Dining out made easier

While restaurants and fast-food outlets are increasingly taking efforts to improve takeaway and home delivery services, Rohit Dasgupta, senior vice-president of EazyDiner, wants to promote dining out. “The current focus is on home delivery of food, but we want to make dining-out experiences memorable,” he says.

EasyDiner, which rolled out its operations in January this year, is an online restaurant reservation platform where customers can book a table in the restaurant of their choice and instantly receive the confirmation. Besides making reservations, it also provides reviews written by food critics such as Vir Sanghvi, who is among the eight co-founders. 

While EazyDiner provides reviews for over 10,000 restaurants, it offers reservations in 500 restaurants that charge patrons between ₹450 and ₹5,000 per person. “We believe that reservation platforms need to be integrated in India and eventually people will start reserving tables online,” he adds.

Though available both through a website and a mobile app, EazyDiner claims to have generated 75% revenue through app bookings. “In January, we received 400 online reservations and the number rose to over 10,000 by August 31,” explains Dasgupta. The company is currently offering its services in Delhi and Mumbai with close to 60% repeat bookings and 40% new customers. “Instant reservation is guaranteed within 30 seconds,” he says.

EazyDiner was started with a seed fund of $1 million and has received $3 million as its Series A funding. At present, it has 42 employees. “We charge a commission of ₹150 per person from a five-star restaurant and ₹100 per person for others,” adds Dasgupta.