Much beyond being an upscale restaurant, United Coffee House (UCH) in Connaught Place for most is a harbour of memories filtering the nostalgia of the contemplative past, writes ANANYA BORGOHAIN
In 1902, lala Hansraj Kalra, a liquor baron with ventures in Sialkot, lahore and Delhi, established retail wine shop and bars at the time of the World War II for American soldiers. He perceived Delhi’s Connaught Place as a fashionable avenue for prosperous business. Back then, there were a few English companies selling high-end bakery items, accessories, draperies, licensed guns, photo studios etc. Kalra visualised CP as the place that could bring people from diverse backgrounds — politicians, artists, families, writers — together. And thus he set up the historical, cosmopolitan restaurant United Coffee House (UCH) in 1942; in the colonial era.
In the 1970s — in the postcolonial era — Deepak Roy and Ashok Dhobra met at UCH for the first time and started a casual conversation. Today, in 2016 too, they have kept the tradition alive for 40 years and still catch up over coffee almost every day! “I live alone and feel out of place at other eateries. I assume people would just be astonished to see a fragile, old man in a corner all alone. Here, the staff refers to me as dada; they are warm and welcoming. All of us are fond of the food and ambience here,” says Dhobra.
While Dhobra comes all the way from Gurgaon to CP (a distance of over 30 kilometres), Roy comes from Jangpura. Both recollect how they had met at the restaurant, they had found a third person who was sitting there all alone. They asked him to join them, which he did, and soon after a few more men from their age group followed suit. Thus, gradually, they came to form their informal club of sorts, meeting at UCH almost every day; otherwise, at least five days a week.
Dhobra jokes how his ‘club members’ have started to joke that if he is an animal lover — he feeds street dogs every day — he should resist non-vegetarian food. All of them assemble to discuss everything under the sun over the seamless cups of tea and coffee that the restaurant is popular for. What it is also known for are these little anecdotes that have shaped so many personal histories in Delhi. Much beyond being an upscale restaurant, UCH for most is a harbour of memories filtering the nostalgia of the contemplative past.
Today in the post-modern era, the restaurant also bears testimony to contemporary concerns and celebrations. Visitors share their feedback with the servers about how they proposed to their spouses there, got their family there to celebrate their first salary, and so much more. Prithviraj and Raj Kapoor were said to be much fond of it as well.
Server Sandeep Singh has been working at the restaurant for two and a half years. He works for eight hours every day and says, “I notice that Indians mostly like to order multi-cuisines and most of them come with their families. The foreigners, on the other hand, like continental. But yes, most foreigners surprise us when they already seem convinced about what they want to have without a thorough scrutiny of the menu. They know the popular dishes and come solely to test UCH for themselves.”
Almost 75 years ago when UCH was incepted, it was a savoury shop. Today it has a global menu with over 400 dishes including a repertoire of diverse cuisines — regional Indian, Mediterranean, Asian, Continental, European and Western.
Akash Kalra, lala Hansraj Kalra’s grandson and the current Managing Director of UCH, says: “It was actually set up to provide space for intimate rendezvous in a relaxed ambience. This could be made palpable by way of oriental designing and décor. Hence, we have a Victorian décor. The restaurant was designed by a US architect, who had spent his life in England and understood the times of Renaissance, Rembrandt and the Victorian period. Some of the logos which are on the tapestries and the emblems were designed and patented for UCH by him.”
UCH has also been exclusive over the years. After decades of being a solo outlet, another branch was launched in Punjabi Bagh only in 1999. Kalra states, “What we have at CP cannot be replicated. It’s a landmark in itself and has continued to be so all these years. Although now, we are venturing into a new mall module for UCH as soon we will have an outlet at an upcoming mall in Noida. Also, now the plans for UCH is to go pan-India and begin with cities like Mumbai and Kolkata, which too have a colonial past, as they would identify with the UCH story.”
With its aesthetic tapestries, antique clock, and a grand, extremely beautiful chandelier at the centre, the restaurant looks ravishing as it welcomes its diverse customers — Indians, Mongolians, Caucasians, and so on.
Puneet Kukreja has been its operations manager for the past one and a half year. He recalls, “Often we have British tourists who come here to revisit memories of UCH that their grandparents, who lived in India during the colonial times, shared with them.”
At the same time, what the restaurant cannot escape is that its chic reputation and upscale prices, which the elite fancy, could also discourage the layman. The middle class and student population, for instance, might have to reconsider their decision of feasting at the restaurant. Kalra disagrees, “UCH has a balanced menu pricing and engineering which suits every pocket and offers economic options too. It is an experiential destination for all age groups and classes. We also have a feedback form filled by them to analyse what visitors like. That also helps us build their memories like a first date, first anniversary, mother and daughter after shopping, business meetings, family dinners, etc. We’ve been witness to three generations of families that have been visiting us since our inception. Our service has been specially designed to let our customers experience the food, ambience and music and take back memories or relive their time spent at UCH.”
UCH also claims to have breakfast options which fit every pocket; like, the meal in a bowl and combos apt for students. The menu has been specially curated Kalra and his staffers seem to be enamoured by his culinary knowledge and inclinations. Kukreja adds, “All our departments — purchase, finance, HR — undergo regular, thorough checks as well. We also make sure our staffers receive adequate food and bar training.”
However, another very noticeable aspect about the restaurant is that there is no woman staff member there. Kalra clarifies, “Actually, we do keep employing part time female employees but not for permanent employment as we close post midnight and it’s not quite suitable for women in many situations.”
Head Chef Manish Dutt Sharma, who has a stellar background in the field, says every day he makes a variety of cuisines because the place is almost always filled with customers. The tomato fish, cheese balls, and chicken a’la kiev are some of the most popular items on the menu. The restaurant’s a’la kiev precedes its reputation and is an instant recommendation from any regular visitor you would ask. Although, ask chef Sharma about the recipe and he will only smile politely, shunning all requests to reveal his special ingredients!
Prod a bit further and he offers a sneak peek, “We try experimenting during the off-season period. That’s May-June because of the heat. Say, we try the tomato fish with basil or garlic instead. We regularly check online for reviews. It’s overwhelming when customers come to us and click selfies with us. I work for around 15 hours every day and it is overwhelming to see the tremendous response we get.” The chefs are also sent for training to learn new concepts and techniques and implement it at UCH.
Unfortunately, we live in turbulent times filled with cynicism, loathing and violence. A series of attacks on civilians all across the world recently — Orlando, Dhaka, Dallas, Istanbul and so on. However discomforting it sounds, UCH being a historical marker and such a favourite among Delhiites, more so since it’s located in CP — the centre of the Capital — it also makes UCH a considerable target for such unsettling and barbaric acts. So what kind of security measures does the restaurant have to face such situationsIJ Kalra says, “We take such concerns seriously and the team remains absolutely alert and conscious of the surroundings. There are closely monitored CCTV cameras and we have a staff of over 100 efficient people working at the restaurant.” Kukreja adds, “Right from the moment visitors enter the restaurant, we also maintain eye contact with all of them. We are always vigilant.”
The team says it has developed functional training and development process in place to maintain the affection they receive from their visitors. They unanimously agree that their aspiration is to carry the ethos of this historical and socio-cultural landmark with pride.
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