[blackwasp]

With lockdown ending and shops, offices resuming operations in most parts of the country, here are some of the guidelines issued by the authorities. These are mostly specific to the restaurants.

• Seating arrangement has to be made in such a way that adequate social distancing is maintained.

• In restaurants, not more than 50 per cent of seating capacity will be permitted. The restaurants have been advised to use disposable menus.

• Instead of cloth napkins, use of good quality disposable paper napkins to be encouraged.

• Contactless mode of ordering and digital mode of payment (using e-wallets) to be encouraged.

• Room service or takeaways to be encouraged, instead of dine-in. Food delivery personnel should leave the packet at guest or customer’s door and not handed directly to the receiver.

• The staff for home deliveries shall be screened thermally by the hotel authorities prior to allowing home deliveries.

• Effective and frequent sanitation within the premises shall be maintained with particular focus on lavatories, drinking and handwashing stations/areas.

• Cleaning and regular disinfection (using 1 per cent sodium hypochlorite) of frequently touched surfaces (doorknobs, elevator buttons, handrails, benches, washroom fixtures, etc) to be made mandatory in all guest service area and common areas.

• In the kitchen, the staff should follow social distancing norms at workplace.

• Kitchens area must be sanitized at regular intervals.

Incase the staff come across or suspect a Covid-19 case:

a. Place the ill person in a room or area where they are isolated from others.

b. Provide a mask/face cover till such time he/she is examined by a doctor.

c. Immediately inform the nearest medical facility (hospital/clinic) or call the state or district helpline.

d. A risk assessment will be undertaken by the designated public health authority (district RRT/treating physician) and accordingly further action be initiated regarding the management of the case, his/her contacts and need for disinfection.

e. Disinfection of the premises to be taken up if the person is found positive.

Source

Appropriate distance between tables, minimal contact between servers and guests, QR code menu, QR code payment facilities and hygiene at all levels have been planned. “Safety, hygiene and social distancing norms will be followed throughout the hotel. Various training sessions have been conducted for the teams. Restaurant seating has been reduced and rearranged. Technology and thorough planning before every meal period will play an important role,” said Sumit Joshi.

Buffet services at The Oberoi Grand, ITC Sonar, ITC Royal Bengal, Taj Bengal, Hyatt Regency Kolkata, JW Marriott Kolkata, The Westin Kolkata Rajarhat and The Park have been temporarily discontinued.

While most hotels will be opening their restaurants today, at JW Marriott it would be a gradual process. “We will first open with JW Kitchen, where we will also serve some of the fave dishes from Vintage Asia. Then gradually we will open Vintage Asia in phases. JW Kitchen would be operational from 6.30am to 10.30am for breakfast, 12.30pm to 3pm for lunch and 6.30pm to 8.15pm for the time being as per government rules,” said Gaurav Singh.

Source



What is to be the new dining experience with we visit restaurants? And I would like to know what the foodies of Team-BHP plan to do about it. As a person who loves eating, I was happy to have supportive family and we made lots of dishes right at home. But this is not possible for everyone. I equally miss my cutting chai and vadapav on the way to work as well as a nice dinner with family at a local hotel.

[Eddy]

No chance that I am going to any restaurant at all. Delivery maybe, we got food delivered once about 10 day back. We will order again on Wednesday, but I don't foresee us going to a restaurant anytime soon.

Staying and eating at home is healthier, in more ways now than it was earlier

[am1m]

Have been ordering food right through the lock down, no issues so far. Have visited one of the fancier darshinis (local south Indian restaurant) a couple of times since the 'lock down 6.0/relax/unlock/whatever' stage kicked in for my masala dosa-filter coffee fix. They are taking elaborate precautions, masks, temperature check, taking cell phone numbers for contact tracing if required later, sanitizer, designated places for customers to stand apart and order and with enough space outside to stand and eat.

Enjoyed the snack, but really sad to see everything disposable. Laminated paper boxes, plastic packets for chutney, plastic spoons, cups. Before this situation, we seemed to be making some progress towards reducing plastic usage. Most darshinis were using steel utensils and washing them in hot water which will anyway kill any viruses. But now I don't think anyone will even care with all this panic. Common sense has been drowned out in the chorus of 'better safe than sorry!'

So we'll just have an even bigger plastic waste problem down the line. Great.

[Fordlover88]

Not going to any restaurant(at least for the time being). It will be difficult to maintain social distancing in restaurant's & we don't know about the precautions being taken while the food is being prepared. We are avoiding outside food since the lockdown started & will continue to do so until thing's get better.

[TorqueyTechie]

I will definitely not be going to any restaurants in the near future nor order any take away. Not much change for me as we used to prefer home cooked food and go to restaurants very rarely. But with pandemic, it makes it more difficult as there are lot of people involved in the process by the time it reaches me. So home food it is for quite some time. Safe and money saved!

One of the iconic restaurants in Bengaluru, Vidhyarthi Bhavan (known for strangers sharing tables) have come up with a solution for their business. More info here.



I am not sure how effective it will be though. But I think most of the restaurants will need to come up with some innovative solutions to stay in business. I believe all the small scale darshinis/hotels and such will make good business though as they are the lifeline for most of the people in Bengaluru atleast.

[Shreyans_Jain]

Not going to any restaurant or ordering any food home. No point risking it. I was a compulsive eater of outside food, with at least one meal a day, sometimes two. Have been eating only home cooked food for the past couple of months and yes, it is much healthier. And easier on the wallet too. Quality of the food cooked at home, the variety as well as taste, has improved significantly during the lockdown period

[mazda4life]

After a long break, braved to get food from my favorite Darshini in Jayanagar. The quality of the food was good ,but somehow felt fidgety just climbing the steps to order the food and that too when the counter and delivery table was just on the front. I spoke with the owner of the hotel and he was not a happy camper but was still positive that his regulars would return soon. He did mention that not many of his employees left to their native and that he supported them with shelter and food for the past 3 months.

[Rajeevraj]

Don't think we will be going out to restaurants in the near future. Frequency had come down before the lock down also as we had started getting a sense of deja vu with outside food. Go to some place expecting some fantastic food, pay exorbitant rates and then come back under whelmed. So lot of our eating out was tied to when we stepped out to catch a movie. Ordering from outside also was when required due to some constraints at home and was not driven by the craving to eat specific items.

I think in a few days lot of these norms will start getting disregarded and it will be regular crowds at restaurants. I don't see any social distancing being maintained in the neighborhood shops or out in the road in general.

[Lobogris]

We went to a mall today and then went outside to eat at a small chain restaurant that was open. Hands were sanitised before eating. No real worry. The only concern I had was that there were a couple of other people sitting across from me at two tables about 5 feet away. There was an ac and a fan on so that would help spread the air around but the overall space was small. More than any food based contamination, I would be worried about breathing the same air if other people are present close by. In a larger space, I wouldn’t be too worried. My first restaurant meal in over two months! The only precautions I would take is to wash hands if possible or at least use sanitiser and choose an airy and not too crowded place. Carrying your own disposable cutlery might be a good idea as well.

[SS80]

Originally Posted by TorqueyTechie

I will definitely not be going to any restaurants in the near future nor order any take away. Not much change for me as we used to pref as they are the lifeline for most of the people in Bengaluru atleast.

Although I appreciate the innovative thinking of the restaurant. That partition won't hold or control spread of any aerosol particles in case someone sneezes.

I won't be visiting any hotels for next few months, as situation is still too risky to be stepping outside for non essentials. Ordering through the app is also risky, but it's far better than being there.

One of my own childhood friend runs a small hotel in the heart of Bangalore and he does not see any good times for the next few months. He claims it might take a quarter or two before people really start stepping out like before.

God save these restaurants and all the dependant families.

[GTO]

No man, I won't. They can take all the precautions they want, but I'm not stepping inside a restaurant / club / lounge for a long time to come. Just don't see it being worth the risk. As Shreyans_Jain said, the variety in our home food has already gone up a notch or two. It's healthier & safer. And in the rare occasion that we feel like gorging on outside grub, we can always use delivery and carry out all precautions (including re-heating it in the microwave).

Originally Posted by TorqueyTechie

One of the iconic restaurants in Bengaluru, Vidhyarthi Bhavan (known for strangers sharing tables) have come up with a solution for their business.

Neat one , but it will only help in preventing the spread from the guy sitting opposite you, not beside. See how close the dudes are sitting side-by-side. The partition should be extended on the side to cover their entire body (laterally).

[Turbanator]

Looks I am in a minority, with a Caveat though. I don't eat out normally and everywhere. Occasional Breakfast at some of Cafe or a Dinner at a relatively less busy place. This was in older times and I intend to continue the same way.

One needs to be more selective now. So, the fast food stalls or food areas in the malls can be a Question but a quick McD or Starbucks trip should be ok. There are many places from where we can get this infection, more than the food, which I believe many are Ok with, it's conditions while serving or sitting that matters.

[ABHI_1512]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

Looks I am in a minority, with a Caveat though. This was in older times and I intend to continue the same way.

One needs to be more selective now. There are many places from where we can get this infection, more than the food, which I believe many are Ok with, it's conditions while serving or sitting that matters.

Count me in your minority list, I don’t eat out every now and then but have always preferred some selected places to eat. And those same places have opened with all their precautions and are operating with the SOP laid down for the restaurants. I am more than certain if the virus has to attack, it has got many touch points to get you, much more than the food we eat from outside. I would be heading to my favourite Mughlai restaurant here in Calcutta at the first available instance without a second thought but off course with the usual precautions.

[ValarMorghulis]

The missus and I used to eat out pretty frequently, especially having a cuppa or two of coffee every alternate day near our home or the filter coffee at Asha Tiffin in HSR; earlier.Now there is no way I'm taking any risk whatsoever.
Had a craving and ordered Burger King burgers & fried chicken on Friday night. Holy Vishnu, I've not had worse burgers and fried chicken in a long long time. Safe to say, BK is off my menu, forever.

Cooking at home is healthier and my burgers far more delicious.

Not eating out or ordering in either. Home cooking FTW

[PrideRed]

I heard a lot of restaurants are not opening primarily because of lack of staff. Most of North Indian restaurants here are dependent on cooks from North who are yet to return back. Housekeeping staff also seem to be scarce. One thing that lockdown has taught us is how to cook restaurant style food at home. Not only this is healthier but also cheaper on pocket. I think even if restaurants open with full capacity, I would visit far lesser than earlier.