Food, spa and books

Get over pizzerias, microbreweries, resto-bars, gastro-pubs. If you are seeking time out with folks over gourmet food and display a yearning to explore, then head straight to a vintage two-storeyed granny’s house, replete with a psychedelic collection of antiques, artefacts, archaic telephones and posters of Arnold Schwarzenegger. The high-ceilinged space with its many quirks is host to a series of interesting events such as perfume making workshops, kitty parties, spa services, book reading sessions, curated dinners, whiskey tastings and philosophy clubs. What’s more, Sly Granny, as this space is called, also serves delectable foods such as barley salad, shepherd’s pie tart, borek, panna cotta with a plethora of drinks!

So what’s this Sly Granny exactly? A restaurant or an events venue? “A new concept,” scream restaurateurs, coaxing connoisseurs of fine things to get over their obsession for mundane hangouts. A unique set of collaborative spaces in F&B is fast emerging, with a thrust on interactive experiences and collective indulgences.

Rahul Khanna, director, Azure Hospitality, says, “In the last few months while brainstorming, we grew frustrated with the limitations of the various concepts that we thought of. They were easily labelled into a lounge bar, brewery, etc and seemed overdone. We then chanced upon a home nestled in Bangalore that once belonged to an old lady. We realised it would be a great new way to build concepts by telling a story and thus introduced Sly Granny.”

Khanna says that hospitality experts are bringing in unique experiential dining spaces that serve more than one purpose.

The idea, say experts, is individuals attend a workshop, learn an art or craft, interact with like-minded souls over books, movies or talks, and then indulge their taste buds into exotic cuisines from across the world. With today’s customers being well-travelled, they seek out places that offer a lot more than just the best of gourmet indulgences, feel restaurateurs. Places where they can attend a social soiree or network with friends over reading sessions.

Shobita Kadan, director, marketing & strategy, Impresario Handmade Restaurants, says, “Brands such as Social have been built to cater to the changing needs of millennials and keep constantly re-innovating. These are urban hangouts that have been designed to take you offline while still keeping you connected, places where networking happens. These are spaces where creative individuals meet.” Kadan adds that at Social, workshops, panel discussions, guest lectures, art showcases, film & sports screenings are held regularly to “help people connect, collaborate and discover new subcultures. With a disruptive F&B menu, we also organise food and drink tasting sessions and lessons on mixology.”

Moreover, another trend is the emergence of collaborative cooking studios.

“It is here (cooking studios) that you can attend an indulgent brunch, or a breakfast event, an afternoon high tea or a birthday party; or an interactive cooking experience where you get to learn about what you eat, see demonstrations and interact with the chef,” says London returned chef Anjali Pathak, founder of Mumbai-based Flavour Diaries, a space for international food experiences.

“With more collaborative, communal dining spaces seeping in, restaurateurs get to experiment not only with the F&B mix in order to expand the product portfolio, but also add more layers to the spaces in order to build brand personality and do more things that lead to incremental revenue,” says Khanna. It allows the brand to gain a competitive edge at a time when a new restaurant opens up almost every weekend in any given metropolis.

“Consumers like us would go to a gourmet space not just for its F&B, but because they are holding a glass painting workshop over cocktails, or a poetry session with an upcoming poet over wine, or any such interesting event. The trend of exploring new restaurants for primarily it's food or drinks has now expanded to include the other experiences and indulgences a brand is likely to offer,” says food connoisseur Girija Rao.

Interactive (food) spaces also allow restaurateurs to broaden their target client group. “While the food space could possibly target an older client segment, certain activities like events and workshops attract younger customers. This helps in expanding the customer base and also address the lean hours at the space,” says Khanna.

MUCH MORE BEYOND DINING

• The idea is individuals attend a workshop, learn an art or craft, interact with like-minded souls over books, movies or talks, and then indulge their taste-buds into exotic cuisines from across the world
   
• With today’s customers being well-travelled, they seek out places that offer a lot more than just the best of gourmet indulgences