By Neha Mehrotra

Ishaan Bahl is a dynamic and visionary restaurateur who took Mumbai’s F&B scene by storm at just 22 years old. After graduating from USC Marshall School of Business, he followed in his father’s footsteps to start 145, a casual neighbourhood café & bar that resonates with today’s generation. With a keen eye for trends and a passion for innovation, he made it the go-to spot for millennials. Now at 28, Bahl heads marketing, finance, and expansion for Risa Hospitality.

We sat down with him to find out about his plans for expansion and his understanding of trends in the hospitality industry.

Can you tell us about your journey in the hospitality business and what inspired you to follow in your father’s footsteps?

Ishaan Bahl: From the very young age of 12-13 years old, my father would take me to the kitchen and make me try new dishes and new flavours, which was intriguing for a kid like me. The different flavours and tastes we had at Khyber and experiencing them through my father is what roped me into the business. I went to USC in Los Angeles where I studied Business Administration and Entrepreneurship. During my years abroad, I maintained a journal to note down all the inspirational ideas I had. For example, Animal Style Fries or the Animal Style Burger that we now serve at 145 Cafe & Bar. Even our sauces in the Chicken Chipotle Tacos were inspired by my research in LA, as well as our Cookie Dough Pizza, which is one of our highest-selling dishes at the restaurant. Once I returned from LA, I wanted to follow in my father’s footsteps and help him grow the business. We had a European restaurant called Cheval that was not doing too well, he handed over the business to me and said that he wanted me to develop a concept that would help us cater to the masses and the classes, something which is pocket friendly and enjoyable to all and that is where the inception of 145 came from.

The success of 145 Cafe & Bar is remarkable, with four thriving locations in Mumbai and a recent expansion to Kolkata. What led you to create this concept, and how do you ensure each outlet maintains its unique charm?

Ishaan Bahl: The concept of 145 was born once I came back from college. I spent around six-seven months doing market research and trying to understand what the market wanted and what our expected competitors were offering. Our pursuit at 145 has always been to provide the best experience to our customers at the best price point. We have a classy ambience which is relatable to our target audience, we serve global cuisine which is a mix of Indian and global food, predominantly small plates which people love to share, and we have creative cocktails that are curated by independent artists that we collaborate with from around the world. We have a different segmented set of music that we play for each location and this is important as we adapt to the location that we are in, similar to the concept with our interiors. Each of our locations has its unique charm. Our latest introduction, 145 Kolkata, is also our biggest. Here we have done something that we have been striving to do for a long time, which is creating an individual party room for customers which is completely different from the restaurant, and has a separate DJ console and music system.

With an upcoming outlet in Delhi, what strategies do you have in place to adapt to the city’s diverse culinary landscape and establish a strong presence?

Ishaan Bahl: Initially when I returned from college, I did see that there was an opening out here. There were a lot of cool concepts, a lot of them quite rustic. We wanted to create a similar ambience but a classier, more upscale environment with a very aggressive price point. This is what led to the introduction of 145. We wanted to keep it very relaxed and casual—milkshakes, pool table, cool cocktails, great music. All of these pointers coupled with our wood-fired pizzas, creative cocktails, upscale ambience, the pool table, and a significant outdoor section to enjoy the beautiful weather in Delhi is something that we hope will be able to help us make this outlet successful like the others.

As a young entrepreneur, how do you balance innovation and tradition to meet the evolving preferences of consumers?

Ishaan Bahl: With our menu, one thing that we have looked at for inspiration is dishes from India and dishes that have been predominantly popular in metropolitan cities. Some of the things that are extremely popular in Delhi are kebabs, butter chicken, chole bhature, and pav bhaji and you can find these items in our menu, curated with a 145 style twist. For example, our pav bhaji cones are a unique twist on the Indian classic, and our butter chicken is a butter chicken bunny chow which comes in a bread bowl, a popular South African street dish. We have a chaat that we will be introducing to our Delhi menu along with a variation of flavoured pani puris. Whenever we move to a city, there are local favourites that we incorporate into our menu. We try to play to the market demand and give the customers what they want.

The hospitality industry has witnessed significant changes in recent times. How do you stay ahead of trends and ensure your restaurants remain at the forefront of the evolving dining scene?

Ishaan Bahl: I think being relevant to worldwide trends is very important. I am closely following different trends that are evolving in the food space, like gluten-free, sugar-free, and dairy-free diets which seem to be evolving largely amongst the general population and we have all those options available on our menu. When it comes to the alcohol segment, tequila, gin, and now mezcal is up and coming. We have large varieties and options for all of these. Also, a lot of international travel helps me remain relevant to what we are doing here in India and is a great source of inspiration. As a young entrepreneur, my objective has always been to try and innovate and create ideas that add value to our product. At the same time, we have veered away from doing anything too experimental because we want to remain true to our concept. But that is something that is based on the advice of my executive chef, my head mixologist, and my own instincts to help us make these decisions in collaboration, so that we stay true to our concept without overly complicating things.

We also see a surge in the growth of neighbourhood bars across India, can you please further elaborate on the concept?

Ishaan Bahl: Our concept is not just a neighbourhood bar but rather a neighbourhood cafe & bar which is a casual, cool space with a strong emphasis on the food that we serve. A significant part of sales is the food and a significant portion is from our signature cocktails and unique offerings that we have. The balance is from the hard liquor that we serve in the environment and ambience that we have. That is something that differentiates us from the neighbourhood bars in the city. We have a very strong emphasis on food. Khyber is the parent brand of 145 Cafe & Bar, and food is in our DNA. With this strong backing on the food, we try to differentiate ourselves as much as possible from the bars around us.

With a rapidly growing business, what are your long-term goals and visions for the future of Khyber, 145 Cafe & Bar, and Risa Hospitality as a whole?

Ishaan Bahl: The objective for Khyber and Risa Hospitality would be to sustainably grow the company year-on-year while being able to maintain the quality and consistency of our existing outlets. We are looking at opening two-three stationed outlets a year and giving our 110% to maintain the consistency and quality of our brand. 145 is currently at the forefront of our expansion plans while Khyber is something that we look to selectively expand. We would not look to put up more than one Khyber per city whereas with 145 we are looking at having 2-3 branches in each city. We are looking for an opportunity to expand Khyber to Kolkata, so our approach would be to go city by city and expand our brands within those cities.