It comes as no surprise that Gurgaon is becoming a fine dining hub in the National Capital region. The city is giving the capital a run for its money with its sprawling five star hotels and great restaurants.

Talk about eating out or holding business meetings, it is the place which is high in demand. Quite apparent when we see big hoteliers and restaurateurs opting for the place.

The list seems to be too big for the place itself. From the Creative Kitchen offering international cuisine at Radisson to Spectra at The Leela Kempinski which fla­unts seven line kitchens to Asia 7, a new Japanese multi- cuisine restaurant at the Ambience mall and China club, restaurant, Gurgaon is much raved these days. Hoteliers have seen a great potential in the city with its burgeoning corporate crowd.

Says Rohit Aggarwal, director of Lite Bite Foods that co-owns Asia 7, “City has population that is widely traveled, a number of foreign nationals choose to be based in Gurgaon. Also there is a lot of young corporate crowd here. No other city has come up with such large number of Five Star hotels in a short span”.

Says, Hygreev Karrie, manager, The Creative Kit­chen, “With an inflow of MNCs, BPO, there is a lot of business crowd flocking to Gurgaon. The fact that people working long hours, want something in their backyard. Also young working couples living in Gurgaon prefer to dine every alternate day.” Karrie informs that almost 90 per cent of their clients are corporates. “We get most of the corporate clients, even from Delhi, who book us for meetings and lunches”

International companies when they look at the Indian market, too are making a beeline. FresCo is the case in point. The chain has over 60 restaurants in cities such as Rome, Madrid, Lisbon and Barcelona has now entered India via a joint venture with Litebite Foods. Aggarwal who also owns FresCo, famous for salad and Mediterranean food, says they are patronised by a majority of corporate clients and who opt for lunches.

Many food units include discotheques or bars. The Creative Kitchen too has an extended entry to a discotheque. China club has a lovely bar section and attracts great clientele from corporates to politicians like Gandhi’s and celebs like Bachchans and Nandas.

Says Ajay Dhar, owner of The Oak Tree, “We are regularly patronised by CEOs of multinational companies. We also get lot of corporates families from Gurgaon. Corporates also make their way here from Noida and Delhi.”

And its not just Indians who feel that way. Dutch woman, Lalita de Geoderen- van Lamsweerde, owner of Baegal café, a newly-opened all day breakfast, has a special interest in the city. “I found my clientele in Gurgaon — both foreigners and those who had lived abroad and were comfortable with foods like bagels. I even plan to grow the business through other outlets in the city.”

Clearly, with the quality of service and choices on offer, people now are willing to make the trip to Gurgaon.