August 2000, Manhattan, New York. Varun Sahni is at the end of his tether. The financial strategist with the UN can barely focus on his work. The assignment at hand—developing solutions for a project in Yemen—needed a clear mind. But it was all getting too much for Sahni after a year-long undp micro-finance study in Bangladesh and West Asia, not to mention a gruelling Masters degree in political science from Columbia University before that. Just how long would he be able to stick it out? At the end of the day, he still had to brave the tube journey home. And yes, he had to get a quick bite too. How he wished he was running his own business. An out-of-the-world eating place perhaps.

December 2001, Mumbai. “Try Brazil Bourbon Santos,” a well-heeled man in his late 20s smiles down at a customer at Mocha Coffee and Conversation (MCC), the much-talked-about coffee bar that has just opened at Churchgate. Modelled after the Quaveh Khaneh of Morocco, the bar boasts of a range of authentic coffee like the Brazil Santos, served with the equally original Paninis, an Italian flat-bread sandwich.

For Sahni, the well-heeled man, it’s a daydream come true. What began as a stray thought in Manhattan soon became a reality when he met with friends in India like Riyaz Almani, an event management graduate from Los Angeles, Oorvish Colah, a film production student from New Zealand, and Kiran Salaskar, a furniture dealer. Discovering a common passion for coffee, the foursome decided to set up the MCC.

Like the quartet, there is a growing tribe of youngsters who are putting their thriving careers aside to become foodmeisters in Mumbai. It doesn’t matter that they have no formal education in the hospitality industry. They are driven only by their love of choice cuisine whetted by dollops of attitude. With the Rs 7,000-crore Indian food market growing by over 10 per cent annually and liberalisation opening up an array of specialty options, the fresh crop of restaurateurs are trying to outdo one another with their unique fares.

For Wasim Khan, it is all about mixing fine food with finer people. Moving away from a flourishing garment business to set up Velocity, a 15,000 sq ft restaurant-cum-entertainment club, he aims at making it a meeting point for the who’s who of Mumbai. Besides Avance, the restaurant which churns out five strains of specialty foods, Velocity also has a swanky dance zone, a well-equipped bar and a cigar lounge.

The add-ons apart, the proof of the new genre’s pudding lies in the eating. At least that’s what banker-turned chef Nikhil Chib believes in. Basuba, his three-month-old south-east Asian restaurant in south Mumbai, already boasts of a high-flying clientele which includes the likes of the Birlas, Goenkas and Bajajs. This, says the Basuba boy, had been possible only because of the “taste” factor.

Foodie Rashmi Uday Singh sees a shift in general perception though. For many people, she says, eating out is an experience involving a sense of adventure or nostalgia. Agrees Keya Sarkar, president of Crisil.com Ltd and owner of the six-month-old Chowringhee Square in south Mumbai. She says she feels a sense of deja vu when she sees her 400-odd regulars gobbling up her Kolkata kathi kababs.

While Sarkar and company are relishing their new-found glory, there are many sceptics who believe the novelty will soon wear off. Speaking from experience, Jaydev Modi, md, Piramal Holdings, says the passion for good food alone won’t do. A personal touch is also important. His Italian restaurant Biscotti was one of the many eat-outs which closed down in the past two years.

Anjan Chatterjee, md of the Rs 24-crore Specialty Restaurants, which runs the popular Main Land China, among others, too is cautious, but thinks he has a recipe for success: have “a unique but affordable menu, prepared to perfection and offered in a personalised way”. Model Ranjeev Mulchandani, whose two-year-old AXiVAAD in Goa is still a major draw, also goes by the same principle. His usp is his fun-packed menu that offers everything from Marine Drive pasta to Baccio desserts.

There are more voices from the past. Rahul Akerkar, the man behind Indigo, the French-Asian restaurant in south Mumbai which has been doing well for over two years, has learnt from his mistakes. A former biochemist, he figured out the art of running a successful business after a series of bad experiences with Just Desserts and Under the Over in Mumbai and Kottiyum in Bangalore. “The key is to constantly reinvent,” says the restaurateur who is opening a school on Thai cuisine soon.

The newcomers, it appears, are all ears. Bolstered by their initial success, they too are full of plans. Sahni and his friends are determined to open Mocha bars in five other cities. Sarkar wants to offer more Bengali delicacies while Chib is looking at a fine dining place in New York where she sold the first pancake she made in a hostel room for a dollar. Looking back, the former student of finance from the University of Rochester knows she has come a long way. Dining at Basuba recently, the head of Alliance Capital, one of Chib’s first employers, told her, “You had the guts to do the right thing, I wish I could do the same.” Now that’s a remark worth chewing on.