Considering the commercial cut-throat competition which has set in on the Bangalore food landscape, one would imagine the old names on the Bangalore food firmament would get swept away, for the new. However Bangaloreans still stand loyal to the grand 'old' men of the Bangalore hotel scene from the '60s and '70s.
At any given time today, getting a table at Koshy's, Desmond's, Ebony, Taipan or Casa Piccola is like rolling a dice. The odds are you will have to wait your turn, till a table clears to make way for you. And customers wait, patiently at that. There must be some magic formula which keeps customers coming and keeps them loyal.
P Oomen Koshy (Prem) and P Oomen Mathew (Santosh) from Koshy's, Desmond Rice from Desmond's, Tony Chang of the chain of Chinese eateries across the city, Bhushan Oberoi of the Casa Piccola fame and Krishna Shantha Kumar of Ebony and 13th Floor are the Czars who hold sway. Inspite of the invasion from all over the world, of hundreds of multi-national food chains and restaurants, these czars of the Bangalore food scene still stand rock solid. Restaurants have opened with a bang and faded away with a whimper and yet these men successfully rake in the big bucks, unfazed by all the hoopla around them. What is their success mantra? What is it that keeps their old customers loyal and brings in a whole new eager following from the floating population which has inundated Bangalore?
Begun in 1940, Koshy's was the brain child of PO Koshy who was a banker by profession. "My grandfather began by supplying what was then known as the Army Loaf to the British troops stationed in the cantonment of Bangalore from 1-B South Parade (now MG Road). Soon he began to deliver bread and pastries to the residents in the city. Later with the support of St. Mark's Cathedral among others, a restaurant called Parade Café was built. Today, 67 years later, we run the restaurant exactly like it was run 67 years ago. We have customers who visit us every day, to partake of our famous Koshy's coffee, which tastes exactly like it did, on the day Parade café opened and we served our first cup. In fact, we still write ledgers and keep accounts documented by hand, exactly like we did with no computers anywhere. Our networks are never down," says Prem Koshy saucily, who is the third generation of the family running the business.
Legend
Desmond Rice is a legend on the hotel industry skyline of Bangalore. Starting out in the '70s, Desmond began his career with Blue Fox on MG Road and soon took over as its manager. " In those days, Bangalore was a little sleepy town and a pensioners’ paradise. I moved on to be GM of Bangalore International in High Grounds which was a 60-room hotel. The only other fine dining restaurants in those days were Peacock on Residency Road, Africana, The Attic on MG Road next to Blue Moon and Topkapi on the 24th Floor of the Utility Building. I moved to run Princes on Brigade Road which had the finest interiors in Bangalore and the first disco called Knock Out. In 1989, along with a partner I started Tycoons which was a huge success till 2004. All the hotels I was associated with left a mark in Bangalore and are well remembered." Today Desmond is confident enough to ride his money on a restaurant with his name. He opened Desmond's on Lavelle Road in 2004 and began the Koramangala outlet in 2006. Both are hugely successful and he has clientele who visit from all over the world, looking out especially for him. " They come specifically to enjoy the Chicken a la Kiev, Fish Florentine, Onion soup and steaks that we built our name on," he reveals.
 It's the same with Prem Koshy who talks about customers who dream about coming to Bangalore to eat his Fish and Chips, Roast Chicken, Chicken liver on toast and Prawn Curry and Rice. " People come for the memories. They eat their favourite dishes 20 or 30 years later and are overcome with emotion that the dishes taste exactly the same as when they first ordered them. Even the restaurant smells the same, as we wipe down the tables and chairs with Dettol, like we did decades ago. Our customers come 50,000 miles for this," he says.
Pioneers all
Tony Chang, eldest of the famous Chang family, that has been the pioneers of Chinese food in Bangalore, has similar tales to tell. " I have a customer who comes every single Sunday, rain or shine from the 1950s. He is well into his 70s now and if he is unwell, his driver comes to collect a plate of Chilli Chicken for him. We have customers from Dad’s time who talk about the good old days when they could get a steaming plate of Sweet 'n Sour prawns for just 50 paise." Tony's Dad Vincent Chang started China Restaurant way back in 1948 on Brigade Road and changed the name to Continental in '62 when the Chinese aggression broke out. In '82 after doing his hotel management, Tony and his siblings began to work with their father and ran the famous Blue Heaven on Church Street. Today the family runs Continental on Residency Road and Taipan on Richmond Road.
Affable and erudite Krishna Shanta Kumar is the youngest of the czars beginning his career 13 years ago. "We began Ebony all of 13 years ago and began 13th Floor 6 years ago to cater to the younger crowd.
Huge revival
All the restaurants begun at that time, like Peacock and Tycoons are no more. Looking at the huge revival of Indian food in India, we began Sikander and have moved into Sinbaad to cater to the tech-park crowd. We have realized that we have to evolve to grow. Travelling and looking at new concepts, we have been able to realize that a quick and busy lunch is the mantra of the day. We have been around a long time, but we do not grow haphazardly. We aspire to the success we have had with Ebony in all our new endeavours. Clients travel and know food today, so we offer only the real Mc Coy. But we also know that there is a big slice of clients who want their Butter Chicken and Rogan Josh. Rather than lose out, we have put our signature on those dishes and serve them in our restaurants. We have customers coming back on nostalgia trips so we do keep our favourites on the menu but we change the whole menu every year."    
One has to stand outside Desmond's on Lavelle Road, along with a large crowd of young customers, all waiting to get in for lunch, on a week day. It's the same at Koshy's or at Taipan and at Ebony's and 13th Floor without a booking, forget it! "Just a few minutes Sir, the tables will get cleared and you will be accommodated," says Desmond with a smile, at an anxiously waiting family. " Hi, how are you, it's so nice to have you all celebrating here together," says Prem as a family of five generations troops in to celebrate the patriarch of the family’s birthday. "Welcome, please do make yourselves comfortable," says Tony to a young couple who are obviously visiting for the first time. It's that personal touch, it's that old world Bangalore charm, that obviously is missing in the newer restaurants in the city.
" We must take a group picture of us in Koshy's the oldest restaurant of Bangalore," insists  Krishna Shanta Kumar. " After all it is this city that has held us and nurtured us and without Bangalore, we would be nothing today." The camaraderie is infectious, especially when Prem and Santhosh decide to treat their buddies to 'saapaad,' after the shoot.