Mumbai: How about a visit to the dining room on the sea? Come over, say Queensline Neverland and Queensline Sea YAH as they open their doors to the world. The new dining rooms on the sea will bring to Mumbai its largest dining room on the sea.
The largest ever floating restaurants would be giving diners the enviable experience of having a sumptuous meal in the middle of the Arabian Ocean while catching on the city’s iconic skyline. The restaurants on board two large ships – Queensline Neverland and Queensline Sea YAH – are anchored just a few miles into the sea, off Mumbai’s iconic Gateway of India.
Each ship accommodates 450 diners at any given point of time. The restaurants are multi cuisine and has the best flavours from across the world. The ships will also cruise across Mumbai’s shoreline, giving diners an unparalleled experience of seeing India’s majestic city at sun set. The restaurants are owned by Delhi based entrepreneurs and husband-wife duo Shripriya Dalmia Thirani and Mridul Thirani.
It was the idea of Union Minister Nitin Gadkari to open up Mumbai’s Eastern Sea front and turn it into a Riviera similar to that in the Mediterranean or Western countries. Passengers will be picked up from designated points across Mumbai’s coastline and taken on board the ship for an “unparalleled dining session coupled with a cruise that would allow people to see the city from the water”.
Over the next few months, Shripriya intends to make the decks of these two 4500 tonne vessels the enviable home of art, culture and cuisine. According to Shripriya, “the wait is over. This is our gift to Mumbai. People in this city love to work hard and party hard. We wanted them to have a brand new place to relax and what better than the middle of the sea, looking at the shoreline – the imposing sky scrapers creating a perfect silhouette against a setting sun. The food will be the best of global flavours. Indians don’t have to travel abroad for such flavours anymore”.
The ships have been bought from Turkey. Interestingly, the duo hurled the Indian flag over the Bosporus in Istanbul along with two of the ship’s original owners before it set sail for India. History was made when the duo in the late 30s won the first ever bid to open restaurants on the Arabian Sea last year. Both of them who are rank outsiders in the food and restaurant business beat industry honchos and swung the tide towards them by a demonstration of their sheer love for Mumbai and its waterfront.
Shripriya also intends to open the ships for fairy tale destination weddings. “Water is a very auspicious space and perfect for Indian weddings. Many Indian families you will see now are travelling to sea side destinations for their weddings. Now they don’t have to travel too far. I have brought that fairy tale to their doors now. The two ships can be a perfect host – maybe one for the bride’s side and the other for the groom’s”.
The psychographic profiling of India’s youth confirms that they are very liberal, enjoy experimentation and greater consumption. Eating out is a habit and not an occasion driven activity. The rise of eating out economy has propelled the restaurant industry to $48 billion, according to a report by the National Restaurant Association of India.
Mumbai, which is the tourism hub of India, boasts of over 55 million domestic visitors and 5.10 million international visitors annually. Over 15 million people inhabit the city. Mumbai houses over 500 restaurants. But till now, not a single restaurant has been on the Arabian Sea.
