My advice for 23-year-olds could fill a few pages, but assuming they have studied hotel and restaurant management or spent time in restaurants, we can leave those learnings aside. So, considering they are ready to open a restaurant, I would say: a strong, differentiated concept has more longevity than chasing trends. Location really does matter. Keep capital expenses as low as possible, but don’t skimp on good design and kitchen equipment. Create a restaurant you would want to visit more than once.

Rohit Khattar, Founder-Chairman, EHV International 
(Indian Accent, Comorin, Hosa, Fireback, Drift Café Bar)

It’s a glamorous, exciting business, but full of ups and downs. First: enter it only if you love it; that makes it worthwhile. Second: starting out carries the highest risk of failure. Don’t risk your family’s money. Instead, take a franchise, partner with a good brand, or work with one to learn the ropes for a few years, and only then explore your own concepts and ideas.

AD Singh, Founder-Managing Director, Olive Group of Restaurants 
(Olive Bar & Kitchen, Olive Beach, Olive Bistro & Bar, SodaBottleOpenerWala, Monkey Bar, The Fatty Bao, Ek Bar, Guppy, The Grammar Room, Olly, Olive Café & Bar, The Love Hotel, Cantan, Toast & Tonic, Siren, Serai, The Hoppery)

Gauri Devidayal: My practical advice: work in a restaurant before opening one. Most people don’t understand what they’re getting into. Shadow an owner for a week, or work on the floor if you’re a chef planning to open a restaurant. And whatever your budget, double it.

Jay Yousuf: Make sure you want to do this and are ready for 24x7. Double the time and the money. Things can go wrong, and you will overshoot your budget.

Gauri Devidayal and Jay Yousuf, Food Matters

(The Table Colaba, Kaspers, Magazine St. Kitchen, Mag St. Bread Co, Mag St. Restaurant, Iktara Mumbai)

At 23, give yourself the time to learn before you build. Choose five skill sets you want to master that will help you run a restaurant. For instance, if you are a chef, pick up butchery, baking, French cuisine, patisserie... Give one year to each skill set. Work tirelessly, and anywhere you can learn the most, whether free, as an intern, or paid. Your perspective will evolve with time, exposure, and mistakes; let it. Opening a restaurant is an expression of everything you’ve built and understood along the way. In the sixth year, open your restaurant. You will actually be one of the best chefs in the world—straight away.

Chef Garima Arora

Chef-Owner, Gaa, Bangkok (two Michelin-starred); Partner, BANNG, Mumbai & Gurugram

Sameer Seth: My honest advice: go work in a restaurant to understand the physical intensity. Being a guest is one thing; standing a 10-hour shift, feeling your body at the end, and doing it day after day is entirely different.

Yash Bhanage: I’ll be a yin to Sam’s yang. I believe in what he says, but it’s inspiring to see people prove us wrong. What Akhil Iyer and his wife Shriya, have done with Benne Dosa in Mumbai is remarkable for someone with no restaurant experience. Spend an hour with Akhil and you see his love for the dosa, the research, the hands-on work to perfect the product, and constant attention to the guest experience. He’s made Gen Z queue, stand, and eat dosas the traditional way.

Yash Bhanage and Sameer Seth, Hunger Inc. Hospitality 

(The Bombay Canteen, O Pedro, Bombay Sweet Shop, Veronica's, Papa’s)

Spend time understanding the why behind your concept before thinking about the what. Hospitality is a marathon of consistency, and at 23 it’s easy to get swept up in trends. Focus on building a resilient foundation, from mastering your supply chain to nurturing a team that shares your vision. Dream big. Start small. Stay curious. Never compromise on ingredient integrity. Begin with a focused menu you can execute well. Don’t chase virality; chase clarity—who you serve and why you’re unique.

Aditi Dugar, Urban Gourmet 

(Masque, Bar Paradox, TwentySeven Bakehouse, Circle Sixty Nine, Sage & Saffron)

Don’t enter the restaurant business as an extension of a drawing room. Only do it if you’re ready to make it a lifestyle—no weekends, late nights, Sundays at work. If you’re truly passionate and can honestly ask yourself, ‘Would I do this for free?’—then make it your career.

Zorawar Kalra, Massive Restaurants 

(Masala Library, Farzi Café, Pa Pa Ya, Made in Punjab, Bo-Tai, Louis Burger, Slyce, Swan)

If money, fame, or the ‘coolness’ of running a restaurant are the primary motivations, I wouldn’t encourage it. Spend a couple of years working in operations to understand how a restaurant’s back-end systems function—this alone can significantly reduce the chances of failure. Start small and understand the finer nuances before scaling or opening multiple outlets. Don’t follow trends blindly. Begin with a clear intent—to solve a real gap or introduce something distinctive, rather than moving with the herd.

Sampath Tummala, Founder, The Spicy Venue, Coffee Sangam & Theta Theta Telugu (T3)

Understand your working capital. Be realistic and don’t lose sight of the business. Ignore every self-proclaimed expert or WhatsApp guru and focus on your team and guests. Mind your economics; don’t run 70% food costs or chase six-year reservation hype. Be hospitable, welcoming, and work hard.

Chef Manu Chandra, Founder, Lupa and Single Thread

Be ready to work relentlessly without expecting immediate results. Consistency compounds. Don’t chase trends; build a point of view. Cash flow matters more than creativity. One great dish isn’t enough; the system must be great. Your team will make or break you. If you can’t live in the details, don’t open. Aesthetics fade but consistency lasts.

Dhaval Udeshi, Founder, DU Hospitality

(Gigi Bombay, Scarlett House Bombay, Kaia Goa, Donna Deli Bombay, Shy Cafe and Bar)

Start small. Obsess over one thing—food, drinks, or service. Test relentlessly, hire people smarter than you, and don’t scale an unproven concept. Cash runway and unit economics matter more than Instagram moments. Above all, relentlessly create experiences guests want to return to.

Rakshay Dhariwal, Founder, Pass Code Hospitality

(PCO, Jamun, Mister Merchant’s, Merchant & Me, Raki, Saz, Saz on the Beach, Ping’s Café Orient, Ping’s Bîa Hói, Maya Pistola Agavepura, Klarify, Director’s Room at PCO)

First, congratulations—we need more Goans wanting to work and set up shop. Second, keep all senses open. Learn constantly; you won’t hit it out of the park on day one. Understand your customer. If they want reggae, don’t give rock. Chefs can be egoistic, but ‘my way or the highway’ doesn’t work. Third, balance your team and guests. Treat guests like family, because without them, nothing really matters.

Chef Avinash Martins, Cavatina by Avinash Martins, Janôt and Table in the Hills

Start with clarity. Know why your restaurant should exist beyond passion. Learn the business as deeply as the food—margins, people, and consistency will define you. Stay small, stay sharp. Focus beats scale in the early years. And remember, resilience matters more than talent in this industry. Most importantly, be honest. This is one industry you can’t fake.

Tarun Sibal, Chef & Co-Founder, Titlie Goa, Khi Khi Delhi, Street Storyss Bengaluru

Spend time inside restaurants before opening one. Work in different roles. Don’t rush to open something big. Start small, test your idea, and understand your customers. Many focus on design and hype, but what keeps a restaurant alive is good food, fair pricing, and a consistent experience. Build the right team and culture. Restaurants are teamwork, and success depends on the people behind the place. Respect and trust within the team are essential. Be patient and resilient.

Karan Bane, Partner-Chef, Seefah

Lead with passion, but anchor yourself in patience. The era of opening a restaurant, watching it succeed, and expecting it to sustain itself is well behind us. Today, success demands unwavering attention, immense dedication, genuine love for the craft, and a willingness to remain deeply involved every single day. Equally important is cultivating a thick skin, because criticism is inevitable—whether about food, service, or the people behind it. Learn to receive it with perspective, grow through it, and trust that each day offers a fresh opportunity to refine, evolve, and do better.

Panchali Mahendra, CEO, Atelier House Hospitality

(Injaa, Camillo’s in India, and 21 other restaurants across the world)

Don’t rush into it. Spend time working in different restaurants, including ones unlike what you want to build. Work the floor, bar, kitchen, and service. There’s no substitute for understanding the grind—early mornings, broken equipment, staff shortages, supplier issues, and the effort of showing up every day. Build a reputation first. Before starting a brand, you need to be one. When you’ve put in time as an operator, bartender, chef, or service professional, you begin with credibility, not just an idea. Fall in love with the business, not just the idea. Restaurants may seem romantic, but they are about consistency, systems, and discipline.

Rajan Sethi, Managing Director, Bright Hospitality

(Ikk Punjab, AMPM Coffee & Cocktail Bar, Wild & Raw, Espressos Anyday, The GT Road, Chandigarh)

Without a story, there’s no soul. Build your restaurant around a narrative rooted in place—its food, drink, festivals, and people—because that’s what deepens the experience. In our case, that story came from Goa, but the principle holds: let your concept emerge from something real. Your staff are ambassadors of the restaurant. Every role reflects your standards, so build a culture grounded in empathy, respect, and professionalism. Give people the freedom to take responsibility. Decide who you want to serve. You can try to cater to everyone, or be selective and stay true to your beliefs. The latter takes longer, but arrives with greater certainty.

Neil D'Souza, Partner-Founder, Slow Tide, Goa

Our world starts with the guest—get their experience right, and the numbers will follow. Study the market closely; it’s volatile, so build a strong, differentiated concept with longevity. Start small, stay hands-on, and give yourself a few years to learn the business. Scale only when you truly understand what works. Numbers matter, but they come second; get the guest right and the business will follow.

Kishore DF, Owner, Tanjore Tiffin Room & Founder, The Penang Table

Passion alone isn’t enough. You need experience handling tough situations. The challenge isn’t ideas—it’s navigating and managing hard moments. Master that, and you can succeed.

Chef Regi Mathew, KCK Foods, Chatti New York

Begin with clarity of purpose. This industry demands discipline, resilience, and the courage to stay aligned with your vision even when it feels difficult. Trends shift, opinions change, distractions appear, but a strong point of view holds its ground. Build a foundation that respects your team, understands the business, and stays anchored in intention. When your work carries purpose and conviction, it moves beyond a meal to become an experience people return to.

Vaishali Karad, Founder, Paashh Mumbai & Pune

Understand that running a restaurant is as much about discipline and systems as it is about passion and creativity. Focus on fundamentals: food, consistency, team, and cost control matter more than trends. Spend time on the floor, learn your customer deeply, and be ready to adapt constantly. Most importantly, be patient—building a successful restaurant is a marathon, not a sprint.

Rachel Goenka, Founder & CEO, TCSC Hospitality

(The Sassy Spoon, House of Mandarin, Baraza, Asian Bistro by HOM, Sassy Teaspoon, Saffron)