Five Emerging Trends in Bengaluru’s F&B Sector by Raunak Kundu

Small is no longer beautiful

F&B consultants have always been guarded to recommend big restaurants with more than 100-seater space. But the landscape is now changing; especially for breweries and pubs we are seeing more and more spaces with 500 plus seating capacity. Kamal Jalan, one of the Directors of Gold Rush informs us, “Post pandemic we have observed that patrons are wanting to be seated in large open spaces. We have recreated a Texan Cowboy Theme over few acres capacity.” The latest sensation of the city – Longboat Brewery in Marathahalli besides many other new pubs, night clubs and breweries in Bengaluru reflect a similar philosophy. The young co-owner Rasagnya states they took more than four years to conceptualise and build this unique space with a real waterfall.

Is Ghee the Secret Sauce?

The success of cult favourites like Chalukya Samrat Café and IDC Kitchen has made many restaurateurs dig deep into the secret sauce of Darshinis. Most people easily term the ‘secret sauce’ as usage of extra dollops of Ghee, considering Bengalurean households’ soft spot for Nandini Ghee. Although the success is attributed to multidimensional approach of a restaurant but Ghee definitely is a key angle.

Fried Chicken the new Biryani

Zomato and Swiggy data has been widely circulated as WhatsApp forwards that the most consumed dish in Bangalore and rest of India is Biryani. But off late we are seeing “the great revival” and strong competition from Fried Chicken. Bengaluru is consuming tonnes of fried chicken from three key players – KFC, Leon Grill or Easy Bites (NKP Empire ventures). The long tradition of fried chicken kebab is taking a great share of delivery as well as dine-in market.

Raining Burgers and Pizzas

Food cost generally drives a lot of business decisions in the F&B sector. Gourmet Burgers and Pizzas are flooding the Indian market like never before. Restaurateurs have understood that these dishes are easy to achieve targeted food cost. In Bengaluru Burger Seigneur, Louis Burger and Truffles have captured the taste buds of well-travelled diners of the city. Similarly Pizza Bakery, Brik Oven and Ciros Pizza are doing roaring business both in the newer and older parts of the city.

Cheers to Local Food

Local ethnic food is getting thumbs up from diners across different cities in India. Recently opened Adda 1522 has captured this growing trend remarkably well. Off course the earliest entrant in the market was Bob’s bar, which has inspired the menu of most breweries in the city. What Bob’s bar has done to the pubbing space, Oota Whitefield has done to the fine dining segment. Celebrity Chef Saby Gorai the man behind Bob’s bar menu introduced the quarter plate concept for folks to enjoy diverse items without pinching the pocket. Bon Appétit!

  • Raunak Kundu is the founder of Bangalore Foodies Club.