The Hindu Business Line : A name to chew on

For instance, a place called ‘Ten' because it is located at 10 Parliament Street may not convey anything more than just its location. It tells you nothing about the kind of experience or cuisine you could look forward to. “A name like this fulfils the requirement but is not exciting or indicative of any concept,” says well-known restaurateur A.D. Singh of Olive.

Agrees Shshank Pundir, General Manager of the Radisson Suites, Gurgaon: “It really does not connote anything except for the address. This would perhaps be suitable for restaurants which are located in areas that are popular enough to draw attention.”

Sounding a note of dissent, Rajneesh Malik, the owner of Hookah, Side Wok and Fez restaurants in New Delhi, says, “There is nothing wrong in naming your restaurant according to the address. Some people believe in making their outlets destinations.” His Side Wok restaurant, he says, got its name because the first outlet was located in the middle lane of Khan Market, evoking the feel of a sidewalk eatery, and the twist comes from the Chinese ‘wok' as the place offers Southeast Asian cuisine.

The experience

Manav Sharma and Sudha Kukreja, who own a chain of restaurants, point to some limitations inherent in this concept: “If there is an expansion of the restaurant into a chain, using an address will have little or no significance or meaning.”

Popular choices are seemingly names that evoke the restaurant's décor, pricing, service and overall experience.

Says Nimish Bhatia, Regional Executive Chef (South) and Master Of Trade, The Lalit Ashok, Bangalore, “Although choosing a name for your restaurant may seem like a simple decision, it deserves a lot of thought and care. Selecting a restaurant name can also be the fun part of the startup process. Choose a name that reflects your concept, something you are comfortable talking about, that is also easily pronounced and easy to write.”

Singh of Olive believes the best names are those that give a sense of the product and are memorable. “For example, my wife's designer brand is ‘Horn OK Please' and we are opening a restaurant by that name. It immediately implies kitsch India and is memorable. Or take ‘Yo China', which immediately implies a Chinese fast-food place and is catchy. The worst names are those that try to be clever or are just copies of international brands,” he says. He mentions his new contemporary Japanese restaurant called Ai, which means love in Japanese. “It serves as a showcase to help our diners fall in love with the world of Japan,” he says.

Sharma and Sudha are ready with their explanation too for their Ignis restaurant in Delhi. “ Ignis is the Latin word for fire. Food and fire have been inextricably linked, from the time the first flame was lit. Ignis crafts global recipes that “ignite” the palate and feed the soul. It's a fusion cuisine with the delicate whiff of the Continent and the earthy, spicy and ‘fiery' feel of India and the North-West Frontier provinces.”

So, how about Hookah? Malik has the answer: “The sheesha culture and community eating was on our mind when we created the restaurant with a primarily Mediterranean cuisine. Even in India, in the olden days, people used to discuss matters over a hookah, and that's the experience we wanted to give our guests.”

By association

Ingredients are another inspiration. Bhatia points to popular choices such as Chilli, Masala, Peppers, Caper, Olive and so on. And not far behind are the icons and their associations. “Lal Qila or Taj Mahal would probably mean Indian food, Panda for Chinese, and Tiger Trails for jungle grills,” he explains.

Recall

“Make sure people find the name easy to remember. If the name has an unusual spelling, it will make it harder for people to look it up in the phonebook or online, and tell friends about it,” says Bhatia. “The new restaurant at our hotel is OKO, which is already creating its own brand value.”

Evoking a sense of ‘fun' are names such as ‘Tasty Tangles'. Says Roger Narula, CEO of Wadhawan Hospitality, “Our offering is authentic South-East Asian… it revolves around an array of diverse noodles, and hence the ‘Tangles' for a fun twist.”

With so many considerations coming into play, the all-important pricing factor is not left behind either. Shshank's bar is called ‘99' and here's why: “We wanted to change the general perception that branded hotels carry an expensive price tag. We offer almost everything in ‘99' at a price of Rs 99.”

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