How to ace the opening act

To eat out or not Be it Mumbai or Delhi this remains the question of the hour Early this month Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal announced directives to allow restaurants to operate 24x7 Last week the Capital reported 3000 new COVID19 cases Both announcements reflect the mood of the restaurant industry that continues to grapple with challenges to find its feet in a new normalIn August this writer was in the Capital and decided to experience the unlocking of restaurants While the periodic spurt in infections may affect Delhis hospitality scene theres a lot to be gleaned from its experienceCondiments are kept in a plastic case within the container at the restaurantWith mask and gloves on and armed with sanitiser we drove into 32 Avenue Gurgaons food hub The staffer at the entrance aimed a temperature gun at my forehead It showed 103F way higher than normal Aap side pe aayein Dhoop hai na hota hai she smiled after I threw her the ohgoshdoIhaveCOVID look In five minutes she repeated the exercise and my reading was at 96FThe usually bustling arena wore an empty look In six months this was my first outing and I was wary At Fifth Avenue Cafeacute I ordered aglio e olio from the hardbound menu A family of three were celebrating a birthday with Nutella cheesecake but they entered and left within 15 minutes They made a joke on their way out too Shortest birthday party everThe plates came wrapped in paper at United Coffee HouseThe first outing was spent in silence The second one was better this time at Khan Markets Perch While a guard sprayed some sanitiser on my palms my contact details were not notedHere I saw a semblance of normalcymdasha mother and daughter were enjoying their coffee and a couple was on a date The community table had a woman working on her laptop The tables had the Zomato QR code that allow you to scan the menu order and pay all from your phone The early days of lockdown it had been turned off that day We were better off mentally than the first visit but the meal was average Home kitchens have upped the cooking game and restaurateurs will have to push the envelope when it comes to wooing customersPlexiglass partitions separating each table at Perch Khan MarketTarun Sibal who was one of the founders of Cafeacute Staywoke in Gurgaons South Point Mall and currently runs Titlie a culinary bar in Vagator says Going out to eat is a guilty pleasure today unlike going to get groceries which is an essential exercise We need to consider a customers mindset A restaurant should leave a customer feeling that he wants to return People want to forget this pandemic While it is an uphill task for the hospitality sector across the country and that wont change anytime soon those who focus on a processoriented profit and loss will do betterOn the restaurants part capturing the data of every customer maintaining social distancing and ensuring that the staff wears masks and shields is nonnegotiable Sibal has created a shorter menu and works with half the staff three in the front house and another three in the kitchen People are not as finicky once they enter It is the exercise of drawing them in that needs attention For this the food has to be wow People want to indulge theyve been holed up in their homes for over five months says Sibal adding Gurgaon has a millennial crowd so were doing umami flavours found in the double decker tenderloin Thai herbed burgers and nostalgic pancakesThe usually bustling Khan Market wears a deserted lookThe staffers have no cross function each has an assigned station They wash and sanitise their hands more often and keep the Arogya Setu app updatedThe level of hygiene depends on the segment the eatery belongs to thinks Sibal MKT Market Cafeacute at Chanakya is a highend destination with a high sense of hygiene where plates come individually wrapped in ecofriendly covers and a bag to place your sanitisers says Sibal He believes malls have suffered the most People are dropping by standalone eateries and terraces Drivethroughs and roadside QSRs that allow customers to eat in their cars are doing the best currentlyVarun TuliLast week we saw Qualia set up a QurbSide seating experience in Lower Parel and a post on restaurateur Gauri Devidayals Instagram also dropped a similar hint of introducing curbside dining at The Table in ColabaVaibhav Singh of Perch a cafeacute and wine bar with outposts in Delhi and Mumbai says the two cities are stark opposites Delhi is spread out Mumbai is much denser From our Delhi experience we learnt that our efficiency improved once we knew what we were doing says Singh who calls the new workings similar to directing a staged theatre performance We have divided the staff into two teams A and B This is similar to how hospitals function The kitchen is a tighter space so we are doing a concise menu We have trained staff to be cautious but not overbearing They have to for instance keep a check on customers who sometimes walk up and down the floor to take a phone callAvantika SinhaYum Yum Cha in Cyber Hub is a case in point At the entrance I logged in my details and by the time I was seated at a table twofeet away from the next the menu was pinged to my WhatsApp number The table had two plastic mineral water bottles and the condiments were in disposable containers The staff was selfassured smiling and geared in masks and shields They were efficiently going about their duties and their confidence put us at ease I skipped the sushi and ordered a rice bowl and noodle wok Dramatic confession the food overwhelmed meThe nutty sambal rice and the woktossed veggies and noodles opened the floodgates of taste nostalgia I had mastered tawa fried rice at home but I sorely missed this All the food came in double platesmdashceramic plates holding sugarcane fibre disposable plates We walked out feeling well fed and well attendedNext the owner of Yum Yum Cha Varun Tuli hopes to set up bubble cubicles to create seating segments in the coming months We opened on June 8 while our delivery service under the name of Noshi was on since April Since alcohol is off the menu the food has to be top notch This is the time when you have to build the repeat clientele from a local area pool says Tuli who over the years has invested in automated systems for kitchen processesAerocity in Delhi was the first to get maximum movement of crowds in its three World Mark Towers While owner of Kampai Avantika Sinha wasnt excited when the move to open restaurants was passed now she thinks the city has adapted well Ours is a highend establishment and most of our clients are expats so there is deep paranoia to step out Restaurateurs have to take the initial hit until people start trusting again They have spent a lot of time in isolation Since they opened in August they have had a cover of 75 and are operating at 50 per cent capacity What works in our favour is that we have private dining sections Our outdoor space is receiving a better responseThe days when I could unwind for hours at a cafeacute are gone But those who made the extra effort to make us feel safe and served us food with flavours to remember got our nod for a consideration to returnTuli has parting advice for fellow restaurateurs To those sitting on the fence I say please open People will comeKeep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news