Epicureans in the city have been at the end of their tether eating home-made food during the ten weeks of lockdown.
They were in glee when restaurants reopened on Monday. The number of visitors was not as high as was expected, because people were freighted with corona fear.
Nevertheless, all restaurants strictly followed corona-safety norms to ward off the scare. As the necessity of wearing mask has been hammered into the public mind, customers covered their faces and sanitized their hands.
Restaurant owners told Free Press that the number of visitors may have been fewer than was expected, but people were delighted about reopening of eateries. Nevertheless, most of the restaurants reduced the number of tables by 50%. The number of food items at some of the eateries was also lessened.
Marketing and Communication Officer, Courtyard Marriott Pooja Gaur said the response on the first day of reopening was rather good. She said six guests took lunch. As the days are hot people prefer taking dinner to having launch, Gaur said.
She said they had QR-coded digital menu in all restaurants of the hotel for
contact -less delivery. The hotel offers one Bowl-One-Meal and Mason Jars, she said.
Manager of Jehannuma Palace Hotel, Vinod Singh, said of five, they opened three restaurants and got good response. More than 50 people took lunch, and the menu was the same as earlier, he said.
Manager of Hotel Palash Residency Ajay Shrivastava said they opened both restaurants of the hotel from 11am to 8.30pm and got queries about dinner.
Shrivastava said the number of seats was reduced by 50% but there was no change in the menu. He said they served food to corona warriors during the lockdown and earned Rs1.25 crore from March 23 to May 31.
Syed Arif Naqvi, senior manager, Rooftop Restaurant, Minto Hall, said they got more queries about dinner, because people prefer dinner to lunch. Dinner time begins after 8pm, but they have to follow the Centre's guidelines and close the restaurant 8.30pm, he said.
They have informed their customers about it, besides the items on menu and the number of tables was reduced. "Earlier we have 110 items, now it is 46 including non-vegetarian foods and non-veg.," said Naqvi.
Anil Kurup, senior manager of Winds & Wave Restaurant said the three doctors visited for lunch. Earlier the number of tables has been 16 but now it is eight, he said. But there has been no change in the menu.
Owner of Bapu Ki Kutiya Restaurant, MP Nagar Naveen Suzwani said the number of customers was 30% less than what was earlier. The demand for parceling food is high, but the number of customers who want to dine is 50%, he said.
The most important thing is that people are very happy about reopening of restaurants, he said. Ten to 15 tables have been booked for lunch and customers are satisfied if corona-safety norms are followed," he said. The menu is the same, but the number of tables has been reduced from 180 to 70, Suzwani said.
Owner of Milan Restaurant, MP, Nagar, Nissan Soni, said started self services and the response was good. Around 100 customers visited for fast foods. The restaurant services will begin in a week on the basis of feedback on services, he said.
Manager of Manohar Restaurant, MP Nagar, Devashish Gangulay said they did not start restaurant services. They are planning to start it after they get fitness certificates of their staff, he said. The customers had Chhole Bhature, Pav Bhaji, Dosa and other things on the first day, he said.
Dr Tapan who visited Winds & Wave Restaurant, Boat Club with friends said their body temperature was taken. He said they were also given sanitizer, but they were happy that they could get mouth-watering food after a long time. "As we live in hostel, were deprived of good food during the lockdown," Tapan said.
