To Keep Up the Yuletide Spirit, Restaurants Launch Traditional Christmas Menu

With global advent to India, dining out scene in the country has changed vigorously by not only experimenting with the food but adding a bigger theme to the restaurant.  And, as youth is the major crowd pullers today, pubs, bars and nightlife are the new trend in the industry. They are the main target group as they visit regularly to these places in large numbers. It has shown a remarkable growth rate in India especially in the metro cities- Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru, Pune. A closer look to top places in five Indian cities.

The Vault Cafe

One of the best pubs in Connaught Place, Delhi; the ambience and setting are very British Colonial, giving a Royal Vibe. It has the quirky elements in terms of F&B preparation and presentation. The interiors have been specially crafted in a particular style incorporating old heritage clocks and treasure boxes The USP of Vault lies in its name, there are separate Vault chambers constructed for a private and royal experience. It consists of five different Vaults, which can accommodate 8-22 people as the number of covers and is ideal for small gathering or private parties. This place is known for food and music.

Waters – Pub & Grill

It is situated in south Mumbai into the central suburbs; reflects the spirit of progressive suburbs. The defining character of the place is that it places a lot of emphasis on being chilled out. This seemingly simple idea encompassed a lot of social norms which need to be appreciated if one has to understand what constitutes chill behaviour. Waters Pub and Grill is a place for more than great food.

Toit Brewpub

This is a brew pub in Bangalore, brewing culture that promises some bodacious brews, fabulous foods and a supreme brew-pub experience. Toit is the place to tantalize your taste buds as well as to chill out the quality time with friends and family. It has spectacular views from the rooftop as you indulge in mouth watering snacks, sumptuous cuisines and exotic spirits.

The 1st Brewhouse

The 1st Brewhouse serves five styles of revitalizing flavours as soon you walk in, you will be taken by the aroma of freshly brewed fine quality Beer. It serves the customers with special beer freshly brewed and handcrafted under personal supervision of a German brew master. It has a range of more than 2000 varieties such as Ales and Lagers in the draught format, served in a relaxed ambience, to the tunes of lounge music. It also has wonderful atmospheric wooden interiors.

As the winter ring its bell, the happy season of Christmas knocks on the door bringing happiness in the form of gifts, deals, and offers from the restaurants to the customers. This is the time when each and every restaurant offers the best and innovative ideas, deals and to their customers.

And taking a leap, many restaurants have introduced special menus this Christmas- global cuisine which includes Indian, Continental, Italian, Lebanese, Mexican food with plum cake, fruit cake, meat loaf, mutton and chicken patties and assorted cookies especially for guest. Moreover, many restaurants do carol singing and nativity in the festive season plus a chrysanthemum flower show round up Xmas week.

Hot deals & offers

For this Christmas, starts-ups like “Bueno provides an option to the customers to gift the special Christmas menu to their loved ones through Secret Santa. Bueno will deliver the gifts right at the customer doorstep.  Bueno offers complimentary cookies on every order and a plum cake on every order above INR 1000” shared Rohan Arora, Founder of Bueno.

“We have launched an exclusive party-order service which will cater to office gatherings, house parties, etc. One can host a party and serve exclusive on-request menus as per their preference with this service. For the first time, it’s possible to choose from over 20 cuisines for your party at the click of a button” said Saurabh Saxena, CEO, Holachef.

He further says, “We are also serving some classic Christmas recipes such as roasted chicken, roasted lamb, quiches, pies, English desserts, etc. In respect to special offers, “We will be serving a variety of cookies, cakes, fruit chips, chocolates and other packaged munchies which will add to our festive menu”.

London Café brings a creative and inspired team of chef and manager for favourable festive offerings that are bound to impress you and your guests this holiday season. The teams have designed separate festive menus for the bar, the season, Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve and are ready to cater to your private party, cocktail hour or festive work lunch, also to make new memories this holiday season and indulge in our festive feasts in our Christmas London Café cocktails and food selection.

QSR like Starbucks has introduced a range of beverages with Winter Cake, a blend of strawberry and chocolate flavours balanced in cheese cake alongside Strawberry Bliss, a delicate French baked yogurt, topped with fresh strawberries. The coffee chains also introduce ‘Gift an Experience’ with ‘Christmas Special’ Starbucks cards. In addition, it has an offer, the Christmas Via along with Christmas theme inspired exclusive merchandise.

Pernod Ricard India is offering a range of luxurious alcoholic concoctions this Christmas. It includes The Glenlivet Founder’s Reserve single malt whisky; Chivas Regal Extra blended Scotch whisky; Jacob’s Creek Wine - Jacob’s Creek Reserve -- Reserve Barossa Shiraz and Reserve Adelaide Hills Chardonnay, Jacob’s Creek Sparkling -- Sparkling Chardonnay Pinot Noir and Sparkling Rose; Absolut India Limited Edition vodka; Royal Salute 21 YO Scotch whisky; Ballantine's Scotch Whisky 21 Year Old; Ballantine's Scotch Whisky 30 Year Old; G H Mumm Champagne; G H Mumm Cordon Rouge Champagne; and G H Mumm Rose Brut Champagne, as claimed by F&B news.

Future strategies

Christmas is said to be an auspicious day to start anything new. So, “We are very delightful to announce that we are opening few more London Café restaurant in Noida as well as in Delhi too during Christmas time. Soon we are getting bar license but specially Christmas and New Year Eve we are taking per day liquor permit” said Singh.  Similarly, Holachef is looking forward to consolidate their operations in Mumbai and Pune and plan to launch our services in a few other cities as well in 2016.

“Bueno’s appealing and scrumptious special Christmas menu includes Smoked turkey ham sandwich, which is made of fresh multi grain bread, berry mayonnaise, smoked turkey ham and crisp greens; Grilled turkey burger that consists of whole wheat bun with passion fruit mayonnaise, cheese slice, caramelized onion and crisp greens; delightful layered plum cake and mouth-watering 5spice  sweet honey ginger cookies. We will continue this Christmas menu until 31st December and give always until 25th December”, added Arora.

Adding to the celebrations Momo Cafe will have the live counters like roast turkey counter, grills & barbeque, country & flavored bread display and assorted sprout bar and Mezze bar. Offering a sweet end to your perfect meal would be the Chefs crafted Christmas special counter of 20 desserts and homemade chefs special counter of 6 Indian desserts.

With the winter sun at its peak and the air filled with Christmas cheer, Lodi – The Garden restaurant is celebrating the festive season with traditional Christmas recipes & lots of wine in the beautiful garden setting, prepared to perfection for dining with friends and family.

Spread across two floors, TAWAK is pleased to welcome guests to its new charming rooftop terrace section where one can try the restaurant's extensive kebab menu. Take your pick from a variety of vegetarian and non-vegetarian kebabs. Savor traditional Indian delicacies such as Kashmiri Nadru ke Kebab, TAWAK Kakori and Murg Gilouri or indulge in sumptuous Asian grills such as Teriyaki Tofu and Thai Chicken Satay. And to add a little holiday cheer to the festival splendor, the restaurant has introduced a special Warm Dark Chocolate and Marshmallow spiced with Cinnamon. 

And, as a fresher tomorrow wait with some amazing deal, restaurants have all joined the league.

What is special about this time of the year? It’s the nip in air woven-in with the warmth of the season of giving! Christmas is here; it’s time to raise a toast to rejoice the season of bliss and merrymaking. Keeping up with the festive spirit, restaurants in the country are all set for a joyous celebration that is likely to make even ‘The Grinch’ warm up to it.

Be it fine food, exquisite ambience or contributing to a noble cause, every aspect of the celebration has the essence of Christmas ingrained in it. To celebrate the occasion, restaurants are bombarding their customer with great deals and offers. But what benefit a restaurant gets from it is not known to the masses, who are enthusiast to get seasonal deals. A restaurateur is either benefitted or has to pay some extra bucks to get the feel of the celebration. Let’s have a closer look:

Getting regular customers

The deals and offers that we get on a lunch or a dinner buffet is not actually what we think. Restaurants shower all these deals to make their customers comeback, as they feel that these offers give them a chance to save some penny.

Restaurants like Salt Water Cafe and Smoke House Deli are not only bombarding customers with deals, but have taken an initiative like ‘My Wishing Tree’ to bring the warmth of Christmas to the kids at Aseema at the break of the dawn on Christmas Eve.

Starting 15th-31st December 2014, each Salt Water Cafe outlet will have a unique Wishing Tree planted on its premises. Here’s the little twist; instead of leaves, these trees sprout ‘Wish Tags’, each thoughtfully penned by the excited kids at Aseema!

“The exciting menus that we put together at Salt Water Cafe and Smoke House Deli help in keeping our regular customers excited as well as building new ones. During the festive season, individuals spend more; they tend to eat out frequently and are also looking for festive dishes to indulge in. With evolving taste buds and customers open to experimentation, there is always a need to satisfy them through constantly updating the current menu, adding special menus from time to time and playing with season specific ingredients. This helps in building excitement and also delivers a change in flavours and offerings,” says, Shobita Kadan, President-Marketing, Impresario Entertainment and Hospitality.

Strategies adopted by restaurants

Restaurants have geared up to target the right clientele during the festive season. Restaurants are alluring customers with lunch and dinner buffets, hotels have come up with festive hampers for Christmas and New Year. Meanwhile, they are very smartly using technology by placing themselves right in the social spectrum through Facebook and Twitter.

Cremica, one of the largest food suppliers in India is tweeting about their recipes and methods of cooking cakes and cookies for the celebration by using its own syrups, sauces, chocolates and other products. The smart strategy that the food industry is adopting is to target the right clientele by making them regular at their outlets getting some extra penny.

Experts are of the view that these deals are all about communicating the special menu to the regulars and also spreading the word through various powerful social media channels.