THE TIMELESSNESS OF LEGACY BRANDS

Even as newfangled luxury hotels bring experimental dining experiences to India, three of the country’s iconic F&B brands continue to earn patronage, even expanding beyond the confines of their original hotels

- DEEPALI NANDWANI

Legacy F&B brands have stood hotels in good stead. Wasabi by Morimoto and Shamiana in The Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai, Jamavar at The Leela Hotels and Bukhara at ITC Maurya have held their own in an industry where hotels continue to experiment with new formats and cuisines. Their competitors also include innovative F&B formats in new luxury hotels, such as the various St Regis, Ritz Carlton and Conrad hotels that have opened in some parts of India.

What, then, makes these F&B formats evergreen? It is clearly their legacy and their continued relevance that takes them through.

Three restaurants that have stood the test of time and how hotels are keeping them au courant.

Shamiana, The Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai

Nostalgia for the all-day restaurant, which opened in 1973 at the Taj (Mahal Palace), spans generations—my grandparents, parents, cousins and I, all created our own special memories here, alongside fond recollection of Sunday family lunches.

“Taj has always stayed ahead of the curve in the culinary space,” says Prabhat Verma, Executive Vice President – Operations, South India, International & Ancillary Businesses, IHCL. “And this has resulted in achieving an iconic status for many of its restaurants. Notable amongst these is India’s first 24-hour coffee shop—Shamiana at India's first luxury hotel, The Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai. Since 1973, it has been known by locals and guests as an iconic stop for a delicious selection of international casual food. In 2016, a new avatar of the legendary coffee shop was unveiled at the hotel and very recently, the brand forayed into international markets, with an iteration at the newly launched Taj Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai.