The restaurant business is one of glitz and glamour. Especially in cities like Mumbai, the really classy ones have celebrities visiting every now and then and that just adds to the glam factor! When you talk about a restaurant, there are a bunch of things you can think of - ambience, service, food, drinks, shows, events, theme and so much more. But oftentimes, one element is overlooked to enhance the other. It's near impossible to get everything right.   

For us at Receptio, when we go to a restaurant (not pub, not bar - a proper restaurant), the element that takes precedence is food and food alone! The same thing resonates with Roshan, our guest for the 6th episode of The Hard Talk - owner and curator at Giselle Restocafe. Giselle is a proper passion project and it started all with a humble chicken wing. Yes, we know you're probably looking for an explanation but why make you read this description when you can just click play?   

Winning formula for a restaurant according to Roshan - it HAS to be all about the food, coupled with a passionate owner (who in this case takes the reigns in the kitchen himself), a comfy setting and building a community - an extended family if you will.

"India runs on chai". Whether you're Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian or Parsi, you know that that's a statement you can resonate with. As much as there's undue and unwarranted political division in this great nation of ours, there are some things that break free of these unfortunate faux divisions and unite us all. One of these things is chai (and we mean chai specifically. Not tea. Add some masala for good measure). If you're in college, or you're a working professional (irrespective of whether you're the CEO or an office boy), you know that at 4 pm, there's the urge to get a piping hot cup of chai (add a cigarette to that equation too for an enhanced experience). Especially if you're in Bangalore, the weather is a stark influence too. From Rakesh by the street corner, to Achmed at 4 am near Raheja Towers to the conglomerate Tata with their brand Tata Cha, INDIA RUNS ON CHAI.  

On this episode of #TheHardTalk, Gautham talks to Chirag, owner of Bangalore's most iconic "Teafe", Chai Patty. Chirag has worn multiple hats in his career - from engineer, to salsa instructor to chaiwala (a profession that's quite popular, seeing it that Mr Modi was a chaiwala himself). Watch as he talks to us about the social importance of this milky elixir and what he's been up to during the #LockDown and the #CoronaVirus #Pandemic.  

While you're listening, make sure you grab yourself some chai! Good day!

The Taj Group, The Leela Palace, Marriott, Hilton and so many other hotel operators have set up shop in Bangalore. Higher up professionals lounge at 5 Star Hotels and seeing it that we are the IT Capital of the country, corporate events, banquets and galas at these hotels are aplenty. 5 Star Hotels have made their mark and you'll hear a lot of "let's get a 5 star breakfast" at the end of an eventful Saturday night. A weekend with the family at a nice hotel suite with lazy afternoons by the poolside or a romantic weekend with the significant other are just some of the few things that hotels have to offer.   

So what's been up since March this year? What's it going to look like in December? Can we hope to celebrate the oncoming of a new (and hopefully a far better) year? Raghu Nair drops knowledge stemming from some incredible grind and hustle in the hotel space - 17 years! He's the General Manager today at The Oterra, the only deluxe 5 Star property in Electronic City.

Nightlife in Bangalore is one of the major perks of moving to the city. The appeal of putting on your best evening wear, making quick calls and rounding up the gang to hit the town's most high street pubs, clubs and bars is unmatched. It's a major pull for young professionals from all over the world and has expats coming in every single month. Dancing, cocktails, blaring music, shiny disco balls - we've got it all. Sigh, we really miss hitting the town!   BUT, let's keep our chins up. "It doesn't rain forever" is what Dawn Thomas says in the 3rd episode of The Hard Talk. 

Dawn's part of the founding team behind some of Bangalore's most popular bars - Hangover, Badmaash Lounge and Nevermind. Christo talks to him on this episode about how ensuring that business leaders (irrespective of industry) need to have a strong spine and a positive attitude (now more than ever) to come out of this pandemic stronger than ever. Listen with a smile! :)

Introducing our  guest Mr. Dawn Thomas , A  young entrepreneur at the helm of some of Bangalore's most popular F&B brands such Hangover, Badmaash and  Nevermind

#NightLife #Pubs #Restaurants #City #Hospitality

With over 50 microbreweries in the city, Bangalore takes the crown as the beer capital of the country. Again, as with fine dining, microbreweries are all the rage among Bangalore's young working professionals. We're sure you agree that there's nothing, and we mean NOTHING like a crisp, frigid beer after a long day at the office. Throw in some ambience, sports playing on massive LEDs, delightful background tunes and the unmistakable chatter of young Bangaloreans in a bar on a Friday evening and you've got yourself a vibe!  

On the second episode of The Hard Talk, Gautham talks to Mr Kiran Reddy, owner of a cozy microbrewery in Kalyan Nagar. We're trying to dig deep here and Mr Reddy gives us his insights on what we as humans really want from a place of socializing and what he curates to deliver that demand.

Fine dining restaurants are a cultural thing in our beautiful city of Bangalore. Almost everyone here living the metro life has a favorite restaurant that they can swear by. A lot of people (mostly families and young professionals in love) also have a favorite fine dining restaurant, thoughtfully curated and selected for those extra special date nights. Sad truth is, at this moment, they're unable to gleam in their inherent elegance and people will have to settle for date nights at their home addresses for a while (at this point, we're too afraid to venture a guess as to what "a while" denotes).

Thing is, there are real people running these restaurants and often times unfortunately, the human element of owning and running a business is overlooked. With The Hard Talk, Receptio wants to tap that element and bring out the thoughts and human sentiments behind these busineses.

Aswati is a name with a long history in Bangalore's hospitality scene and it owns and operates legendary restaurants like Ebony  Restaurant, 13th Floor Bar and Asean On the Edge just to name a few and on Episode 1 of The Hard Talk, Gautham talks to Nakul, the second generation owner of Aswati. We learned a lot and hopefully, you can get some insights into what goes on at the back end of these restaurants and how they're dealing with the pandemic.