These days, most of the so-called trendy restaurants open, are then hyped up to the max and, after a few brief years, disappear from the face of the earth without a murmur – something that happens time and again. Only a small handful of restaurants are actually able to metamorphose into a real classic. One restaurant that definitely belongs to this category is the Ivory Club in Frankfurt. However, the legendary longseller can also boast an amazing track record of virtually epic proportions. Especially, when you consider how it all started. At that time, nobody believed that an exclusive upscale Indian formula would have any realistic chance of surviving in Germany. Mind you, we have never really tried to read the market from an opportunistic point of view. We had no wish to play it safe and to put ourselves in the infinite phalanx of uninspired shabby-chic restaurants in a risk-free way. That is why we deliberately decided to leave our financial comfort zone behind in order to obey our deepest convictions and courageously chance something completely new. Our daring commitment, however, was promptly rewarded. Immediately after its opening, we received the coveted FIZZZ Award for the most innovative new gastronomic design.

And the international trade press in particular overwhelmed us with exuberant praise and recognition. Fortunately, however, the local clientele fast realised that something very special was going on in tranquil Frankfurt. For the first time ever, Mainhattan had become the birthplace of an internationally relevant restaurant formula. Although we were practically always the first mover in Germany with all our concepts, with the Ivory Club we were able to achieve something much more dramatic. With the Ivory Club, we've actually managed to establish, for the very first time, a true global game changer on the global culinary market. At that time, the formula of "English explorer club in colonial India" was something completely unique around the world. Not even in England, which was still under the influence of colonialism, did comparable concepts exist. Surprisingly, despite the overwhelming success, it took almost a decade before the Gymkhana in London entered the global culinary stage with a similar follow-up concept. The Ivory Club will, however, always be the global pioneer in this particular discipline.