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New Delhi: Swiggy has announced the launch of the Great Indian Restaurant Festival (GIRF) 2026 through its Dineout platform, with Bhuvan Bam appointed as the festival’s ambassador. The campaign brings elements of BB Ki Vines into the dining festival, integrating characters such as Babloo, Babli, Sameer, and Bhuvan into its narrative.
GIRF 2026, which begins on February 15, 2026, offers diners up to 50% off at over 40,000 restaurants across more than 60 cities in India. Participating venues include cafes, pubs, bars, luxury dining, and family restaurants. Additional offers include 10% instant discounts on HDFC Bank cards and 10% back as Dinecash for bookings through Dineout.
The festival film presents common dining concerns, with Babloo worrying about discount caps and fine print, while Sameer explains the scale of GIRF. The underlying message is that reduced bills make dining more spontaneous and celebratory.
Commenting on the launch, Dhruvish Thakkar, AVP Marketing and Revenue, Swiggy Dineout, said, “GIRF is one of India’s largest dining movements. Our focus every year is to make dining out more rewarding, more accessible and more frequent for consumers, while unlocking sustained incremental footfalls and revenue growth for our restaurant partners. With Bhuvan and the BB Ki Vines universe, we are tapping into characters that India deeply relates to. Babloo, Babli and Sameer represent real diner mindsets we see on the platform every day, from the bill conscious planner to the value maximiser to the spontaneous celebration starter.”
The GIRF 2026 theme, ‘Bill Half. Party Full', reflects the idea that dining out is an enjoyable experience and that reduced bills allow celebrations to scale. The festival spans established dining cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Chennai, as well as emerging culinary hubs including Goa, Jaipur, Indore, Coimbatore, Chandigarh, Lucknow, and Udaipur.
The campaign will be rolled out across digital, social, and creator ecosystems, as well as in-app storytelling formats. BB Ki Vines characters are integrated across platform creatives, cultural moments, and performance marketing.
GIRF 2026 also includes activations such as limited-time Crazzzy Deals of the Day, complimentary cocktails and mocktails at select bars, and extended happy hours across participating restaurants. Participating brands include Cafe Coffee Day, Barista, Good Flippin Burgers, Punjab Grill, YouMee, Krishnapatnam, Biergarten, Ironhill, and other dining destinations.
Watch here: