Observations on Waves Restaurant Mahabalipuram

One of the many eateries in Mamallapuram, is Waves Restaurant which is a part of a hotel called The Mamalla Heritage. This is located in the main market of Mahabalipuram which has numerous stores ranging from supermarkets, groceries, tailors, parlors, arts and crafts shops etc. The place boasts of a good amount of hustle bustle, contrary to my preconceived notion of sluggishness. The market consists of a bus terminal, residential areas in interiors and tourist areas around beaches among the major observations of this area. The localites mainly seemed to be a middle income group, language barrier was not so big a challenge and all in all friendly in their demeanor.

The following are my observations over some parameters/ aspects:

Set-up/ Built:  The property was not huge and the hotel was a multi-storey building, was not constructed on a particular architectural theme. Upon entering the main gate, is a green area on one side with adequate lighting on trees for its beautification, typical of beach resorts. On the other side was the lobby and going straight was part of the restaurant. A noteworthy characteristic of the restaurant was the fact that it was clearly segregated on the basis of Veg and Non-veg cuisines, the former being situated on the ground floor and the latter on the top floor, open air.

Ambience: There seemed to be an attempt to make surroundings appealing to tourists (Indian/ non-Indian). The Non-veg section (which broadly speaking, would attract the tourist-group of customers) was an open air section, with music and a full view of the well-maintained swimming pool.

Product pricing: In general, most of the items on the menu were moderately priced, with non-veg dishes tending towards the higher range. In terms of variety, ironically there weren’t many options which was in sharp contrast to similar players in the market offering a range of sea food etc.

Customer service: The restaurant was adequately staffed with prompt service to customers. On the flip side, they weren’t very articulate or very skilled in their service.

Seating arrangement: The arrangement was well-planned. Tables for larger groups were centrally placed and tables for two were placed along the sides with a better view (of the pool and greenery) than the larger ones possibly to cater to each group accordingly.

Katyayni Kumar
FT 13429