Agra, latest N. Indian restaurant

Shirajiv Sirimane

INVESTMENT: The management of Agra, the latest authentic North Indian restaurant in Colombo which was opened last month at Independence Avenue, Colombo 7, has invested Rs. 50 million for the property.

One of the three investors, Raj Shanker, said that the standard of living of public in Colombo is increasing and there is a growing demand for outdoor dining. “We have an unexpected response and now we are confident that we can recover this investment in two years,” he said.

He said that they are also planning to open up two more names under this same brand in Dubai and the Maldives. He said that the investment climate is very good in Sri Lanka and they have no regrets in investing”.

He said that one of the key successes of Agra is that it is the largest Indian restaurant in town and has and Indian staff. “This gives us an advantage,” he said.

Indian food is the second most demanded food in the world after Italian food and this was why they decided to come out with an Indian restaurant. There are over 30,000 Indian restaurants in England with total revenue of 3 billion British pounds.

Launched with a colourful three-day event, which started at 7 pm, a cross section of society from the fields of drama, film, sports, business, political, and the media attended, with the final day for the media.

He said that they would now launch special events to target the expatriate community and Agra is also promoting special business luncheons. “Our take away service too is popular,” he said.

Inspired by the Moghul Empire, whose best-known symbol of passion is the Taj Mahal, at Agra, the restaurant has been designed taking the cultural and architectural elements into consideration, from the decor to the interior design of the restaurant.

The interior of the restaurant consisted of a fusion of colour, with a combination of black, yellow and white and has a capacity to host 100 guests, along with a private garden, ideal for the hosting of private receptions.