Is Affordable Fine-Dining Giving Competition to Hotel Restaurants
Is Affordable Fine-Dining Giving Competition to Hotel Restaurants

The restaurant industry is one of the fastest growing industry employing millions of people around the world. The growth in the restaurant industry is attributed to the modernization and digitisation. On the flipside, digitisation has put even the extremes like fine-dining and casual-dining on the same platform, making it even more challenging to stand out in the crowd.

With changing trend, people getting access to global world wherein they love to follow what’s happening in the globe, diners are expecting the same kind of experiences and trends in India. They look for value for money setup with good quality food being served. This is forcing restaurants to re-invent and revamp their serving style and offerings. And, hence there is the birth of affordable fine dining in the sector.

“Customers are very particular about the quality and service at their dining experience, any lack in either can cause you to lose a customer,” shares Roop Kumar Chaudhary of Roop Mahal.

Lately, affordable fine dining and casual restaurants have become very popular among global diners preferring these formats. Fine dining is among the most preferred choices when it comes to the quality of meals, services delivery and experience. They are full service restaurants that focus on serving food, comfort and a good time in a premium setting. Customers get to interact and engage with renowned chefs who bring customized experience in every diner’s meal. With a well-trained and very experienced wait staff, they provide superb knowledge of wine and food that you may not find in the ordinary restaurants. The atmosphere in these restaurants is totally unique and that makes these restaurants experience worthy. The lighting softens the mood: the music reflects the place; the décor are high quality and adds unique and an elegant perspective.

Competing with Fine-Dining

The youth and families drive the fine dining service industry, and in recent past there has been an explosive growth due to the change in consumption habits. The country’s burgeoning population of millennials and Gen Z’s are leading the charge in shaping the foodservice trends.

“Fine dining standalone restaurants are a big hit today. There are lots of restaurants fine dining opened up in the cities. They offer quality food at affordable price and it has become a good competition for us,” says Ashish Ugal, Executive Chef, Taj Bengaluru, by adding that the fine dining clientele expect the ambience, the environment, service, he expects certain quality of liquor or wine that has to be there.

And, any fine dining standalone restaurant doesn’t have the financial capacity of a hotel because the hotels have the financial backup. And, small things matter to come up with final product.

Serving the Right Clientele

Millennials (people between the ages 18 and 35) now make up the majority of dining-out customers. They have been making their presence felt by creating a strong demand resulting in the rise of affordable fine dining restaurants, cafes, pubs, bars, clubs, lounges, and international fast food joints. These restaurants have conceptualized and designed to cater to the millennials’ changing food habits and choices. The industry has become very competitive and dynamic due to newer players entering frequently. So, it is critical to understand the mindset of Indian millennials, their spending patterns and stay tuned to their evolving dining and flavour preferences. The most successful restaurants have always been the ones that stay constantly in sync with consumer trends and preferences.

“Interestingly millennials and families are going back to the roots–indulging in traditional cuisines and flavours. For Example: Our regional cuisine speciality fine-dining restaurant ‘Frontier Mail’ at Noor Mahal enjoys a mix of regional and foreign clientele. We have a high rate of repeat customers who have become fond of the experience,” Chaudhary adds further.

And, as we see customers do not want to compromise on comfort, food quality, ambience, service and the whole atmosphere of the restaurant if they are willing to spend more. On an average when a customers is out eating at such places they end up paying anywhere between Rs 2000 to 2500 approximately. But it is extremely important that the customers see the value for the money spent.

 
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