Pizza…{Pronounced peetza}. An italian dish, made out of wheat flour, baked at high temperatures along with sprinklings of a combination of toppings like cheese, sauces, tomatos, capsicum, olives, mushrooms, chicken…
Pizza Hut… a chain of restaurants peddling the above as the main staple in its menu. Has made a name for itself with its menu being appreciated by the populace, its ambience being admired…
It’s a wonder what marketing, exposure, new taste sensations, great service, a good time for friends/family and glitzy showrooms can do, with dishes like burgers and pizzas being made household names for the urban Indian. In fact, these are now beginning to make a name for themselves in the hinterland of the nation as well! For it is beyond dispute that it was a combination of the above 4 factors that has counted for the exponential growth of these dishes in our India. It is hard to pick out any one factor, but what cannot be questioned is that the marketing efforts of the fast food chains, as well as their glitzy, ritzy showrooms have contributed in no small measure to the pick-up of these dishes
Pizza Hut is another among the chains that has endeared itself to the customer with its offering of a lovely ambience, great taste and superb service. But first, the taste and the menu, which has to be the starting point
I will refrain from singling out any single pizza or menu item, but rather concentrate on the overall balance that this chain has sought to achieve in its menu. Pizzas are of course its staple, but it has other options as well – ranging from great drinks to fine desserts to some delicious snacks! That is one decision that has enabled it to firstly garner in many more customers as well as more revenue per customer –{I am trying to draw a parallel with telecom’s ARPU – average revenue per user}
The range starts from Beverages – iced teas, mocktails and aerated drinks. Then you have the appetizers- garlic breads and tortillas. Move on to soups and salads{never tried these} and Pastas. Then comes the piece de’ resistance – the pizzas themselves, which come in classic as well as Pan Pizzas bases. The choice in the pizzas is unbelievable, with the range starting from simply veg to the exotica, in a range of tastes – spicy, to non-spicy. Then, right at the end you come to the desserts. That is what I call a well-rounded menu. The pizzas are different from anything you will have tasted, if you haven’t sampled any in a quality chain, as the magic is in the crust{the pizza base to the uninitiated}, which are nice, soft all through and blend well with the toppings. No hard, burnt edges here! But, as I promised, no singling of any item here, or comparisons with other chains. It is something you will have to find for yourself, for each person has his own tastes and preferences. Just read the menu range of this place, compare it to the others, and take your pick! Not that others don’t have an equivalent range in Pizzas. But the overall menu is something that I liked at Pizza Hut
The interiors are superb – better than most other chains that I have seen. Of course, there is stiff competition on this parameters with quite a few of them out there vying for the honours. But the overall impact is one of opulence. The use of lighting deserves mention here, as contrary to popular feeling that is gaining currency among restuateurs, this place is well lighted with bright yellow lighting, which gives a different feel to the place.
The preferred location for Pizza Hut has also been very well chosen – a smart tactic of choosing prime spots in malls, as opposed to McD and CCD. Even within the mall, the choice of the store deserves special mention, with the most visible being chosen in order to drive impulse sales. Smart, that.
The snag is the pricing. A meal for 2 can set you back by 500 to 600 bucks at least. The pricing is sub-premium. Not exactly premium, but decidedly not economy. The positioning is towards the DINK / Yuppies / Unitary single family units / A class and upper B segment clientele. Nothing wrong with that as far as I can see – those are the classes that go in for dining out / snacking most often.
This is not a place to grab a quick snack. Serivce will take 10 – 15 minutes at least, but the wait will be worth it. This place is somewhere you can go for a leisurely relaxed meal…