- Delhi
- No significant clouds
- Temperature: 19 °C
- Wind: Calm
- Pressure: 1017 hPa
- Rel. Humidity: 64 %
- Visibility: 2.5 km
Fri, 12/03/2010 - 02:00
Submitted by cait on Fri, 03/07/2009 - 13:48
Hard Rock is one of the most famous restaurant chains in the world and subsequently the newest outlet in Delhi’s DLF Place, Saket has great potential to be painfully naff and generic. And anyway, it is all too easy to hate a global brand as it pushes templates of itself out all around the world, soullessly cashing in on its own colossal brand equity. Same menu, different language: same décor, different climate. You get the point, repetitive, boring and plastic.
It was early evening when I paid my first visit to The Hard Rock and the place was already filling up. I ordered an iced tea of the Long Island variety (not as pricey as I expected- got change from 400R) and tried to blend in, reclining on a comfortable sofa in the manner of a celebrity on a day off. Considered wearing my sunglasses inside but that may have hindered my people watching. And what an excellent venue it is for that.
This is a place full of good-looking bright young things who know how to use fashion to decorate and express themselves. I saw some very beautifully dressed individuals, some fabulous footwear and some breathtakingly daring hemlines. The generous space in front of the bar means that there is an air of performance, everyone is aware that everyone else is watching them. The atmosphere is vibrant and alert.
Interestingly, the crowd here is not your typical Hard Rock set, it is not full of tourists and is refreshingly young. I did not see a single overweight middle-aged American with a burger. This is quite simply a good bar functioning like a good bar. It has repeat business and not just passing trade. Friends are coming here to hang out.
Local aspects applied to the international format help to anchor the branch in India. The menu, while predominantly a celebration of all things American (burgers, chips, chicken wings…) includes a section called ‘Merri Dilli’ which provides dishes such as chicken kebabs as a nod to more local food sensibilities. Additionally, U2 was blaring from the speakers as I find it does in most bars in Delhi. The overall affect is that you don’t feel too homesick.
The staff, like the patrons, are also young and trendy- too cool for school doesn’t cover it and I want to be friends with all of them. Perhaps it is the influence of Madonna and Keith Richards, both of whom look out from gigantic images from behind the bar. In that company, who wouldn’t be image conscious? The rest of the décor is predominantly made up of relics from Rock royalty. I was positioned close to Tina Turner’s wig and spent some time with my palms against the glass cabinet that houses John Lennon’s cloak. A jacket that Elvis Presley wore is proudly displayed safely out of reach.
Like a very fun museum, the Hard Rock brings its visitors into close contact with an aspect of global culture that we are all a part of. What dawned on me was that the inclusive nature of rock music might in fact be what is enabling Hard Rock to succeed around the world. Whilst I sat, deep in this thought, a member of staff came up to me to check my happiness status (high, thanks very much) and asked where I was from. When I explained that I am living in Delhi he said, “Well, this is your local, you should own this place”. What a fantastic idea. Does that mean I can try on Elvis’s jacket for size?
It was early evening when I paid my first visit to The Hard Rock and the place was already filling up. I ordered an iced tea of the Long Island variety (not as pricey as I expected- got change from 400R) and tried to blend in, reclining on a comfortable sofa in the manner of a celebrity on a day off. Considered wearing my sunglasses inside but that may have hindered my people watching. And what an excellent venue it is for that.
This is a place full of good-looking bright young things who know how to use fashion to decorate and express themselves. I saw some very beautifully dressed individuals, some fabulous footwear and some breathtakingly daring hemlines. The generous space in front of the bar means that there is an air of performance, everyone is aware that everyone else is watching them. The atmosphere is vibrant and alert.
Interestingly, the crowd here is not your typical Hard Rock set, it is not full of tourists and is refreshingly young. I did not see a single overweight middle-aged American with a burger. This is quite simply a good bar functioning like a good bar. It has repeat business and not just passing trade. Friends are coming here to hang out.
Local aspects applied to the international format help to anchor the branch in India. The menu, while predominantly a celebration of all things American (burgers, chips, chicken wings…) includes a section called ‘Merri Dilli’ which provides dishes such as chicken kebabs as a nod to more local food sensibilities. Additionally, U2 was blaring from the speakers as I find it does in most bars in Delhi. The overall affect is that you don’t feel too homesick.
The staff, like the patrons, are also young and trendy- too cool for school doesn’t cover it and I want to be friends with all of them. Perhaps it is the influence of Madonna and Keith Richards, both of whom look out from gigantic images from behind the bar. In that company, who wouldn’t be image conscious? The rest of the décor is predominantly made up of relics from Rock royalty. I was positioned close to Tina Turner’s wig and spent some time with my palms against the glass cabinet that houses John Lennon’s cloak. A jacket that Elvis Presley wore is proudly displayed safely out of reach.
Like a very fun museum, the Hard Rock brings its visitors into close contact with an aspect of global culture that we are all a part of. What dawned on me was that the inclusive nature of rock music might in fact be what is enabling Hard Rock to succeed around the world. Whilst I sat, deep in this thought, a member of staff came up to me to check my happiness status (high, thanks very much) and asked where I was from. When I explained that I am living in Delhi he said, “Well, this is your local, you should own this place”. What a fantastic idea. Does that mean I can try on Elvis’s jacket for size?
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