Park Circus to get a taste of ‘Royal’ spread

KOLKATA: Before the year is done, Royal Indian Hotel, the famous eatery that dates back to more than a century, will have a branch. And, it’s only the first move in a proliferation that should see the city dotted with its outlets.
“For a start, we’re opening a 200-seater Royal opposite the Quest Mall near Park Circus. We’ll then branch out in all directions,” fourth generation owner Mohammed Irfan told TOI on Wednesday.“We had plans to start the outlet before Pujas but it now looks like we’ll have to wait till before Christmas. Rajarhat is where the next one will be opened,” he added.
Having begun as a humble eatery serving ‘khushka’ (flavoured rice) and mutton ‘kalia’ near the Nakhoda Masjid, Royal has seen biryani and chaap emerge as signature dishes in its big Mughlai spread. Recipes have remained loyal to a Lucknow lineage and Irfan, whose great-grandfather Ahmed Hussain had started it all in 1905, reminds it’ll stay that way.
“We want to stick to the Awadhi tradition, so you still won’t find potato in the biryani,” he said. “People come to Royal to taste our dishes; why should we change a successful product? It’s only that those in the south who love our dishes will get them closer to their homes,” he added.
While the menu and methods will ensure that the Royal experience is intact, Irfan disclosed that “there will be some extra items in the Park Circus outlet”. “In keeping with our Lucknow leanings, the choices for kebabs will certainly go up,” disclosed Irfan, who is related to Lucknow’s famous Qureshi family of chefs.
Why did Royal take so long to branch out? “It’s just that we were too busy managing the different businesses we are into,” he said, shooting down suggestions that it had been a policy decision all these years.
It’s not just about being the oldest Mughlai outlet in the city, reminds Irfan.
“Satyajit Ray, Ashok Kumar, Dilip Kumar, Uttam Kumar, Raza Murad, members of the Tagore family of Jorasanko, Indian and Pakistan cricketers including Wasim Akram, Javed Miandad, Pathan brothers Irfan and Yusuf… The list of celebrities who’ve come to Royal is long and illustrious. We also get a lot of foreigners at lunch because our restaurant finds mention in tourist guide books; our biryanis go other Indian cities and as far as the USA and UK. You can see how important quality control is for us. So, even as we expand we can never slip from the high standards we’ve set for ourselves,” reminded the 37-year-old.