Today, two iconic restaurants in India's history books, as far as the F&B industry goes, will celebrate their anniversaries, respectively.

A file photo of Thai Pavilion when it opened 21 years ago

Trattoria, (or Trats as it's fondly called), the brain of Chef Ananda Solomon, completes 32 years. For his ground research, he travelled to regions like Sicily, Potenza and Bari, and replicated the south Italian flavours for the menu.

"During our journey, we discovered that Italians, like Indians love good food. I wanted to recreate the warm, cosy 'familia' dining philosophy of the Italians that is bound by a faith in wholesome dining," he reminisces.

November 11 also marks the 21st anniversary of Thai Pavilion, India's and Mumbai's first Thai specialty restaurant. Also conceptualised by chef Solomon, he recalls having spent over 2.5 years across Thailand's central plains, to learn the intricacies of the royal palace cuisine: "I lived with the locals, and learnt the language, to translate the exact culinary experience.”