With Shivratri on the same day, city restaurants are likely to have guests lower than expected on Valentine's ... Read More



Traditionally, Valentine’s Day is one of those days when restaurants expect a big crowd. But sadly, with Maha Shivaratri falling on the same day this year, the situation would not be the same as most people either fast on that day or prefer vegetarian food items.

lowest tax in 13 years

Interestingly, this would be the first Valentine’s Day in 13 years when the tax on restaurant food is the lowest. Ever since the Value Added Tax (VAT) was introduced in 2005 customers have had to pay 19.5% tax (14.5% VAT and 5% service tax) on food prices. From July 2017, after the GST was implemented, the total tax became 18%. Finally from November 2017, the tax slab was revised and restaurants started levying only 5% GST. “This is going to be the first Valentine’s Day when the tax would be the lowest in the last 13 years. And there should be a direct effect on the number of guests coming in,” explained Milan Dutta, manager, Mamagoto .

Restaurant owners’ dilemma

After a drop in GST since last November, most eateries in Kolkata have seen a steep rise in the number of customers with an average increase of 10% in the number of heads. Hard Rock Café on Park Street has recorded around 300 to 350 footfalls on any given weekend since its opening night in December. The head counts increased to around 800 last Christmas. “We could not accommodate everyone and many were seen waiting outside even after midnight,” informed Sakhya Bhattacharjee, operations manager of the pub.

The situation at Mamagoto too was more or less similar. The restaurant witnessed a huge number of customers during Christmas and New Year, and post November the average weekend footfall has been nearly 300. “This Valentine’s Day, we are expecting not less than 400 to 450 guests,” added Milan.

on Southern Avenue, informed CT that though they have already started preparing for V-Day, they are still a bit apprehensive since it also happens to be Shivaratri. “Maha Shivaratri is a widely celebrated festival in India. I am not sure how many guests would turn up as most people fast on that day. Let’s hope for the best,” said Ankit.

Shivaratri comes first

The concern of restaurant owners is not altogether pointless. “Be it secretly or openly, many unmarried women celebrate Maha Shivaratri to get grooms of their choice. Even most girls in my group fast on Shivaratri,” informed Trisha Saha, a second-year student of Bhawanipur Education Society College. Sweta Bagri, another student from Goyenka College, said that she has been religiously fasting on Shivaratri since she was all of eight. “Since I’d see my mother doing puja, it became a yearly ritual for me too,” she said. When quizzed about Valentine’s Day, she revealed, “Initially, I thought of skipping the fast this year, but I changed my mind. I’d rather do an early puja and then have veg food. After all, it’s sincerity that Counts,” added Sweta.

Vegetarian items rule the roost

Probably that is the reason why most restaurants are highlighting their vegetarian menu on that day. “We serve both veg and non-veg items, so it’s not a problem for us,” said Milan. However, Ankit of Arabian Memories is in a fix. “Though we have a few vegetarian items on the menu, that’s not enough. Most Arabic food items have meat as primary ingredient. So, if people come and ask for pure vegetarian food, then there might be a problem,” he added.

Restaurants like Chowman and Oudh 1590 have taken a different path to tackle the situation. Debaditya Chaudhury, owner, said that they are celebrating Valentine’s Day for the entire week and if someone misses out on any meal on V-Day, they can drop in on another day of the week. “We have given special importance on veg food. I have instructed the staff to prepare special veg meals on that day,” he said. But what about Mughlai cuisine, where most of the dishes are non-veg? To this, Debaditya informed that Oudh 1590 is coming up with a lot of special veg dishes for V-Day like palak biryani and veg galawti kebabs, so that guests don’t miss the non-veg dishes much.

Gala time for vegetarians

Meanwhile, pure-vegetarian restaurants in the city are all set for the day. Anticipating a huge crowd on V-Day, Salt Lake-based Haveli has already started pre-booking tables. “As it’s a pure-veg restaurant, we have all kinds of veg dishes and people who prefer food without onion or garlic, we have that option too,” said Neha Bagla, owner of Haveli.

Pirates Deck, near Hatibagan, too is looking forward to celebrate Maha Shivratri and V-Day in style. “About 80% of our guests belong to Marwari and Gujarati communities. However, this year, we are expecting a good number of Bengali customers too,” said an employee of the restaurant.

