A distinctly middle-class suburb of Delhi is not where you'd expect the world's most expensive restaurant. But Dwarka will soon offer a spectacularly opulent dining experience.
Come April 2012, when Bangkok's famed luxury brand, Lebua Hotels and Resorts, formally throws open the doors of its first property in Delhi, India will get a restaurant where well-heeled diners will pay a cover charge of $400 per person.
This is a $100 more than New York's much-hyped Masa where you pay $300 per person for the Chef's special lunch or dinner. And, while Masa's $300-charge includes alcohol, diners at Lebua's new Indian cuisine restaurant will have to pay extra for the libation. The as yet unnamed 30-seat restaurant will open only in the evenings, and table bookings will close at 4 p.m. The menu, still under wraps, will be under the guidance of Michelin star-rated chefs.
But it's not the gourmet meal that the diner will be paying for – it's the ambience and experience – with 1,100 candles arranged in a manner reminiscent of
“There will be no lights in the restaurant, the candles will provide the illumination,” says Mr Deepak Ohri, CEO, Lebua Hotels.
And the serving of the meal will be choreographed by Hollywood producers. “It will be inspired by Jodha Akbar and take you back to an era of indulgence,” says Mr Ohri.
Those booking a table at this pricey restaurant will be picked up by a limousine and dropped back.
But will there really be any takers? Especially, as the pricey Spanish restaurant at Delhi's 7-star luxury hotel Aman recently shut down.
The first night's dinner, says Mr Ohri, has already been booked by an international bank headquartered out of Singapore.
The second's night dinner has been booked by an Indian lawyer. “We have already got 50 per cent advance payment from the bank,” says Mr Ohri.
For Lebua Hotels and Resorts, Delhi will be its fourth property – after two in Bangkok and one in New Zealand. In India, it has plans to launch in Mumbai and a location in Punjab too.