which opened its doors on October 26 claims to be the first ever luxuryThali eatery Beena Chaddha left dines at Rajdhanirsquos Rasovara with her sister Jyoti Keni The new restaurant lets patrons enjoy their thali at a more leisurely pace PicNeha Parekh A notch higher Aji Nair VP FampB Division Mirah Hospitality which owns Rajdhani and Rasovara says the decision to set up a fine dining outlet has been long in the making Since it was first set up in the 1980s the restaurant has served as a canteen where patrons are served piping hot food at a tremendously fast pace ldquoThe waiters didnrsquot like it if your plate was empty They immediately asked whether the next course could be servedrdquo reminisces Beena Chaddha a regular at Rajdhani over a meal at Rasovara Rasovararsquos luxury thali has many more dishes on offer PicSayed Sameer Abedi ldquoThe idea of setting up this luxury restaurant was primarily to introduce a slowerpaced thali concept which would allow patrons to lounge through their mealrdquo explains Nair who admits to having brainstormed with his team for several years before they finally set up Rasovara To offer patrons a memorable finedine experience he would have to up the ante in other ways toou00a0 And so at Rasovara you are served on a larger ovalshaped kansa a combination of bronze copper and tin thali as opposed to the regular steel thali From three to four vegetables you are now served five Starters are served on a smaller plate that is cleared after the first course A cold or hot towel depending on the weather is brought to you before you start your meal A little card on the table reveals your ldquocaptainrdquo or waiter who will take care of you through the mealu00a0 Lucknowi seekh kebabs at Zaffran Needless to say the waitersrsquo uniforms as well as their table manners have been given a makeover ldquoWe handpicked the finest staff from Rajdhani outlets across India and trained them rigorously for months to provide our customers service true to kingsrdquo says Nair ldquoIf we provide a better dining experience people donrsquot mind paying a little morerdquo The thali at Rasovara costs Rs 449 and Rs 549 for lunch and dinner respectively And as Nair suspected Rajdhani loyalist Chaddha doesnrsquot mind the hike Setting is everythingu00a0 For Mughlai restaurant Zaffran synonymous with late night binges at Crawford Market increasing the prices isnrsquot top priority A little over a year ago the Ice Hospitality trio of Param Gandhi Munib Birya and Chetan Sethi set up a fine dining restaurant in Malad under the same name An outlet in Thane Ghatkopar and most recently in Todi Mills at Lower Parel followed in quick succession A sixth outlet at Kandivli is scheduled to open within the next three to four weeks Fine dining restaurant Soy in Delhi which opened up only after two successful stints as a fast food outlet Even though patrons such as 24 yearold Kumel Amiruddin ldquodonrsquot mind paying more for their quality foodrdquo their prices remained the same The restaurant already had a great reputation for the food they served the partners felt it was time to improve the ambienceu00a0 Sethi in charge of both design and food decided to give the restaurant a contemporary Mughal feel ldquoI wanted patrons to feel like they are sitting in an old mahal Thatrsquos why the walls have subtle arches mdash which are very common in Mughal architecturerdquo says Sethi Their Todi Mills outlet has large domes over their booths ldquoimitating the dome at the Taj Mahalrdquou00a0Nair who also wanted to elevate the ambience when he set up Rasovara made sure the restaurant had the finest upholstery lighting and paintings They even used Korean marble for their tabletopsu00a0 A matter of classu00a0 Nair felt that there was a chunk of his patronage who werenrsquot comfortable travelling to Crawford Market where Rajdhani has a popular outlet ldquoWe wanted to cater to our highprofile clientele and members of the elite classrdquo reveals Nair ldquoWhile everyone loves to eat an Indian thali we found that not everyone was happy about visiting the existing outletsrdquo Rasovara was the perfect solution to the dilemma Gandhi howeveru00a0disagrees ldquoIt took about a year for people to set aside their attitude about location Zaffran was set up in 2003 in an old building at Crawford Market People realised that our quality of food and standard of hygiene was worth it Patrons came in from elite areas like Warden Road and Peddar Road toordquo he saysu00a0 But Birya who is in charge of HR and operations did realise the importance of a welltrained staff ldquoWhile setting up the Malad restaurant we hired Alex Pereira as the general manager His fivestar experience during his stint at Zodiac Grill at the Taj Hotel was a great boon to usrdquo he saysu00a0 Taste test When Dubaibased firm Orchid Hospitality wanted to set up Soy in India it had a different challenge on its plate They werenrsquot sure the Indian palate was ready for the modern South East Asian fare Soy would serve ldquoWe decided to start small just to see what people wanted and whether our food suited the Indian palate In 2008 we set up Soy Express at the DLF Promenade Shopping Centre in New Delhirdquo reveals Nitin Luthra director Orchid Hospitalityu00a0 A second outlet was opened in 2010 at a mall in Saket The roaring success of both outlets encouraged Orchid to set up its first fullfledged sit down restaurant in India ldquoOn October 18 we launched our twolevel restaurant at Khan Marketrdquo says Luthra Khan Market originally a retail market complex now also hosts Delhirsquos most popular bars and restaurantsu00a0 In a bid to offer the most authentic experience to patrons equipment for the kitchen has been shipped all the way from Hong Kong mdash something that wasnrsquot possible in the case of the express outlets ldquoWe have a Chinese cooking range which works on high pressure It cooks the vegetables in less than two minutes giving the food an authentic flavourrdquo says Luthrau00a0 Ingredients are extremely important to the flavour of the foods too asserts Luthra ldquoWe import lotus flour Thai and Chinese herbs pickled vegetables soya and oyster sauce and special ginger at our fine dining outletrdquo he saysu00a0 Andheribased South East Asian restaurant Nom Nom which is all set to open a larger outlet in Bandra on January 15 also insists on using the best ingredients for their food Owner Hitesh Keswani who is expecting a more highprofile clientele at the Bandra branch is excited about introducing premium dishes to the menu ldquoWe are certain that people in Bandra will be keen to try the crab lobster squid and tiger prawnsrdquo says Keswaniu00a0 ldquoPatrons want to experience different foods and are particular about the service they receive at restaurantsrdquo believes food blogger Anisha Bangera She is more likely to take her parents to Rasovara as opposed to Rajdhani Bangera addsu00a0 It is only natural then that these restaurants make every effort to up the ante In the future perhaps family restaurants may even give way to fine dining the middle class way The finer details of fine dining Technically a fine dining restaurant is one that serves the finest food and provides top notch service in the perfect setting The waiters for instance are expected to escort you to your seats or show you to the restroom The upholstery tablecloths cutlery seating and lighting is to be of the best quality A fine dining restaurant is the highest priced as opposed to a fast food or casual dining restaurantu00a0ldquoIn India however there is a very thin line between fine dining and casual diningrdquo says Nitin Luthra director Orchid Hospitality u00a0Food blogger Anisha Bangera explains ldquoThere is usually a dress code that applies to a fine dining restaurant You canrsquot exactly walk in in your shorts But in India it doesnrsquot really matter No one is going to turn you away for not dressing formally Unless it is at a fivestar hotelrdquou00a0