People in the city are foodies! How else can one explain the mushrooming of restaurants in nooks and corners of the city.
While most restaurants serve Indian food, some list Chinese dishes on their menu. And although there have been a handful of speciality restaurants, almost none have managed to sustain their running. Hoping to break the jinx ‘foreign’ food has on the city is Café Tapas. A Spanish restaurant, Café Tapas is run by husband-wife team of George Kuruvilla and Mariam. The duo runs a successful beach restaurant in Barcelona, Spain. “Right now, a friend of mine is helping me run the place,” says George.
A graduate in hotel management, although trained in the management aspect of running a hotel, George discovered his ‘dormant’ foodie once he started travelling around the world. “While travelling, I tried out various local foods and was amazed at the variety in terms of textures and flavours. I knew then that a part of me belonged to the kitchen. I lived in many places for months at end and learnt how to prepare their dishes.”
George has worked at various restaurants around the world and has worked in the city too. In fact, it was while working at a restaurant in the city that he met Mariam, a Maldivian who is based in Spain. “Mariam came in for a cup of coffee…” And well, a lot can happen over coffee, as a catch line of a popular coffee brand goes.
“That is why the city is home,” says Mariam, “Although we could have started a restaurant anywhere in Kerala or in India for that matter, the city holds a special place for us.” George did start a restaurant in the city called Zest Boulevard a couple of years ago, “but it had to be closed down as the road in front of the restaurant was dug up by the Water Work authorities for laying a line.”
At Café Tapas, George offers a small yet modest menu. There are tapas, salads, pastas, bocadillos (Spanish version of sandwiches), desserts like brownies and chocolate chip cookies, coffees and juices. “There will be daily specials and we will offer barbeques on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.”
Asked if the ingredients for preparing authentic Spanish dishes are available in the city and the duo says: “Most of them are, but some ingredients like chorizo (a variety of sausage) and smoked ham are not, so we are importing them.”
The 30-seater restaurant is located at Sarwaa Lifestyle Store on Shankar’s Road, Sasthamangalam. Says Tiji Philip proprietor of Sarwaa: “All my customers keep urging me to start an eatery adjacent to my store. It has been a long time coming, but I have finally started one.”
But why Spanish? “Well, I didn’t want to start a restaurant that served the usual run-of-the mill stuff. Not many people in the city know of Spanish cuisine so I thought I would introduce them to it with George’s help,” she says.
The architecture of the restaurant has been done by Guruprasad Rane. “We wanted something unique and since Guruprasad is into eco-friendly layouts, he suggested we use bamboo. The restaurant resembles a contemporary Spanish garden. We have used Mediterranean colours and Mariam’s collection of printed black and white photographs will adorn the walls. While some photos are of her family, others are taken from her various travels across the world as a freelance journalist. The joint will be a cosy place where people can come for a bite and relax. We plan to make it Wi-Fi enabled soon.” Café Tapas is open daily from 10.30 a.m. to 8.30 p.m. It will be inaugurated today at 11.30 a.m.
