Just days after Papa’s opened in Mumbai, I found myself at their 12-seater countertop, watching Chef Hussain Shahzad and his team in action. Over the next three hours, they took me on a delightful journey with their 13-course tasting menu – no à la carte here, just a thoughtfully curated experience.
While tasting menus are not new to the country – Indian Accent was among the first to introduce it along with a regular menu. Now following a global trend, there’s a further shift with some restaurants completely omitting an a la carte option and offering just a choice of curated menus. Establishments like Trèsind, Avatara, Masque and Papa’s in Mumbai, Naar near Kasauli, Farmlore in Bengaluru and Avartana in several cities have adopted this format.
A tasting menu is all about sitting back and enjoying a chef-driven culinary journey, where their skill and imagination take centre stage. “It is not just the dish but the progression of your meal that you need to consider. The order of the dishes, the pacing, everything matters,” says Hussain Shahzad, Executive Chef, Hunger Inc. Hospitality Pvt. Ltd. “Since it is a chef’s counter, we become the custodians of the experience and hence there’s a lot more attention to detail,” he adds.
Surprisingly, running a restaurant offering only tasting menus is economically viable. With set dishes, wastage is reduced. “You can be very well planned compared to an a la carte restaurant. The ingredients and their costing can be precise because you know exactly how much you need per person per day,” points out Shahzad.
Being priced higher, tasting menus also make business sense. A meal at Naar, tucked in Kasauli in Himachal Pradesh, costs Rs. 7,200 plus taxes. Add a wine or cocktail pairing, and it becomes steeper. So even if the restaurant does just a 16-seater service, it gets about Rs. 9000 per person. “The Indian diner knows his food. They’re willing to pay top dollar for a good experience,” Prateek Sadhu, owner and chef of Naar says. “My restaurant is full every single day with people willing to take a flight to just have a meal.”
Some follow a different model – Avartana has restaurants in different cities and each one has a seating capacity for nearly 50-60 people. “When it comes to manpower, slightly more is required at a restaurant with a set menu, because in terms of service, each dish has to be explained to the guest,” says Nikhil Nagpal, Executive Chef, ITC Grand Chola. Restaurants like Avartana give a choice of tasting menus ranging from 7 to 13 courses, while at Naar, the number of courses varies based on the season. “The reason I wanted to do a tasting menu is because I feel that’s the best expression of a chef. I wanted to create an experience which is unforgettable because people are travelling from far for just this meal,” says Sadhu.
In fact, a tasting menu is not just about creative food – it’s about flair, presentation and storytelling. Impeccable service is key because people are spending so much time at the restaurant. “It’s a challenge to keep the guests engaged for about two and a half hours to three hours,” points out Nagpal. At Papa’s, the wait between courses turns creative with a notebook and coloured pencils for doodling. But the lively interaction with the kitchen team is entertaining enough.
Vaibhav Bahl, the founder of Conosh feels the service can make or break an entire tasting experience. “It’s already given that the food will be well taken care of. The only thing which is dicey is the service, when you will be sitting in between two courses, guessing, when will the next course come?” he says. Interaction with the guest becomes important at this point, so often the sommeliers, the servers or even the chef arrive to regale customers with a quirky tale or two about the origin of the cocktail or the dish.
The portion size is bite-sized at the start but with the menu spanning more than 10 dishes, it will not leave anyone asking for more. The chef’s challenge is to ensure that the dishes are much more than just palate-pleasing. “Each plate coming to the table has to be a star dish and has to be presented better than the previous one,” says Nagpal. The progression of the meal becomes key at such a restaurant.
As more diners seek high-quality, curated experiences, restaurants doing only tasting menus will continue to not just thrive, but also evolve, giving people the best that chefs can create.