Foodies craving for pizzas and biryanis, wait to dine out after lockdown

It looks like Indian restaurateurs are up for a treat post the lockdown as 76.6 per cent foodies in India would dine out! Foodies from Mumbai, Delhi, Indore, Ahmedabad, and Chandigarh are specifically craving Pizzas during the lockdown whereas in Chennai, Hyderabad, and Kolkata their popular and indigenous Biryani recipes reign supreme.

A recent consumer survey by dining out and restaurant tech platform, Dineout stated that over 77 per cent respondents are waiting to dine out with their friends and family once the Covid-19 lockdown is lifted. 36 per cent of those surveyed missed casual dining, whereas 27 per cent wanted fine dining experience post the lockdown and 17 per cent of those missed dancing in the pubs!

The report also revealed that most of India has been craving for pizzas since the lockdown, except Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata craving for Biryani. Along with pizzas, Mumbaikars are craving for Italian food. Contrary to popular belief, Delhitties picked veg over non-veg food. Bangaloreans & Lucknowis would rather have their drinks over food.

With Big Chill, Barbeque Nation and Social emerging as favourites in Delhi. Mumbaikars picked Global Fusion, Poptates and Asia Kitchen. Bangaloreans miss going to pubs like Toit, Vapour & Barbeque Nation. Aminia, Arsalan and Momo I Am emerge as the top picks in Kolkata.

Ankit Mehrotra, Co-Founder & CEO - Dineout said, “The Indian restaurant industry is rapidly transforming before our eyes, and restaurants will have to rethink their daily operations to suit these post-Covid demands of their customers. While demand will return rapidly as millions of Indians are craving their favourite dishes, it’s also crucial to make the necessary changes to restore consumer confidence and trust by rapidly evolving the restaurant’s approach to using technology as means to implement Contactless Dining. These new adaptations will push the envelope of diner convenience, and we believe they are here to stay even after we survive the physical and economic after-effects of the pandemic.”

Along with this, diners have pushed the envelope on several parameters ranging from hygiene, tech support and digital menus, among other things. Post-Covid sensibilities are leading to major enduring changes in how the country’s foodservice industry is expected to operate. Indian diners have also ranked safety assurance and premier hygiene as top factors when they choose a restaurant to dine in.

It looks like the food-service industry will have a lot of changes in the near future especially, in the digital space. Over 96% are demanding better waitlist management. 81 per cent consumers would rather scan a QR on their phone to place an order instead of handling physical menus or tablet-based digital menus.

After a dining experience, 60 per cent prefer seamless wallet-based digital payments over cash/cards, 85 per cent would choose a digital valet over waiting in possibly contaminated public spaces and 84 per cent would prefer offering digital feedback over physical feedback collection.

COMMENT NOW