More than just about food

From naming bar stools after patrons to inviting customers to trade on drinks, Bangalore’s restaurants are finding innovative ways to sustain interest while satiating appetite

You can’t blame Pat Wade for heading straight to a particular stool every time he enters the Arbor Brewing Company on Magrath Road — it’s got his name on it, after all. Next, he guzzles beer from a specially designed ceramic mug with — you guessed it — his name on it. Meanwhile, The Sorpotel Jam Pot found its way into Monkey Bar’s menu after chef and owner Manu Chandra tried aunt Maise’s (Manager Pierre’s aunt) home-cooked recipe. Similarly, MoBar Mutton Rasam on the same menu is Monkey Bar fan, Kavitha Muthappa’s recipe. In a competitive market, Bangalore’s restaurants have found a new way to attract customers — adding personal touches and giving food and drink stories of their own.

“It’s a tribute to the person and gives the dish authenticity,” believes Chandra. Other dishes at Monkey Bar include Salmon Khan — a play on the word ‘salmon’ and Dabangg hero Salman Khan, and Butterfly Chicken ‘Gangnam Style’. No prices for guessing where the latter comes from. Apart from making people crack up, such names could also serve as a marketing gimmick.

However, Gaurav Sikka, MD, Arbor Brewing Company, India, is quick to dispel that idea. “ABC did this for beer lovers, to attract a set of regulars. These concepts are popular in the American craft brewing culture,” he says. Members of the Mug Club, started in 2012, (there are around 20 so far) pay either Rs 5,000, Rs 25,000 or Rs 50,000, for different sets of privileges. The last buys you a lifetime membership, which gets you Rs 25,000 F&B credit, a ceramic barrel-shaped beer mug and a personalised bar stool. ABC intends to have only 100 members in the Rs 25,000 category and 20 in the Rs 50,000. “It makes your consumer feel special. After a point, the bartender recognises you and pulls out the stool as you get past the door. That’s a good feeling.”

Next month, Blimey will reintroduce Trading Nights on Wednesdays, that work like a stock market or a brokerage firm. Drinks are priced at rock bottom prices; for instance, Shooters at Rs 125. A random algorithm invented by a software company determines the prices. All the bar has to do is enter the lowest price they want, say a KF beer to go for, and the highest price they want it to reach. The bar also decides if the price should go up by Rs 5, 10, 15 or more. Every 10 minutes, the price changes automatically. Customers then trade amongst each other for the drinks. So, for example, if boys at a table were consuming whiskey and girls at another table vodka, they could trade their drinks.

“People want something different,” says Amit Roy, partner, ThinkTanc, who saw this trend in Australia and introduced it at Blimey in 2013. “It also helps guests interact with one another.” You leave the club that night making new friends. Of course, it also helps increase revenue. “It not only entices regulars but also woos new customers,” says Roy.

Meanwhile, the Ritz-Carlton Bar takes you back in time as Manu Manikandan, beverage manager revives the glory of cocktails invented during the ‘Prohibition Period’. Drawing inspiration from other parts of the world, Manikandan has curated a special menu of some of the world’s most celebrated and distinguished cocktails, each with a story to tell. You could try the Mary Pickford, a Pretty Pink Number, named after Mary Pickford, the curly-haired silent movie star who was adulated throughout America in 1920s.The drink is said to have been invented for her in Cuba, from where vast quantities of rum were smuggled during Prohibition. Rum-based cocktail Between the Sheets is a version of the classic Sidecar, which offers a triple whammy of rum, cognac and triple sec, sharpened with a dose of lemon.

Whether it’s a personal touch, a fun history lesson or even a game with a difference, the best accompaniment to your food and drink in Bangalore, it seems, is a healthy dose of innovation.