Sensex on your favourite poison

Restaurateur Vikram Bawa wants city diners to be bullish about their vodkas and beers. Moving over the ubiquitous Happy Hours available at umpteen eateries across the city, Bawa’s inventive concept gives the ‘more-for-less’ philosophy a tech twist.

Restaurateur Vikram Bawa wants city diners to be bullish about their vodkas and beers. Moving over the ubiquitous Happy Hours available at umpteen eateries across the city, Bawa’s inventive concept gives the ‘more-for-less’ philosophy a tech twist.

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At his Juhu restaurant, Bistro Grill, savvy customers can now order their drinks on the iPad menu by choosing the Stock Exchange drinking application, to avail discounts that fluctuate through the day. In the global cuisine resto-bar, a screen lists a variety of beers, wines, rum, vodkas and whiskeys, whose monetary value appreciates and depreciates, depending on demand.

“The idea was brought to me by a friend, Rahul Dhingra from Aurus IT Solutions, the company that developed the app. Like shares on the stock exchange, the price of different types of alcohol on the app keep changing through the evening, adhering to the rules of demand-supply,” explains Bawa.

The concept is very simple. If you’re the only Belvedere drinker in the house, for example, rest assured that you’ll get the best deal. “A regular Kingfisher Ultra is priced Rs 150, you can get it for as little as Rs 90 if the demand at the time you place your order is low. An expensive Black Label, which usually comes for Rs 400, can be yours for Rs 110 if you’re the only one ordering it,” assures Bawa.

What’s more, this tipsy price index never crashes. “There’s a fixed rate on our hardcopy of the menu, and the prices on the app never exceed the restaurant’s actual price for that drink. So, you’re ensured a discount. Though if patrons prefer the regular menu, they are free to do so.”

With many joints now switching to iPads from conventional menus, will the app be available to all? “The response has been overwhelming at our Juhu outlet. We plan to introduce it at our Powai and Mulund branches too. I don’t want to control the technology, so other restaurants are free to use it,” Bawa adds.