The hotel was recently renovated by architect Darley Fulvio Voltolini, in a project that alone cost around US$50,000.00. It has 159 rooms distributed over 18 floors, with 8 of them structured for people with reduced mobility, 6 for families, 30 contiguous.
Located in the center of the capital of Paraná, it is close to Rua 24 Horas, Praça Virgínia and Shopping Pátio Batel.
The hotel has a gym, SPA Tereza Zanchi, 2 restaurants, one Brazilian and one Asian, a pocket show room - Room 1424, which can accommodate up to 60 people seated and another 40 standing. Room 1424 functions as a theater, concert space, and there are jazz concerts.
Grand Mercure's two event rooms - Forum and Agora accommodate 240 and 140 people, respectively.
The Lobby Bar is a space for leisure and tasting of cocktails made by mixologist Arthur Pallu.
The Grand Mercure Curitiba Rayon even has a night club, RW, which is currently under concession and accommodates up to 427 people interested in electronic music.
And it was through the hotel's Food and Beverage sector, including the restaurants - Hai Yo and Garbo, managed by Lucas Coelho, that Kanbara managed to not only improve revenue, but today it represents 45% of the hotel's revenue.
"The success of food and beverages in representing the hotel's revenue is due to the high impact of events taking place in the city and at the hotel, linked to the resumption of actions in the corporate segment: training and conventions. In addition to the revenue from the Hai Yo and Garbo, from the perspective of breakfast, brunch and executive lunch, for example. The renewal of Garbo's menu, with a very Brazilian focus, will add even more to the hotel”, said Kanbara, explaining the success.
Hai Yo
It was opened in 2018 to reposition the hotel, customers and guests, and for the hotel to have a restaurant for smaller events, with up to 56 people.
"Hai Yo has become a reference meeting point in the city through Asian cuisine", according to Fernando Kanbara, general manager of the hotel.
The average price of the restaurant is around US$150.00.
Gabriel Morato and Welington Gonçalves are the sommeliers, they explore the south of the country in search of the wineries that produce the best wines to pair with chef Lucas Coelho's tasting menus.
At lunch, an executive menu with starter, main course and dessert.
For dinner, the Keiken menus are served in 7 strokes, Hai Yo is served in 11 strokes and Omakase for those who are hungry in 15 strokes.
Hai Yo's five-course tasting menu includes Tokubetsuna Kaki with Baby oyster served fresh and seasoned with ponzu sauce, salmon roe, tobiko black and quail egg yolk.
The consumption of oysters was created by the hydraulic engineer and Roman merchant Caio Sérgio Orata, even before Christ. The state of Paraná is the second largest producer in Brazil, behind Santa Catarina, which is well ahead in production volume.
The people of Paraná take advantage of oyster farming to adopt recipes that take the mollusk to restaurants.
Followed by Shake Nuta, the dish with salmon sashimi, torched on the sides and with ama-miso sauce, which is sweet. Kinoko Miso Udon, or udon, is a thick dough with a white flour base, and is served with miso butter sauce (a paste made from macerated meat or fish and mixed with fermented cereals), toasted mushrooms and a light touch of truffles.
Sichuan duck comes from Chinese cuisine, confit for 16 hours in its own fat and then deep-fried, served with cucumber and raw leeks in a Julienne cut. The duck also accompanies handcrafted pancakes and two sauces, one sweet and sour, and one based on ginger and finger pepper. There is a sequence to eat, this makes a finished dish prepared by the customer himself, an immersion in the cuisine of southwestern China.
For dessert, it's Tofu Cheese Cake with Red Fruit Sorbet and Togarashi Pepper, the taste buds are tested to their full efficiency, a dessert that mixes salty, sweet, bitter and acid.
Garbo Restaurant
The second experience with Lucas Coelho's cuisine is a Brazilian restaurant.
The chef designs the plating beforehand on a sufite sheet and uses crockery from ceramicists Leonardo Aguiar and Angélica Piacentini.
Garbo is where breakfast and brunch at the Grand Mercure Curitiba Rayon take place, all made in-house, which has its own bakery.
There is lunch and dinner à la carte, and on the chef's menu you can taste a sequence such as: a Portuguese starter with an African influence and which is a reference in traditional Brazilian cuisine, the cubed crackling, to pair with the Macunaíma cocktail, a 2014 creation of Arnaldo Hirai - Boca de Ouro bar in São Paulo.
As a main dish, from the Amazon Biome - Pirarucu with annatto sauce, Brazil nut farofa, and banana puree. From the Pantanal Bioma - Moqueca de Jacaré, a typical Pantanal dish, which is served with coconut rice. Coelho manages to maintain the flavor of the exotic meat in its essence, and does not modify the flavor to make it acceptable.
The sommeliers have mastery of the product they offer and the techniques on how to serve it, yet another achievement by Fernando Kanbara in training his team.
Cartola is a dessert created in Pernambuco, with banana, semi-cured cheese foam and dulce de leche. Chef Lucas Coelho's execution surpasses the traditional recipe, due to the preparation and correctness of the sugar and salt in the cheese.
Gastronomy was how the hotel manager, Fernando Kanbara, managed to increase revenue at the Grand Mercure Curitiba Rayon, as well as excellence in hospitality.
Text and photo: Mary de Aquino.