“I loved the dinner, but I really wish I had a mug of beer to go with it.” If you live in Chennai, there are chances that you’ve either heard this, or said this yourself a fair few times.
Well, Daniel Chao, Area General Manager, Novotel & ibis Chennai OMR, had heard much the same from quite a few of his patrons. They appreciated the menu at the ibis OMR restaurant, Spice It, but the perennial dry-days were off-putting. So voilà! Six months after it launched in late-November, the hotel finally opened its doors to the devil’s water with its pub, The Hub.
The hotel marked the day it acquired its liquor license with a free-for-all, and therefore a — understandably — packed house welcomed the pub. It shares space with Spice It, and the bar is adjacent to a semi-open kitchen. The brightly lit seating area with a modern design sticks to ibis’ red and white colour scheme, with tables for four and sofas for six. It isn’t an atmosphere that screams ‘pub’, and there isn’t a demarcated dance area either Also, the AC vent overhead was leaking at one point — on day one, that doesn’t speak many wonders.
Worth a shot
The evening was graced by a DJ who insisted on dashing out clichéd lounge music at first and clichéd dance music afterwards. But city-based stand-up comedian Mervyn Rozario was thereabouts with a 30-minute interactive set to perk up the evening, sparing none in the audience — this writer was unfavourably compared to Bharati and Thiruvalluvar. Go figure.
Bottoms up : At The Hub
The Hub itself, while technically open for business, is short on variety.. The evening was especially slim pickings with just two types of beer, one brand of vodka, and one of whiskey — all domestic labels — on the racks. Punit Sharma, F&B Director, said they expect imported brands by the end of June. But being a mid-range hotel and pub, he warned there would be limited varieties across liquors, and no cocktail menu. But with its affordable prices, The Hub, even with its limited menu, may be more than worth a shot.
Chao says the ibis management understood the hotel had to break away from its global policy of homogeneity to make a dent in India. “All ibis hotels across the world are practically the same, in design, décor, menu, and more,” he says.” But we realised that this wasn’t the best strategy for India, so we embarked on a new F&B concept in India, where our menus are tailor-made for the country.” If you’re around OMR, head to Spice It, and make sure to try their delectable chicken Tibetan steamed momos, and the chur chur paratha. You can get a meal there for ₹ 500 a head, and with The Hub right there, a cold beer is awaiting a clink.
