1. Let’s start with the story of the initiation of Salt Bistro & Cafe and what inspired you to step into this industry?
The inspiration for starting my restaurant dates back a long time ago since the restaurant business has always been closely aligned with me and my family. It all began when my grandfather opened a hotel named Hotel Niribili back in 1973. As time went on, my father founded his own restaurant Niribili Orchid, and his journey inspired me to step into this business as the third generation. The reason behind starting the café was solely the fascination I grew while working on my university projects in various cafés in the UK for my Bachelor’s and Master’s studies. It was a great experience for me, and it helped me to understand this café concept better. After returning to Bangladesh in 2015, I realized no similar cafés were existing in Cox’s Bazar and therefore I took the initiative to fulfill the gap and pursue my passion. Moreover, it was something I dearly missed after my return, so I wanted to create something that serves people with similar demands.
2. Share the journey of Salt Bistro & Cafe becoming one of the most prominent restaurants in the hub of tourism destinations in Bangladesh and what sets it apart from other dining options?
When we initially started six years ago, there were no other restaurants that adopted this concept, and from the very beginning, I was determined to provide an authentic cafe experience to the customers, and I stuck to that goal. Instead of conforming to the conventional culinary offerings Cox’s Bazar is renowned for, I took a novel approach that no one had thought feasible at that point in time. We kept our positioning different, we sourced everything fresh to serve customers with the flavors and quality they will come back for and provided them with single portions so that any single individual can drop by, have some, and stay for hours doing his work, like any other café we know. This was something relatively new here, and that differentiated us from other restaurants in Cox’s Bazar.
3. In recent times, we have seen that apart from food, the menu offerings and ambiance play a key role in the success of any restaurant or cafe. How does Salt Bistro & Café incorporate all these key aspects?
Since the beginning of our journey, we primarily prioritized food followed by the ambiance because when somebody visits a restaurant, they are visiting there for the food, and we wanted to ensure that we provide them with the best. We designed a lean and simplified menu with proper references so that our customers can easily choose what they are looking for. Furthermore, we avoided any kind of additional enhancements for the pictures on the menu to make sure customers get what they see on the menu which helped us develop trust among customers. Followed by that, our interior did a tremendous job of understanding our vision and providing us with an amazing design that perfectly aligned with our brand and cuisine which also helped us to develop a unique presence in Cox’s Bazar.
4. Cox’s Bazar is the top tourist destination in Bangladesh where people visit from all around the world. How do you cater to these diverse ranges of customers?
Since we primarily focus on regular café offerings and also seafood, we are gradually trying to introduce more protein items to our menu. We are serving a wide range of customers from home and abroad, but we are selective in terms of our menu as we prefer to focus on things we are best at. We want to be the best at what we do, and when customers think of these items in Cox’s Bazar, they think of us. We want to establish the fact that Cox’s Bazar is not only known for Bhortas, you can get various other cuisines here as well. We wanted to provide our customers access to taste different cuisines when they visit Cox’s Bazar.
5. Share some of your signature dishes and how you maintain authenticity while still keeping the local flavors alive?
We mostly source our products locally to ensure freshness and introduce more international flavors using local produce, to our customers. For the items which are not available in Bangladesh like Tasmanian salmon and premium beef, we import them to form the finest sources of many foreign countries. Speaking of our signatures, our salmon items are fresh and specially crafted which made it a fan favorite. Our peri chicken with stuffed mushrooms also became very popular immediately after its launch. The dish that has been the most favorite has to be mixed seafood in green lime juice which brings the natural flavors of seafood to your plates. We strongly believe the ingredients we use will define the taste of our dishes, and we never compromise with the quality of our ingredients.
6. According to your expertise, what are the primary differences between operating a restaurant in Cox’s Bazar compared to the major cities?
Although I grew up in Dhaka, my familial ties to Cox’s Bazar had granted me a distinct advantage in this area. Coming to the challenges, the ingredients we use are often sourced from Dhaka, therefore the sourcing becomes expensive compared to the restaurants in the capital. Furthermore, it is sometimes challenging to develop a team since there is still a scarcity of capable individuals who can take this industry further in Cox’s Bazar. Otherwise, the market holds a lot of potential and it is nothing less than the capital.
7. What new things can we expect from Salt Bistro & Café in the coming days?
We are developing a new menu to add new dynamics to our restaurant. We are hopeful that our new menu will get the same love and appreciation from our customers as always. We are planning to expand our rooftop facility. Our recently launched French-style bakery called Sugar has also received traction, and we have some plans involving that as well. I also look forward to opening a restaurant for local cuisines to keep the legacy going which my grandfather started. I want to keep Salt Bistro, a brand uniquely dedicated to Cox’s Bazar, although I look forward to introducing a different concept restaurant in Dhaka to cater to that crowd as well.
