Who would have thought that from India’s extremely diverse regional foodscape, it would be a small community’s cuisine that would herald the popularity of regional restaurants. That’s what Parsi cuisine is synonymous with today, and what was once considered a dying legacy is now associated with a vibrant restaurant and bar symbolised by SodaBottleOpenerWala.
But why exactly is the restaurant going strong even five years after opening, a time frame in which many bigger and glitzier establishments have shut shop? We can guess some obvious answers in the novelty of the cuisine and the downright quirky ambience and experience that resonates well with the younger generation and foreign tourists, not to mention a heavy dose of nostalgia. More insight is provided by chef manager Anahita Dhondy.
Part of the brand since the restaurant was incepted, she recalls how they were not sure about the response to the restaurant when they opened the first outlet in Gurugram in 2013. “There was no proper Parsi restaurant then in the region. We wanted to position SodaBottleOpenerWala as a Mumbai Irani cafe and bar. So we not only got Parsi food on the menu, but also popular Mumbai street food, because the word ‘Parsi’ is almost always synonymous with Mumbai,” she says.
Admitting that the whole cuisine and concept were very new for customers, she recalls how it was very important for her and the entire staff to interact with customers to tell them about the food, explaining the items on the menu, and even the names of the dishes. “Every single person, from marketing, to waiting and kitchen staff and chefs, have put in the effort to promote the brand. We used social media extensively in the beginning to spread the message, we constantly interacted with our customers, persuading them to try something new on the menu, getting their feedback. While there are no fixed answers to what worked, I think the important factor was the amount of personalisation that was brought into the whole thing. And then we had a very strong vision and mission that we did not want to open just another restaurant, but one that revived and promoted Parsi cuisine. That is extremely on point even today.”
But this obviously is not just about the cuisine. The Parsi connect is reinforced with the ambience, the quirky graffiti, the antique pieces dotting the space, the bentwood chairs, the check tablecloths, the glasses, cutlery and crockery—everything that resonates well with the younger generation, and even with foreign tourists. In short, the overall experience, which is what a restaurant goer seeks most today.
Dhondy calls this ‘layered innovation’, where not just the recipes, but the ambience, the service, the presentation come together to deliver a unique feel. Take food served in dabbas and tiered tiffins. “Food can look boring served in bowls, so we have a quirky take on that too,” she says. Note that even the nod to ‘modern presentation’ here is a throwback to the age of tiered tiffins, which today’s generation has only seen in the movies!
As AD Singh of the Olive Group of restaurants, which owns SodaBottleOpenerWala, says: “SodaBottleOpenerWala is a concept restaurant. We delved deep within the unique world of Irani cafes to bring alive the nuances—both for cuisine and its atmosphere.” He, however, adds: “The success of the restaurant is both surprising and encouraging for us, because many markets or cities have seen a decline of traditional or regional cuisines. However, the way we put it together for a very wide audience has helped us grow over the years.”
Bringing alive the cuisine, which is mostly closely guarded family recipes and homemade masalas, is not without challenge either. Dhondy brought to the table her own family recipes of paatra ni macchi, sali boti, cutlets, while extracting recipes from other members of the community. The masalas used in the restaurant are made by her mother. As a young chef, Dhondy follows global trends in using seasonal, local produce like gawar phali, beetroot, methi and sem, while using ancient grains like millets and barley. “That is our innovation. Not losing traditional grain or traditional flavour, but still delivering an experience to the diners that feels new and unique.”
Going strong with nine outlets spread across NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, SodaBottleOpenerWala has showed the way to more regional restaurants. Names like Lady Baga, O Pedro instantly spring to mind, but that’s a story for another day.
