With the ever-evolving changing trends, growing urbanization, a rise in youth populations and the ever-growing Western influence, diners are beginning to have higher expectations from casual dining restaurants, urging restaurant owners to revamp and reinvent their restaurant-style and services. In fact, that is why a lot of the listed ‘casual dining restaurants’ are becoming more lavish and luxurious implying influence from fine dining restaurants. A new category of restaurants is coming up- Premium Casual Dining Restaurants, that is providing the comfort and elegance of fine dining restaurants, yet offers the casual ambiance and fun environment of casual dining restaurants.
The availability of alcohol and fork and knives cutlery provided all around, even with typical Indian food items has marked a shift in the nature of casual dining restaurants. Since consumer trends and demands are constantly evolving, the types of restaurant concepts to come up are going to be very different now.
The boundaries between fine-dines and casual dining restaurants, though existent, are beginning to blur out.
How Premium Casual Dining Restaurants Differ from Fine-Dines and Casual Dining Restaurants?
We all know about the different types of restaurant concepts, including casual dine and fine dining restaurants, but a new format, named, premium casual dining restaurant has garnered a lot of attention in recent times. Confused about what they are? Read on to find out how premium casual dining restaurants are different from fine-dine and casual restaurants. The restaurant industry in India is surely evolving at a phenomenal speed.
1. The Twist in the Ambiance
Facilitated by evolved restaurant design, service styles, and re-engineered menus, premium casual dining restaurants blur out the lines between fine and casual dining by offering a superior yet casual experience to customers.
If you look at brands like Social, Number 8, SodaBottleOpenerWala, The Flying Saucer Café, etc. you will observe how they are pushing their ‘casual dining’ mode and shifting the greater focus of their restaurant theme, designs and hospitality which has helped them in gaining immense popularity.
2. Better Facilities and Services
Premium casual dining restaurants offer top-notch facilities and services on par with the fine dining restaurants. Over the years, diners have very positively reacted to provisions like table reservations, large and highly indulging dessert options, great platings and table display, extensive and international wine options, celebrity chef menu specials and availability of top chefs on board. The restaurant industry in India is not restricted to its typical cuisines now, which is clearly reflected in the menus of premium casual dining restaurants. When such provisions that might seem exclusively for fine-dines are incorporated, customers find this unobtrusive, but with laudably attentive service and lesser formality and etiquette. Thus, Premium dining restaurants provide a more casual yet premium dining option.
3. Priced Well
Let us talk about the steal here! Premium Casual Dining restaurants do menu pricing well, and they cleverly offer food moderately priced between Rs 1,500- Rs 2,000 for two, which is carefully priced mid-way between the prices of casual dining restaurants and fine-dines. They manage to attract a lot of customers with their prices almost at par with casual dining restaurants and services close to that of a fine dining restaurant, giving an impression of a premium yet affordable social dining options.
4. Wider Target Audience
Premium Casual Dining restaurants target the best of both worlds: the millennials or the youth as well as the families. Hence, this format comes with a wide range of customer base to deal with, and this comes to their advantage.
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Millennials or High Net Worth Individuals (HNI)
While the entire foodservice industry relies on the younger populations, the premium casual dining sector primarily targets millennials or high net-worth individuals (HNIs) that are more open to innovative food and dining options. These HNIs, which includes professionals and young independent individuals, are also individuals who are well-traveled and experienced various cuisines. It is such people who have higher expectations that often fail to be taken care of by the traditional casual dining restaurants, and fine-dining restaurants are not a suitable option for their regular visits. These are individuals that prefer a more relaxed and ‘chilled out’ ambiance, so fine-dining options are never their go-to options. Read here how the changing food habits of millennials are impacting the restaurant business.
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Families
Since more and more youngsters are growing to be fascinated by eating out rather than eating home-cooked food, parents and families are also adjusting to the eating habits of their children and seek to spend more time with them. Families, especially those in the upper-middle-class section lookout for family dining options that are economically viable for them and offer a premium ambiance to enjoy at with their entire families.
With the rise in the economy and demographics of young working professionals, there is an increase in people interested in quality food, high-quality attentive service, casual ambiance, and a parallelly luxurious environment. With this, Premium Casual Restaurants in the coming years have greater opportunities than ever!
Casual dining restaurants and fast casual dining restaurants are fast picking up as the most preferred format for business.
Very comprehensive and informative article. Hidden within the slower-moving casual dining category, premium casual dining has emerged as a fast-growing subset that has a high potential for international growth. Great work Restaurant Times.
India has seen a rise of premium casual dining in the last few years. It is great to see an innovative restaurant type catching up.
People don’t prefer dining at fine dining restaurants due to the heavy cost but casual dining has given people a taste of luxury at a pocket-friendly cost.