Introducing Many Firsts: How This Restaurateur has Stayed Ahead of the Game

Café Delhi Heights has given many firsts to the country. From being one of the first Indian restaurant to introducing café culture and making casual dining more culture. Not just that, it also became the first café to open at historic Red Fort. Founded by Vikrant Batra and Sharad Batra 12 years ago in Delhi, Café Delhi Heights has become a go-to restaurants for customers in the region and gradually across the country. It aims to provide a comfortable and happy dining experience for customers of all generations by offering a diverse range of food options to cater to different palates. Restaurant India spoke to Vikrant Batra, Co-founder, Cafe Delhi Heights on completion of its successful 12 years. Excerpts from the interview:

What was the inspiration behind starting Cafe Delhi Heights, and how has the brand evolved since its inception?

The inspiration comes from our family. Being a joint family, where all three generations like to go out together, we always used to struggle to decide which place to go to. To find a place where our mother and daughters both will be comfortable to go. A place hip enough for our sons yet has a few traditional dishes on the menu to make my dad happy. We could never find a place that was easy going for us to spend quality time together as a family and have quality food at the same time. To answer all these questions we got the answer called Cafe Delhi Heights.

There were many ups and downs in this journey. We learned from our mistakes and the feedback given by our customers. We kept evolving ourselves to be a café where all three generations can eat together. And, today we are running more than 34 outlets PAN India and aims at growing and serving our customers good food.

How does it feel on the 12th anniversary of the brand?

It definitely feels great because we have worked really hard on the accomplishment of our goals. I have given all that I have to Café Delhi Heights. My vision to introduce Café Culture clicked with the audience 12 years back and we as the brand are growing year after year. We started our Journey from 1 outlet at Crosspoint mall, Gurgaon. Today we have 40 outlets and we are planning to open up more. Right from Introducing Café Culture, to Casual dining culture to Juicy lucy burgers and more, We are certainly content to offer our customers the best of experience and introduce more innovations, outlets, consistency and love.

Milestone achieved

The café chain has gained popularity and established a strong presence in several cities across India, including Delhi, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Pune, Gurugram, Noida, Ludhiana, Bangalore, and Lucknow. It started with a single outlet at Crosspoint Mall in Gurugram and has now expanded to 35+ outlets. The company plans to continue its growth by opening 10 new outlets every year. One notable achievement of Café Delhi Heights is being the first-ever restaurant located inside the historical monument, Red Fort.

Café Delhi Heights has experienced a phenomenal journey over the past 12 years, and we aim to continue this growth for the next 12 years as well. The focus has been on aggressive expansion for the last 5 years, and this expansion strategy will continue in the coming years. We plan on opening 12 more outlets soon.

The goal is to be present wherever there is a demand for the brand, regardless of the city, tier and classification.

Maintaining Quality and Consistency

"I always believe in maintaining the image of the brand. For me, more than opening up outlets, the important thing is maintaining the quality and consistency of our brands. Consistent Marketing, consistent quality checks, consistent team visits, reporting, customer feedback and marketing of each new outlet as the new brand keep us intact and in sync with the competitiveness of the market."

How are you celebrating 12 years of success?

We have created very special Archive menu which consists of our all special dishes like Galouti Kebab, Country style crunchy cottage cheese chilli, Mumbai Vada Pav, Paneer Tikka Kathi Roll, Juicy Lucy burger, Delhi burger, OPen chicken burger, Classic fish n chips, Grilled chicken breast, Grilled sole fillet, CDH special Khao Suey veg, Pasta Aglio E Olio, Rajasthani Laal Maas, Famous thai curry green etc The exciting part is that all these dishes are priced at actual prices of 2011. So, celebrate the glory of Original dishes at Original prices.