The FINANCIAL — The newly refreshed and updated Sunday Brunch menu at Radisson Blu Iveria Hotel has been serving its first guests already.
Fresh homemade sections, as well as Limoncello and sushi are some of the new things that guests can now enjoy from the menu. The management of the hotel’s food and drink section intends to bring more Asian food to the buffet in the near future.
The largest buffet in Tbilisi, prepared by the Chef de Cuisine Luca Beccalli, offers unlimited food, local wine and beer for GEL 59 per head, or without alcohol – for GEL 45 per head.
“We are trying to re-launch Sunday Brunch at the Radisson Blu Iveria Hotel. We have added some new stations like the fresh, homemade lemonade station, and have expanded our sushi section a little bit more,” said Peter Dubsky, Food and Drink Manager at the Radisson Blu Iveria Hotel. “Guests can have different kinds of meat here and enjoy the dessert station too, where there is a large selection of homemade, freshly-baked cakes and confections. We also offer Limoncello, which is something that you cannot experience anywhere else in Tbilisi. All the sections have been fully updated,” he added.
“Our advantage lies in the brilliant service that we offer in the hotel, freshly homemade breakfast (which is delicious!) and sushi – I don’t think that there is a better sushi place around. We plan to bring more Asian food here, which will improve the Sunday Brunch menu even more,” he said.
“Brunch has always worked very well at the Radisson Blu Iveria Hotel. We have recently had a quiet season because of the summer period, which is basically vacation time as people leave the city, and by extension the hotel, during that time. Now, however, we plan to reintroduce Sunday Brunch to guests. The reason why we did this is to again send out the message that “We are here and you are welcome to come”. Last week we had 60 people; our target is a hundred. However, we can accommodate up to 200 people,” Dubsky added.
Radisson Blu Iveria Hotel has an additional new offer as well – guests who stay at the hotel for Saturday night will have an opportunity to have a late check out at 3 o’clock. People can stay in bed, skip breakfast and instead of that choose the option of having Brunch, which would be very convenient for guests, Peter believes. “When I worked in Dublin I offered almost the same idea to guests there and it turned out to be a very successful initiative,” Dubsky said, who worked in the Dublin Raddison Hotel for a period of ten years.
Despite the fact that the tradition of Sunday Brunch is not part of Georgian culture, it does not hamper the development of the Radisson Blue Iveria Hotel’s initiative. “On the contrary – it is an advantage for us; we invite people and offer something new, and new is always attractive and interesting,” said Dubsky.
“We moved away from the classical brunch idea, because that is very much British and American-centred,” said Basiaan Arts, Executive Chef of the Radisson Blu Iveria Hotel. “Instead, we injected a lot of Italian flavour, Mediterranean flavour, taking into consideration the local market. As for sushi, we added it simply because it is popular and people really like it,” he added.
In addition, the hotel offers fun for kids at their supervised child entertainment centre, as well as free-of-charge meals for those less than 12 years old. The hotel guarantees a great Sunday afternoon for the whole family and extends complimentary parking to all of its patrons.
“We have a special room for children where they are given decorations to “cook” their favourite meal with on their own. They can then take their cooked meal home. The children seem very happy with this initiative. We don’t just do it to make the children happy, but also to give the possibility to guests for their children to sit quietly with their friends and enjoy their time constructively. We make a healthy dish yet in a way that children enjoy, like for example giving them the opportunity to decorate their own meal. Children’s favourite food is generally chicken. The fish section, especially Sushi, is the most popular on the whole. Smoked salmon and roast beef, as well as pastries, are also very popular,” Basiaan Arts said.
The prices are quite reasonable, the hotel representatives believe. “People can spend all afternoon here and have breakfast and lunch at the same time, which means that they are getting two meals instead of one. So if we take into consideration all of these things, plus the delicious food, then the prices are actually quite reasonable. In a good restaurant in Tbilisi you will end up paying more,” Arts said.
“Sunday brunch is very successful and one of the most unique projects on the Georgian market,” said Keto Giorgobiani, the Cluster PR and Marketing Manager of Radisson Blu Hotels in Georgia. “Recreation, entertainment and childcare are offered at the same time. Sunday Brunch starts at 13.00 and finishes at 15.30. Usually, guests spend around 3 hours on Sunday Brunch and very often stay well after the time is up,” Giorgobiani added.
Several food and drink events are already planned for the Radisson Blu Iveria Hotel. October is ‘Lasagne month’ where traditional Italian Lasagne will be served with a slight Georgian touch – Château Mukhrani wines. As for November, guests can taste Italian Risotto again with Château Mukhrani wines. In December, Radisson Blu Iveria Hotel invites guests to join their Wine and Cheese Evening where they will educate themselves on how to correctly pair wines with cheese. People can book a seat in advance for GEL 40.