By Nadine Vattappara
KOCHI:
When one walks into this specific restaurant, one of the first things that ignite your curiosity is the name. It’s not every day that one comes across a riddle-named restaurant.
The ambience slowly captivates you, as one goes further; we are intrigued to know the story behind this place. Everything in this place exists in a beautiful harmony, be it the calm ambience or the quirky writing on the table.
Njettilla Vattayila, the small restaurant is run by a family. Anu Antony, the son- in law and the brain behind this venture, owns a resort in Munnar and has been in the hotel business for long.
As the days went by, he decided to put up a restaurant and use the culinary expertise of this wife and her mother in his business. The need for a theme was felt as he went further with the idea. The riddle-based theme was incorporated into the decorum of the restaurant. Riddles were printed on the tablecloths which adorned the platform on which the culinary delicacy is served. Much research went into the final decision on the name of the restaurant, Njettilla Vattayila – the answer to the riddle is ‘pappadam’, a crisp, disc-shaped accompaniment to Indian dishes.
Anu says, “We didn’t wait for ideas to come to us. We kept an open- mind, towards the end the whole thing started to take shape. We didn’t have pre-conceived ideas. ”
The restaurant was made keeping in mind the requirements of the customers. The idea behind this place was to make the people feel at home. Restaurateurs have also taken an effort to make it eco-friendly, by using environment-friendly glasses and other materials.
Maybe, because of all these factors, the restaurant is a successful venture, from the mere collection of 800 Rs in the beginning to a business worth lakhs just in a matter of months. They sell close to 25 kg non-vegetarian item and 35 Kg banana fry in a day.
Another person who is an inevitable part of this venture is Suja Pious, or fondly called as ‘ammachi’. Kitchen falls under her jurisdiction, as culinary skills are her forte. She was always passionate about making new things, trying out different combinations and varieties. She says, “the key constituent to a lip-smacking dish, is the right mixture of ‘masalas’, therefore I make everything myself.”
One of the star attractions of this place is their banana fry and the beef curry combination. She said, “Many NRIs, especially people from Gulf and Canada frequent this place”. This venture is almost 5 months old, but their success is phenomenal, they are getting tons of reviews on Zomato and Facebook.
It is fact that it takes a lot of effort to think of a new and a different but marketable idea, but it takes double the effort to make the whole thing, aesthetically appealing.
