Why India’s most coveted new restaurants seat fewer than 20 diners

Given the gradual rise in the number of small dining-out spaces in India that promise experiences worth their price tag, how is exclusivity changing the way we eat out and socialise?

You walk into a restaurant you made a reservation at over a month ago, state your name, and are guided by the staff toward a side door. Step inside, and the scene shifts: a quieter, more intimate space built for less than 20 people. The interiors lean into a distinct mood, from jazz bar-inspired interiors to a setting that transports you to your childhood. The menu adds to the story, the staff explains each bit and lets you be, as you spend hours enjoying the whole experience with just one or two other people. 

Unlike about a decade ago, where dining out for most middle-class Indians was restricted to birthdays, anniversaries, or visiting family members, making reservations at large-seating restaurants, today, it is cuisine- and experience-curious diners that are among those driving innovation in the hospitality industry across the country. 

Why Indians are choosing unique dining experiences over big restaurants 

A decade ago, Indians would opt for familiar cuisines whilst eating out—Indian, Chinese, or Italian. Today, there is no dearth of options—from Korean and Thai to Peruvian and Nigerian— so diners are spoilt for choice. “Indians will always want value for [their] money. But what they want out of that value has changed. Diners today aren’t looking at larger portions or exotic ingredients, but a complete, wholesome experience. The restaurant must be good-looking, with service that is spiffy, food that is good, and drinks that are seen on Instagram or at par with those offered at bars around the world,” says Parul Pratap, Executive Chef with New Delhi-based cafe and cocktail bar Music and Mountains. Pratap has been in the hospitality industry for 25 years. 

In recent times, the amount of disposable income among the middle class in India has grown significantly. A December 2024 study by Statista Market Insights predicted that in 2025, the average urban Indian consumer spending per capita on food and non-alcoholic beverages in India would amount to US$533.98 (approximately ₹45,000). A study by the Confederation of Indian Industry stated that the announcement of no income tax up to ₹12 lakh in the new tax regime would enhance consumption in the economy and boost disposable incomes for the salaried and middle classes. 

Given that most Indians today are well-travelled and have had quality experiences abroad, they understand the nuances of dining out much better. Moreover, they know the difference between a genuinely good meal and a gimmick. “There’s a generational shift. Those spending more on F&B outings today aren’t people in their 70s but in their 40s, and even Gen Z. Five years ago, a concept restaurant like NAAR would neither have been a success nor would it be profitable,” says Prateek Sadhu, chef-founder of NAAR in Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh. Despite the time and effort it takes for diners to get to the restaurant—a 2.5-hour-long drive along a steep, bending road from Chandigarh—it is almost always a sold-out venture. Launched in November 2023, NAAR quickly gained popularity, not only promising a meal made using ingredients foraged from the wilderness around the restaurant, but also because of the overall experience it offers, tucked away in the Himalayas, making guests step away from their busy lives. The dishes, a result of evolving experiments, incorporate unique local flavours that may taste familiar to some. Sadhu gets customers from New Delhi, Chandigarh, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad. 

For Indians, who have usually appreciated larger tables, the idea of privacy and nuance is gradually kicking in, making them seek more focused, intimate experiences when they dine out. Which is why Mumbai’s Veronica’s—a 24-seater cafe in Bandra that specialises in coffee and sandwiches—always has people queuing up outside. On the floor right above Veronica’s is Papa’s, a 12-seater by the same parent company, Hunger Inc. (also the owners of O Pedro and The Bombay Canteen), which limits the number of people per reservation for a meal to six people. It is an exclusivity that offers an approachable vibe with an experience that is akin to fine dining, but doing away with the overly expensive, excessively formal, intimidating perception of fine dining in India. Here, Ambur-style biryani-meets socarrat-laden paella, a Kashmir-inspired Wellington with layers of yakhni sauce, with service so attentive, they don't let you zone out into your phone. 

“Experience-driven dining is taking over from fine dining," notes Yash Bhanage, founder and COO, Hunger Inc. Hospitality, who explains how it’s about evolution via smaller changes on every level. Like plating the chocolate mousse in front of diners. “Great fine dining should be saved for a memorable date, but in India, it’s become a place where rich businesspeople, for instance, come just to tick it off the list,” he says. 

 Why new restaurants in India are betting big on smaller spaces

A smaller space, like NAAR, (16-18 seats), is economically more practical for some, like Sadhu, when construction in remote spaces like Kasauli is more expensive owing to concerns of access. “You have to be smart enough to know where to spend,” says Sadhu, who has a team of 25 staff members. NAAR also has the additional push of being aligned with the locavore philosophy, which connects with and intrigues people. Combine that with having to make reservations for the small space in advance and the narrative builds further, bringing exclusivity.

It’s easier to fill a 20-seater restaurant versus a 150-seater, for example, because the eatery can have two sittings (1 pm and 3 pm; 7 pm and 9 pm), and actually have 80 diners a day. Also, if the fare on offer is good enough, there’s nary a chance of the restaurant running empty. 

The feasibility of smaller spaces doing well also depends on the cost of licenses and permissions, priced differently across cities in India. “Licenses and permissions—including the FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) License, the eating house license, trade license, liquor license, a fire NOC, shop and establishment license, signage license, and music license—are priced higher in Mumbai (₹20-30 lakhs), Bengaluru (₹1 crore), and Goa (₹50,000-Rs 80,000). So, it makes sense to have a bigger space because you need to earn money. Delhi is used to larger 150-seater eateries, where you can only have mass experiences, lacking intimacy,” says Nitin Wagh, co-owner of Loulou Cocktail Bar and The ASSA House in Goa. 

But, today, it’s easier—and quicker—to recover costs in a smaller space. “ Bars and restaurants can price a cocktail for ₹950 as they know the crowd coming in won’t mind spending ₹10,000-12,000 per person,” adds Wagh.  One can price the menu at a 20-seater better, since exclusivity gives the space the privilege to do sit-down services that last two hours and can be planned as a package. That planning allows the restaurant to be able to plan and pre-sell an experience, with advanced reservations restaurants/bars can charge for. “In case the guest wants to cancel, they are obliged to do so in advance. This means you are prepared to fill that slot again. Or, the guests don’t cancel and they end up losing that money. Either way, you cover the cost,” says Pratap. 

Why small restaurants in India feel more personal 

Having a small space means owners have the opportunity to meet all the diners in their bar/restaurant. “People don't mind squeezing in when they know the crowd is going to be great,” says Wagh, who’s seen five people occupying three-seaters at Loulou Cocktail Bar (an 18-seater) when it’s particularly crowded. The bar has four bartenders, one or two kitchen staff in their shared kitchen at The ASSA House, and six staff members. 

Benne, a standing-only (15-18 people), self-service restaurant that serves traditional Bengaluru Benne dosa opened in Bandra, Mumbai, in 2024 to serpentine queues. Co-owner Akhil Iyer says it allows him to track what’s happening at the restaurant in one sweeping glance. Benne has three staff members, besides housekeeping staff and a guard, as customers order at the kiosk and pick up their own food. “Some people may say it’s too cramped or that they want to sit. I understand that but we have to be true to who we are. It works because we’re serving a type of dosa Mumbai hasn’t been all too familiar with,” says Iyer, who primarily wanted to bring his childhood experience of growing up in Bengaluru and visiting the simple, unassuming neighbourhood Darshinis which are known for their community-style tables. Within a year of the Bandra outlet of Benne, Iyer opened a 60-seater in Juhu this  February. 

The strategy behind India’s most talked-about restaurants

“If I’m in Bandra, will I stand in line to see what the experience at Benne is all about? Yes,” says Wagh. It is perhaps a well-established fact that the more difficult it becomes to secure a reservation at a restaurant or a bar, the more people want to go there to see for themselves what the hype is all about, and, in some cases, also to be seen and gain bragging rights on social media or among their social circles. 

“Small spaces immediately mean some form of exclusivity, making a guest feel like it’s a privilege to get a table. It’s actually smart marketing, because you aren’t focusing on the product but on exclusivity, which everyone wants, irrespective of their economic or social strata,” says Pratap. Furthermore, there’s an assumption that if everyone is vying for something, then the product will definitely be good. This aura of exclusivity works in a day and age when there are establishments offering single-origin coffee, hand-rolled sushi, and imported or hyper-local ingredients. 

Inside the reality of managing VIP diners 

However, what is also a known fact is that restaurateurs cannot mirror the intimacy of a small 20-seater at a 60-seater. There is pressure because there are people queuing up. “Indians will wait in a queue at the Dominique Ansel Bakery in New York and post about it on Instagram, but once they cross immigration, their privilege kicks in,” says Bhanage, who has faced enough backlash from customers trying to make reservations at Papa’s but are unable to secure spots. Papa’s has a website via which reservations open a month in advance. Yet, there are people who put pressure and use every kind of tactic available to get a seat. “This is unfair to the 240 people who [have already] booked for the month. Some even say things like ‘I have dined at Noma, or at XYZ, so why can’t I get a reservation at Papa’s?’” says Bhanage. It gets even worse when they find out they have to pay ₹6,000 to reserve a seat. Meanwhile, at The Bombay Canteen, the restaurant charges ₹2,000 for a reservation for a group of eight people or more, who have sometimes asked Bhanage to waive it for them. 

The concept of intimate dining is also something that could perhaps teach Indians to turn up for meals on time. “It’s a joy to say no to people, and that we’ll only be able to hold their table for 15 minutes. [Most] Indians are never on time and love to keep people waiting, not respecting the other person’s time and taking things for granted,” says Wagh, adding, “Indians don't like to hear the word ‘no.’” People also want to visit spaces where they can potentially rub shoulders with celebrities—singer Dua Lipa dined at Papa’s in November last year after emailing them two months in advance. She could only get two seats. 

Exclusivity creates demand,making us wonder what’s making people line up outside eateries, a trend similar to high-end designer brands in the luxury space, where you pre-book bags and save up for them much in advance. “So, it’s not weird to assume there are people who say they are revolving their whole week around a [restaurant] reservation. Sushi spots in Japan are booked out a year in advance, just like Michelin-star restaurants in Europe. For the first one year that a restaurant opens, it’s all about the chatter,” says Pratap. 

Yet, Sadhu gets a shocked reaction from potential diners when he informs them they need to book their spot, and pay the full amount in advance, three months before they want to come for a meal. “The economics is important—an advance payment in full decreases chances of cancellations. An empty seat is also disrespectful towards restaurants and a potential diner the restaurant couldn’t accommodate,” points out Sadhu, another etiquette Indian diners could stand to adopt. 

How urban Indians are redefining dining out in 2025

Despite the small capacity, the Bandra outlet of Benne still sees large groups at times, including families and office colleagues or friends. Plus, families are becoming smaller, making systems nuclear as well. Take New Delhi and Gururgam, says Pratap. “In Gurugram, when it’s just the two people in a double income no-kids household, then why wouldn’t you have restaurants that cater to a more intimate set-up?” says Pratap, especially when occasions for family gatherings are becoming few and far between.

“Intimacy becomes crucial because people are living busy lives, working 10-12 hours a day, five-six days a week, so meeting people you care about should be memorable—that’s one way to maximise time,” adds Pratap, who gets calls from customers who ask her if the restaurant would be too loud for them to talk to each other.  

Intimacy is why, in 2025, the idea of most forms of indulgence or entertainment is scaling down, becoming more one-on-one. There are so many people who’ve gone from frequenting cinema halls to watch films—which was such a big part of Indian culture—to now being content with waiting to watch them on a streaming platform. 

But, in the F&B industry, this intimacy is an indulgence that may come at a price: Can the profitable hype of small spaces make them so exclusive that they seem unattainable, breaking away from the very ethos of food being a community experience?

Also Read: For these Indian chefs, creating a dining experience extends to uplifting the immediate local communities

Also Read: Have casual eateries sounded the death knell for fine dining in India?

Also Read: The slow, steady, and nuanced rise of South Indian food in North India