Senior Executive Chef Ajit Bangera on what’s new at the dinner-only restaurant and plans for the future starting with an exciting new menu to be introduced soon.

Avartana, (pronounced avartann) the modern Indian restaurant at the ITC Grand Chola A Luxury Collection Hotel, Chennai is about to reopen its doors on Friday night, July 15. The restaurant, which has been pushing the boundaries of Indian food and made it to the top 100 list of Asia’s best restaurants, is led by Senior Executive Chef ITC Grand Chola, Ajit Bangera.

Mr. Bangera is about shutting down and reopening this icon to modern Indian cuisine. “We as well as a lot of our customers were very disappointed when we had to shut down. You can’t imagine the number of calls we are getting to ask when we will reopen,” Bangera said—that wait is finally over tonight.

While they would open with their old menu, guests would not need to wait for too long before Bangera and his team plan to launch a new set of offerings for diners.

As for what the new menu will contain? “The surprise element is what is important, the wow factor is what is important. We want to go a level higher. We've got some new elements coming out there. I don't want to disclose them right now. But some new ideas, new thoughts, new ways of expressing ourselves. The idea for Avartana is that we feel we need to keep getting better—in progressing. You can't be sitting where you are, especially in our food business,” Bangera said when asked.

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