NEW DELHI: For two consecutive days last week, two restaurants in Delhi’s Connaught Place became an unusual backdrop to the INDIA Bloc’s political meetings.
With opposition leaders having gathered over lunch at Sagar Ratna, Janpath and Moets Restaurant at CP’s K Block, the attention appears to have spilt beyond politics, with people stopping to click photographs outside the establishments and the establishments witnessing renewed curiosity around the venues.
The visits have given the restaurants a moment in the public spotlight, turning familiar dining destinations into talking points for passersby.
At Moets, the management said the arrangements for the political gathering had required the restaurant to temporarily keep its regular business aside, with the entire establishment reserved for the visiting leaders.
Speaking to the newspaper, Harish Chandra, General Manager at Moets, said that the restaurant received a call late on the night of October 7, informing the management that around 75-100 people were expected for lunch the following day.
Given that the restaurant has a seating capacity of about 80, the management initially discussed accommodating the guests in batches.
However, plans changed when it became clear that the visiting group would comprise INDIA Bloc leaders. The restaurant then decided to block the entire premises for the gathering, which took place on October 8.
“We did not take any bookings from 12.00 pm to 3.30 pm. We had blocked the restaurant for them,” Chandra said, explaining that regular customers could not be accommodated during the period.
The preparations began well before the leaders arrived. Security personnel, including the Delhi Police, a bomb squad and the Special Protection Group, reached the premises by around 11.30 am for security checks and screening. The opposition leaders arrived at approximately 1.45 pm.
The restaurant’s association with the Congress party, however, predates the high-profile visit. Chandra said Moets has been a registered vendor at the party’s headquarters, Indira Gandhi Bhawan, since it opened, and the restaurant was most likely approached through that existing association.
The lunch itself was kept straightforward, with the restaurant serving entirely vegetarian food. Moets offers a multi-cuisine menu, but among the Indian cuisine that was served for the leaders, a special addition was 'Thai curry'.
While the immediate impact of the gathering included a steady stream of journalists and bloggers visiting the premises for interviews and recordings, the broader response has also drawn attention to the restaurant’s public profile.
According to some staff at the restaurant, the hotel has seen renewed visibility after the INDIA Bloc visit, with many people calling up for bookings and expressing interest in visiting the restaurant.
A day before their visit to Moets, the opposition leaders had visited the iconic Sagar Ratna at Janpath, which stands right opposite Janpath metro station's gate number 2.
Even though the restaurant refused to comment on the matter in detail, they said, “the visit of VIPs is quite often at our restaurant.”
Sources aware of the matter said that the booking was made at the last minute, with some people saying that it was done the morning of October 7 (the day of the visit) and some saying that it was done the night before. At Sagar Ratna, the cuisine is purely South Indian food, and thereby the leaders stuck to that.
People were, however, seen taking photographs outside both the establishments following the political meetings.
For now, the two restaurants have found themselves at the intersection of politics and public curiosity.