The 30 Dish Italian Restaurant That Runs at 90% Occupancy.
Bangalore Five Star Hotel Creating a Unique All Day Italian Restaurant Concept
A newly opened five star hotel in Bangalore wanted to launch an Italian restaurant, but they did not want the typical model of hiring a celebrity chef and offering a 100 dish fine dining experience.
They wanted something refreshing, modern, profitable, and operationally efficient.
Our Deep Research Approach
Over 20 days, our team researched:
- Italian restaurants worldwide
- Global food trends
- Menu engineering techniques
- Conversations with Italian food vloggers
- Insights from top Italian cuisine chefs
- Gaps in Bangalore's premium dining market
Our insight was that most hotel based Italian restaurants are:
- Heavy
- Expensive
- Open only for lunch & dinner
- Operationally complex
- Too large a menu, reducing consistency
We created an entirely new direction.
Designing the Experience
The restaurant had a beautiful open pool area. We redesigned the entire space:
- 5 luxury cabanas
- 150-seater indoor/outdoor dining
- 200-person open air cocktail area
- A relaxed, Mediterranean inspired vibe
This gave the restaurant a holiday like Italian experience.
A Bold Menu Strategy: Only 30 Dishes
Unlike the typical 80–100 items, we created a focused menu of 30 rural Italian dishes — simple, rustic recipes not commonly known in India.
Benefits:
- Chefs could perfect every dish
- Faster and more consistent service
- Lower kitchen complexity
- Higher customer curiosity
- Easier staff training
- Unique positioning
Pricing Strategy
We kept prices 20% lower than competing luxury Italian restaurants, making it premium yet approachable.
The Results
Within two months of launch:
- Restaurant ran at 90% occupancy throughout the week
- Cabanas became extremely popular
- 3 days a week were fully booked with cocktail events
- Food quality and simplicity won strong customer loyalty