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  At You Cook in Bangalore you can stir up your own soup or even barbecue meats at your table. Pic: JAGADEESH NV

Are you looking for novelty in your dining experience? Are you bored of the customary eating-out ritual where you go to a restaurant, grab a bite and exit? Yawn! How about adding a twist to a regulation dinner-out that will be out-of-the-ordinary?

Indian restaurateurs are experimenting with unique concepts in a bid to attract guests and even to serve a social purpose. So, in Ahmedabad you could be visiting an experimental kitchen run by volunteers or in Mumbai you could be bonding with your pooch in a pet-friendly environment. Then again you could well be cooking your own meal in a restaurant.

In Bangalore's You Cook, a rooftop restaurant run by entrepreneurs Khanindra Barma and Pankaj Bhatia, you can turn chef. Create your own soup, grill or barbecue the meats and veggies of your choice as part of the buffet.

The 3,500sqft, 104-cover restaurant has a three-in-one cutomised grill, barbecue and a hot pot sitting at every table. Guests just pick the marinated vegetables and meats of their choice and grill/barbecue them at their tables. 'The fun part is that guests can play with different flavours everyday by way of Indian and Continental ingredients and spices to create something new,' says Bhatia.

But if you'd rather not cook and are more the sporty type, head to iSkate's iSBAR that's located on the 6th floor of Gurgaon's bustling Ambience Mall. Here you can grab a bite in between skating at the ice rink. The concept was created by Bird Group's Bird Hospitality Services vertical.

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  At Trolleys in Delhi, quick bites like paapdi chaat and dahi bhalla are served on trolleys while your order is being rustled up
  Pic: Rupinder Sharma

The 15,000sqft ice rink offers two food outlets — Café, a snack bar, and iSBAR, a dessert counter and a lounge bar. 'Both offer not only great food, but a great view of the ice rink,' says Ankur Bhatia, executive director, Bird Group.

So, post-skating or perhaps while watching people skate, you can try the special Sangria, pizza Ortolana and fish and chips at Café.

The unusual concepts are drawing more guests. 'While the concept could be a winner, the key is to serve good food,' says Bhatia of You Cook.

Sandy Chugh, Delhi-based restaurateur and one of the owners of Trolleys in Khan Market, couldn't agree more. At Trolleys, the quick bites (paapdi-chaat, dahi bhallas, bhelpuri, etc) come served on... well... trolleys (to cut down on the waiting time after ordering your main course), which is a novelty, but what makes guests return is the quality of their dishes. 'Apart from the experience it's also the dishes that are a draw,' says Chugh. Trolleys serves North Indian, Italian, Mughlai, Lebanese and Continental fare.

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  Grab a bite in-between skating across the 15,000sqft ice rink at iSkate's iSBAR in Gurgaon
  Pic: JAGAN NEGI

And have you ever heard of a café where you can pay whatever you like or if you so desire, not pay at all?

You can do so in Ahmedabad's Seva Café where volunteers offer their service (seva) and cook for guests. 'Anyone from any walk of life/religion can walk in and offer a gift of love by cooking or serving guests,' says Siddharth Sthalekar, a volunteer at Seva Café.

At Seva Café, post-meal, guests receive a bill that amounts to zero but the footnote reads: 'Your meal was a gift from someone who came before you. To keep the chain of gifts alive, we invite you to pay it forward for those dine after you.'

'The idea is to see if it'll be possible to sustain ourselves if we believe that there's goodness and generosity in every guest,' says Sthalekar. The money earned by the café pays for grocery and to settle running-costs.

Out-of-the-box thinking is also giving pooches something to wag their tails about. Mumbai's Mutt Hutt is bringing pooches and human beings closer together as it's a pop up café where dogs and their owners can dine together. The café's signboard reads — Even Humans Allowed.

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  Mutt Hutt in Mumbai is a pop-up pet café that allows dogs and their owners to enjoy a quick snack together
  Pic: Pranav Zaveri

Two pet-loving sisters, Trupti Zaveri and Bhakti Bhukhanwala, disliked the fact that pets are not allowed in restaurants. 'Here, owners can have a snack with their dogs or catch up with their buddies without leaving the pet at home and feeling guilty,' says Zaveri.

So, this year, sup at a restaurant that dares to be different.