It’s a sunny day, and a cool breeze sweeps over as I enter the newly-opened Terns by Habitat Holding for lunch. The building resembles a runway with two sweeping wings, and multiple levels of seating. Guests can choose among indoor dining, a spacious outdoor seating area open to the sky, quieter family zones, party zones with high decibel music, and the coveted bridge seating that hovers over a dramatic 23-feet tall cascading waterfall. The design, themed around the silhouette and spirit of the Arctic Tern, the world’s longest migratory traveller, is an ode to the guiding philosophy of the property.
“The bird travels great distances while migrating during winters. We wanted a space that carried that idea, of rising above, moving constantly, exploring,” says Akilesh Surendhiran, an architect who studied in the UK before returning to home-town of Tiruppur to build this dream. The other partners are Surendhiran Ramasamy, Sabarivasa AP, and Abinav Sabari.
Sourdough Neapolitan-style pizza margarita
| Photo Credit:
K Jeshi
The team chose Goldwins as the location based on research that predicted growth around the L&T Bypass with upcoming IT office spaces. Also with proximity to Kerala, Tiruppur, Pollachi, and Palakkad, the restaurant now sits pretty at a perfect crossroad. “Families seek safe, stylish but accessible dining. Guests are well-exposed. They won’t compromise on quality. We want to match up to their expectations and grow organically,” adds Akilesh. Once inside, seated in an elegant dining hall, I go over the diverse menu that offers multi-cuisine options. What arrives first is a plate of crispy, golden samosas packed with flavourful mutton mince and spices, served with a refreshing curry leaf mayonnaise dip. Soon, the aroma of fresh basil fills the air. It comes from the sourdough Neapolitan-style pizza margarita, served straight from the wood-fired oven topped with tomato, mozzarella and basil leaves.
The menu features Indian, Japanese, Italian, Pan-Asian, and fusion
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Four months old, the property has already welcomed guests running to thousands. “Once guests walk toward a glowing bridge that stretches over a 24-foot water body, the phones are out. Most of them click a photo right there,” laughs Abinav, adding, “We planned it that way. An experience should begin immediately.”
Crisp, golden mutton mince samosas
| Photo Credit:
K Jeshi
The team studied hospitality models across Ubud in Bali, London, Chennai, and Bengaluru right from seating, entertainment, ambience, and movement within a space to create a restaurant where every corner is camera-ready. “When you enter, you should feel like you’ve walked into a new world.”
A global menu curated for Coimbatore’s evolving palate features Indian, Japanese, Italian, Pan-Asian, fusion, and comfort classics. There is prawn tempura, chicken tikka, nasi goreng, truffle dumplings as well as podi idli. The bar is designed to be transparent. “The idea is to remove the distance between bartender and guest, another lesson borrowed from global bars where performance is part of the experience,” says Akilesh.
Over plates of fluffy butter naan and laal mass, a fiery meat curry and donne biryani, a Karnataka-style biryani that uses short-grain seeraga samba rice, and a vibrant green masala base of mint and coriander, the founders speak about the 4,000 sq ft kitchen that has as many as 40 staff including chefs from across India. The team underwent three months of grooming and service training before the opening.
The menu is curated to suit Coimbatore’s evolving palate
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
The founders also travelled through Europe and Southeast Asia to get new ideas. Explains Akilesh, “We are planning monthly speciality menus ranging from Asian, seasonal, South Indian, chef’s table and more. We previously ran popular cloud kitchens, Pan Asian and Indian. It taught us fast learning, consistency, scalability. This project was a big leap for us. We want to set a benchmark. Not just food. An experience.”
The desserts menu is playful and nostalgic including triple chocolate cake inspired by UK memories, gulab jamun cheesecake, rasmalai sandwich, mishti doi, brownies and cashew barfis. I round off my meal with the rasmalai sandwich, a breezy dessert that has a fun carrot halwa twist to it.
Located at 26, Thottipalayam Pirivu, Goldwins. A meal for two costs ₹1500 approximately. For reservations, call 9943377773
