Why is it so difficult to book a table at your favorite restaurant?

future of food business

A quick scan of a popular listing website reveals that at least 14 new restaurants have opened in Mumbai alone in the last 2 months. That’s an average of about 2 new restaurants a week. And yet, are you amazed at how hard it is to get table reservations these days? This is the result of revenge: people who make up for the time lost in not going out over the past year.

To me, the week usually feels like one big haze, but I know it’s Friday morning when the messages start pouring in, pleading for a table. It’s either someone in the gang who was tasked with making that booking, but apparently forgot and would be in deep trouble. Or are they in town, for one. Night. In college. Or it’s the grandparents’ 85th birthday and they really don’t want to disappoint them (yes, octogenarians are freaking out too). And it’s not just for a table at my own restaurant, but requests for other restaurants in town as well. Surely, I should know everyone in the fraternity?

This is in addition to the variety of delivery options offered by the brands that keep launching every other day. It is no longer unsuitable for a celebrity chef to launch a delivery concept or to downgrade to an established restaurant. In fact, it now makes complete sense to hedge one’s business for all tastes and culinary formats—be it experiential dining or at-home comfort fare. And delivery aggregator valuations only confirm this trend.

So now every restaurant and cloud kitchen is on a hiring spree. Catering college and hotel management interns, as well as gig workers, are all welcome. Extra points if you have been double vaccinated.

Earlier this year, restaurants were back on their feet. The noise of the bustling dining room was like music to our ears and the chefs were happy to be on their feet twelve hours a day if it meant listening to the non-stop buzz of the kitchen order ticket machine. This changed as we entered the second lockdown without any end.

It was the layoffs of last year that ignited the entrepreneurial spirit among many. Home chef driven delivery brands and artisan food products have flooded the market. From Himalayan cheese to vegan ice cream, tonic water to small batch kombucha, citrus and nut butters to South Indian coffee beans and cocoa pods, homegrown labels are the way forward. Interest in FMCG in India is expected to peak in 2021 and the packaged food market is expected to double to $70 billion by 2025.

But, with all this development in the food business, there has been a realization that the mediocre no longer flies. It’s not just about living life to the fullest and bucket list. Whether people are ordering or eating out, the number of options available has made them more savvy in their choices and expectations. Diners want to take the risk of counting that meal out.

Even though the F&B industry may have the biggest failure rate of 90% within the first year of business, we are eternal optimists keep going at it. Because there will always be room for breakfast, lunch and dinner and no intermittent fasting will slow us down. So plan your reservation well in advance, because even nepotism may not get you a table these days.

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