AmRest to foray into India's restaurant biz

Poland-based AmRest is contemplating introducing its fully-owned Italian restaurant chain La Tagliatella in the country next year, by setting up five to ten restaurants in top cities such as Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai and Pune and so on, the company said.

Speaking to Deccan Herald, AmRest Holdings Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Henry McGovern, said that the relationship of Indians with their food and their desire to try out different cuisines and tastes is a great opportunity for the company and added, “The people in India are aware of Italian cuisine and also have a taste for it. Hence, we tend to find a market here for our products and have decided to launch La Tagliatella in the country, hopefully, in the first half of the next year.”

La Tagliatella specialises in traditional cuisine from the El Piemonte, La Liguria and La Reggio Emilia regions of Italy, which is beyond the usual pizza and pasta that are popular among the people here.

McGovern said that the restaurant serves authentic Italian cuisine using original ingredients and is positioned in the upper-midscale category, with menu rates in the range of Rs 800 to Rs 1,000.

AmRest is also planning to offer more vegetarian fare in the menu so as to suit the Indian palate, and is also looking at hiring local capabilities.

The company is planning to invest about €10 million into the project, with about €1-2 million being spent on setting up each restaurant, informed McGovern, adding that each would be fully-owned by AmRest.

The company would be testing different restaurant formats such as high street locations, shopping malls and standalone, before deciding on the kind of restaurant to be set up, concluded McGovern.