How to name a restaurant, and what we learned naming Hapaa

By Saurabh Khatri, founder of The Brand Odyssey. 13 November 2026.

Start with the feeling, not the cuisine

The easiest names describe the food: Spice Kitchen, Asian Bistro, The Curry House. They are clear, but they are also forgettable, and there are probably three of them within a few kilometres of you. A name does more work when it carries the mood of the place instead.

For Hapaa, the brief was a restaurant that felt sophisticated, with a hint of naughty, taken one notch higher. The name had to hold both ideas at once. Once that feeling was written down, it became the test for every name on the list.

Say it out loud, many times

Most people will hear your restaurant name before they see it. Say each option the way a guest would say it to a friend on the phone, the way a delivery rider would call it out, and the way a waiter would answer the phone. If people hesitate, mispronounce it, or ask you to spell it, that is useful to know early.

Short names with clear sounds usually travel better. Hapaa is easy to say, easy to remember, and hard to confuse with anything else nearby.

Check that you can own it

• Search the name on Google, Instagram and the delivery apps in your city
• Check whether the domain name and social handles are free, or close enough
• Look for trademarks in your category before you commit
• Make sure it does not mean something awkward in another language your guests speak

A name you cannot protect or find online will cost you later, especially if the restaurant does well and you want to open a second outlet.

Picture it on everything

Before you decide, imagine the name on the sign above the door, on a takeaway bag, on a bill folder, on a matchbox and as a small Instagram profile picture. Some names look beautiful written out in full and fall apart when they have to fit in a small circle.

With Hapaa, the name and its lotus-inspired mark had to work across everything from the menu to the matchboxes, and later on a separate identity for its Hapaa Red event nights. A name that gives the designer something to work with makes all of that easier.

Give it room to grow

Names tied too closely to one dish, one street or one year can feel limiting later. If you might add a bar, open in another city or launch packaged products, choose a name that can stretch with you.

Test it with a few real people

Share your top three names with a handful of people who match your future guests, not just friends and family. Do not ask which one they like. Ask what kind of place each name makes them imagine, and what they would expect to pay. The answers tell you whether the name sends the right signal.

Hapaa has since been featured across Pune's food press and was nominated for Best Pan-Asian at the Times Food and Nightlife Awards. A name will never do that work alone, but a good one gives the food, the space and the service a clear story to sit inside. You can read the full Hapaa case study, or see how we approach naming and brand identity.