In the heart of Khan Market, Klap is a dynamic and meticulously curated dining experience in Delhi’s ever-evolving culinary landscape. It is the consistency of the experience and the flavours, the continuous innovation of the contemporary world cuisine by Chef Gurmehar and its vibe that seamlessly goes from a casual bistro by day to a chic gastro by night that has kept Klap ahead of many others. In a time of fleeting trends, Klap’s dedication to quality and sustainability sets it apart. DI Conversations catches up with entrepreneur Shivani Vardhan and Chef Gurmehar Sethi to unravel the success of Klap and understand emerging trends in a city where it has become ‘trendy’ to be a restauranteur.
What is the primary concept, the experience that you give someone walking into Klap?
Gurmehar: Klap is a pandemic baby. We started in the early days of the pandemic and as a concept we are an urban bistro by the day and a gastro by the night. The restaurant has very minimalistic interiors. It’s an all-day dining restaurant. We want people to come here, be comfortable during the day, as well as during a four o’clock high tea or even come for drinks. In regards to the food, we have kept it mostly small plates. The concept is two fingers, one bite. We have kept it very simple, nothing quite fancy, keeping true to the roots and traditions of the recipes.
How would you describe the cuisine?
Gurmehar: It’s contemporary world cuisine. It’s actually a menu, which is based on the last 12 years of my travels. Whether it be European, whether it be Asian, whether it be Southeast Asian, whether it be Indian. But we don’t do North Indian, we do mostly coastal Indian. We want people to really enjoy the drinks and cocktails as well as enjoy the food.
Shivani: It’s very versatile. It’s all-day dining, so people should have a variety. That was the idea. Obviously, it’s a little overbearing with so many chefs but Gurmehar is managing it very well.
What are the trends in dining that you’re seeing? Are bars more popular, or multi-cuisine or specialty fine dining?
Gurmehar: It’s everything. Today there are a lot of fine dining places and drinking places opening up. But my question is, what’s the shelf like? I feel, yes, drinks do play an important role though personally, for me it’s an additional kick to your meal. You have good food and drinks complement the food.
So, would you say the fundamental first thing to get right is the food?
Gurmehar: A hundred percent. If you are investing so much money in a place, you want it to last for nine years. So that’s what I said for my previous brand, Ziu as well. That’s the main reason we lasted; it is because of the food. We personally work around a lot of seasonal menus and do work around special menus whether it be a European one or a Mexican menu. We do weeklong festivals and events around a central theme and bring out a new menu and add entertainment to complete the experience.
Is that another way of keeping Klap at the forefront of everyone’s mind?
Gurmehar: There’s an ample amount of competition and it’s always good to have competition. I feel when you’re in a market where there are so many F&B spots, you definitely want to keep something for consumers to come and enjoy or look forward to.
So that’s my next question. How do you get the same customer coming back? Today, customer loyalty is hard to retain.
Gurmehar: Consistency will keep your customer coming back.
Shivani: Let me intervene here. Usually, they say that in the F&B business, 70% revenue has to be alcohol, 30% revenue has to come from food. At Klap, it has been the opposite. So initially for almost two years, we had about 70% revenue coming from food. That says a lot. It’s a very good sign for our longevity. For business, it may not be as good because you need more revenues, but at least we know that we are doing everything right. With the way the trend was going, you have to bear in mind, when we were coming to Khan Market, it is a completely different gentry from anywhere in Delhi. We have to be very conscious of who we are catering to, how we are supposed to behave, how our team has to be.
How come you arrived at Khan Market? And how has the location evolved, as you see it?
Shivani: Much by default. But coming back to the gentry. It is by virtue of being in the heart of Lutyens’ Delhi, it is the power centre of India. So, you name an industrialist, you name a politician, you name a businessman locally also, and pan India, when they come for their work in Delhi, they are in this area, I would reckon that Klap is their preference. And that’s the feedback we’ve been getting that Gurmehar has endeavoured to give a five-star experience to the customers, be it training of the staff and the quality and flavours of the food.
In the last 5-6 years, a lot of restaurant hubs have opened up across the city? How do you position Khan Market today?
Shivani: So, it’s a very, very pertinent question. And that’s a problem that Klap is facing right now. Before the pandemic we used to go to different eateries here, like Town Hall, a famous place. And I remember they had to switch on the bright lights by 2am to get people out. Unfortunately, what has happened after the pandemic suddenly, these new hubs have mushroomed and they’re not in the Lutyens’ zone. Our handicap also is that we are in the Lutyens’ zone. It’s a total VIP area, they don’t like loud music after a certain time.
And we are okay with it. But having said that, I believe that’s what F&B business says, that the real revenue comes between 11pm and 1am because people order more drinks and they get a little tipsy. They order more drinks. Unfortunately, after the pandemic, the trend here is that by 11:30pm everything is dead. They’ve enjoyed themselves there, they’ve had their drinks and then they move out. So maybe they go to these places that are open till later.
What about footfalls coming for lunch or dinner to Khan Market?
Shivani: My view is that in Khan Market, most of the good restaurants have lived their life. There has been no churn around. That is coming soon and that will attract more people.
Gurmehar: Most of the restaurants over here, again, they are mostly 9-10 years old, whether it be Town Hall, whether it be Public Affair, or Yum Yum Cha, they all are, I would say, legacy restaurants. So now that whole churning is happening in the market. And I feel by 2024 end, beginning of 2025, we will see the difference of a renewed excitement in the market.
You mentioned a seasonal menu, so how do you loop in sustainability at the restaurant?
Gurmehar: Very important. I have a chef’s garden. And we keep it close to the kitchen, even here, we have it on the terrace. For us, sustainability plays a key role. And it works well in regards to the costing as well. We do change our menu seasonally. We just launched a new menu yesterday. We went through a thorough check of our menu; what was working with people, what was not working with people and pruned it down. We have close to 90 dishes on the menu, working from a 300sqft kitchen!
My main thing is how can I utilise one ingredient into the menu in different sections? Rather than having every section making their own set of sauces and dips and everything. And I work on a costing of not more than 26 to 27%! This includes ingredients which are imported, whether it be coconut milk, jasmine rice, they’re expensive.
Gurmehar, as a chef, when you introduce what you want to introduce, how is it received by the customer? How do you strike a balance of new ingredients, innovation and keeping it palatable to your consumer?
Gurmehar: Two things, as Shivani mentioned, is the location. It plays a very important role, the people who are coming to dine with you, their exposure, their travels and their desire to also want to try something new. I have tried and tested enough and I know the market now literally quite well. So, I know for example, a tuna belly will work and tuna ceviche will not work. So, if I’m giving them something which is known and an Indian palate understands, they will go for it.
How important is customer feedback for you and are you actively taking customer comments?
Gurmehar: Every day. I want to know feedback from every table but it should not be overpowering on the table. Subtle feedback is more than enough. There were times we were using the feedback form, but I think guests are not quite keen on filling it. A personal touch is better, speaking to them, asking them about their experience is what we look into more.
Any common mistakes you see restauranteurs making in their enthusiasm to get into the food business?
Shivani: Gurmehar was telling me last week that there are three new restaurants opening up who have copy-pasted the Klap menu and concept. But they can’t take the soul of Klap. Why judge anybody? A new set of entrepreneurs are getting into F&B business who don’t have history and experience in the business, so they’re imitating. I was telling Gurmehar; he should feel proud that they’re copying you.
Gurmehar: A mistake is possibly these new young entrepreneurs who come in thinking that the restaurant field is all about glamour, running it for six months and spoiling the whole market for us by poaching staff. And paying them three times the amount and spoiling the entire market for us. It doesn’t really work well. Running a restaurant is running it for 9-10 years. It cannot be a flyby night operation. There will be ups and downs, you need to invest your time, you need to come to the restaurant every day, you need to be hands on.
Shivani: My take on this is the success mantra for F&B or retail is first and foremost is location, location, location. You may have the best product and if you have a very weak location, you’ll keep struggling. Everything has to fall into place together.
Gurmehar, what about you, what would you say is the key mantra for success?
Gurmehar: I would say quality and food consistency is the most important. You can do really well in the first three months, but then once it drops, your location, your rentals, your operational cost will kill you. Location, yes. Very important. But to reach the rental for that location, you have to make sure that your guests are coming back.
Shivani, one question for you now. Ease of running a restaurant in Deni in terms of licensing, approvals, management, how does that work?
Shivani: It’s very difficult. It’s a very herculean task but then you have to go with the flow. You should know the systems well and more than anything else, keep everything by the book. The systems are in place, you should follow it. People I know say that it should be a one window clearance and all that. It’s easier said than done.
