I used to write regular restaurant reviews for a regional paper and thought that those days were over. Then I visited Restaurante Zinc in Mutxamel and couldn’t resist another review. The building has new Dutch owners and has been given a welcome revival. I knew it as La Venteta about 15 years ago and it was well run by a Belgian man. After he left, standards declined and it was then closed. Now I have high hopes, because the place has an exciting vibrancy, the owners are convivial and the quality of meals served is exceptional. The old building and grounds are full of character and situated on a quiet road between Mutxamel and Tangel. There is a covered terrace with tables overlooking a pleasant garden and this combines to make a perfect rural setting for a restaurateur wanting to build a reputation. Welcome to Marcel, a chef with flair. He ran a successful restaurant in Rotterdam, also called Zinc, with his wife, Linda, and they have now sold up and moved to Spain. They are joined in this venture by Petar and, together, they exude energy, enthusiasm and personality. The menu is small and changed every two weeks. Although they only opened in June, my wife and I have already dined there three times and enjoyed each occasion. With a limited menu, it's necessary to trust the chef and be adventurous. For instance, on my last visit I started with veal tartare, something I haven’t tried before. With the addition of cauliflower florets, pancetta and truffle vinaigrette, the effect was very pleasing. My main course was seared tuna steak, tomato, black olives, almonds and bagna cauda (a garlic and anchovy paste), and dessert was lemon tart with raspberries and artisan lemon ice cream. As we often do, my wife contrasted my choice and ordered marinated salmon, fillet steak with foie and the chef’s interpretation of Eton mess. We like to try each other’s meals and I would have been equally happy with hers. We both feel that the chef knows how to bring the best out of his dishes. He has a distinctive style of cooking, elaborating on natural flavours to provide a meal full of satisfying tastes. The ingredients are of a high standard and the flavours fantastic. The three courses cost 29.50€, without drink, and this represents fair value for the meal and surroundings. The restaurant is open Thursday to Sunday, for lunch and dinner and you can check the current menu and details on their website restaurantezinc.com For those not living locally, you may wish to stay in one of their comfortable, well-furnished bedrooms …….. and then walk downstairs for a lovely meal. Well worth a visit. |
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It’s been a while since I’ve written, as I’ve been distracted by other things happening in my life, but now I’m feeling ready to continue with my blog. Covid, the subject of previous blogs, has not gone away, but enough has been written about that and, although I could give an opinion, I doubt if it would add anything new. So, instead, I’ll opine about an article that I read recently by Mark Hix and, although not as headline-catching as Covid, has an indirect connection. Mark Hix is a noted restaurateur whose business went into administration at the start of the pandemic. He has managed to pick himself up again, with the help of a fish truck in his native Dorset, taking back one of his restaurants, and a column in The Telegraph. His article was about waiting staff; suggesting that waiting at tables wasn’t a lowly, pretty-simple job, as he’d heard people say it was. I read this a day after visiting Resto René, a new restaurant close to my home on the Costa Blanca. If I can add ‘waiting efficiently and in a pleasant manner', I’d agree. A good waiter or waitress can make all the difference to a dining experience. Resto René would be termed 'up market' and offered food prepared to a high standard in a very pleasant setting. The front of house staff were dressed in black and white, including black aprons and masks (reference to Covid again) and appeared to be genuinely pleased to have their jobs. They were trained, efficient and confident. Our particular waitress served in a subtle deferential way, yet controlled the table. She anticipated our needs and, although East European, spoke Spanish and English with charm. Contrast this to waiting staff who do their job without care or attention (and yes, there are too many of those) and there is no comparison. The pity is that there is no need for such a difference. Training and recognition that good service is part of a successful meal experience is not expensive for a restaurateur. The cost of training is easily offset by the benefits to both diners and waiting staff. People rarely go to restaurants just to eat; they want a pleasant experience and staff are part of the permutation that enables them to achieve that. Whilst still at school, I had a weekend job waiting in my uncle's restaurant. I soon learnt that I could double my wages with tips if I worked well and was friendly. I enjoyed the work and seeing satisfied diners. After college, I stayed in catering and have always had an interest in customer satisfaction. It’s surprising how often a person running a business, not only in catering, seems ignorant to the requirements of their customers. Customer loyalty can be earned if they’re appreciated and listened to, and if they are served efficiently and pleasantly. Repeat business is easier to retain than forever finding new customers; why don’t some business owners recognise that? Keeping good staff is also more profitable for a business, so an owner needs to be aware of staff problems and train their employees so that they work to set standards. Tipping restaurant workers is an established custom and an immediate show of satisfaction (or not) that is not so in all jobs. Very often, waiting staff are the only human link between a diner and the restaurant. Thus, the impetus for a person working in restaurants to be efficient is more immediate, and is an indication to the owner of customer satisfaction. Not everyone is cut out to wait at tables. There are no qualifications to do so and anyone may think they can do it. However, when you find a person who is good at the job, you realise the difference of someone who is not. Accepting mediocre service is, thankfully, becoming less acceptable. Picking people with potential and then training them is the key; it’s too easy to see when that hasn’t been achieved. Do it properly and it’s a win-win situation for all involved. The BBC recently introduced an initiative called 'Crossing Divides on the Move Day', to test the theory that we benefit from talking to strangers; the aim was for people to break down barriers and combat loneliness. Indeed, in many circumstances it’s not usual to start talking to strangers and, these days, one has to be careful not to offend. However, in the right circumstances, it can be refreshing to begin a conversation with someone you don’t know and find something in common with the other person. The BBC worked with public transport companies to promote the day. At a party, conference or gathering, there are ample opportunities to chat, but to speak to the person next to you on public transport can be seen as suspicious or inappropriate. On the Crossing Divides Day, some transport companies encouraged the BBC initiative. For instance, on Virgin Trains, carriage C was designated as a conversation carriage and passengers were given an extra drink free and invited to hand it to a stranger and start talking. At least passengers who entered the carriage could expect to be approached by a stranger with a cup of coffee, without feeling awkward. On Aviva coaches, the approach was more random and there were just cards on seats with conversation topics, suggesting that they were used as icebreakers. The idea may be a good one, but many passengers apparently preferred their own space and solitude. Commuters naturally tend to avoid eye contact or smiling, as they feel uneasy about encouraging a fellow passenger to respond. We build an invisible barrier around us as a defence, but in reality this increases a feeling of isolation in public places. Perhaps the method needs to be thought through, even if the idea is a good one. Loneliness is, unfortunately, not uncommon and nowadays more people are living on their own than ever before. If they stay in their homes, they may not talk to anyone and a third of lonely people have admitted taking a bus in the hope of having human contact; yet the truth is that the lonely won’t easily start a conversation and it’s not easy to find a place where they’ll feel comfortable on their own. Some years ago, I wrote a blog article (Eating Out Alone, But Not Alone - 17/09/14) where I suggested that restaurants had a 'table to chat'. People on their own could choose to sit at the table and converse with others on the same table without feeling on their own. Eating out is more pleasant when in a social setting and joining someone at a table when you feel like talking can make the meal more enjoyable. In my opinion, I’d far prefer to chat than read or look at my mobile, as so many people do when sitting alone in a restaurant. I hope that the one-day experiment performed by the BBC was successful enough to repeat, but I hope next time they’ll extend it to restaurants and cafés, where people eat in a relaxed atmosphere and it’s not combined with the stress of commuting either to or from work. After visiting a particular restaurant last Saturday, I had expected to write a glowing review; after all, I'd been there many times before and had always thought that the meals were exceptional. However, on this occasion I didn't think the menu selection was up to standard and, because of that, was disappointed with some of the food. This is a place where the chef creates inspirational dishes and where, usually, the flavours linger pleasantly in the mouth and the presentation delights. In truth, I cannot say that was so on Saturday and was therefore left with a predicament. Do I tell it as it was; do I fabricate the review by including a dish from the past (I quickly discounted that idea); or do I not write anything? I pondered the question, not sure what to do, until, by complete coincidence, I sat down the following day to watch a film called 'Chef'. 'Chef' was made in 2014 and stars Jon Favreau, who also wrote and directed it. The story is about Carl, a chef whose passion is dampened by his employer, the restaurant owner, (played by Dustin Hoffman). When a well-known, New York food critic (Oliver Platt) gives him a damning review, even though the same critic had written a glowing review about the same chef and restaurant ten years earlier, Carl reacts. Correspondence between Carl and the critic go viral on social media and, in desperation and on impulse, Carl leaves the restaurant, buys a run-down food truck, renovates it and makes a success of his new venture. What I really enjoyed was watching the way Carl portrayed his passion and culinary professionalism in the kitchen. I know that he was acting, but he'd had lessons for the part from Roy Choi, the owner of a gourmet food truck in America, and was totally credible as an enthusiastic, excitable entrepreneur finally taking the reins to do what he did best. After watching the film, I thought again about writing my restaurant review. I know that my comments never attract massive attention, being read by just a few hundred people, however, I wondered how I'd feel if I knew the chef at the restaurant had read it. I've used my experience in the catering business and criticised restaurants before, although I've always wanted to be fair, but something just didn't sit right if I were to complain about the food when, exceptionally, it wasn't up to standard. There is another problem. The decoration and furnishing of the restaurant don't do justice to the usual quality of the food. It's a cheap-looking, unassuming place and the only real attraction is the food. If the chef-owner gets that wrong, he has nothing to fall back on. I know that he's been experimenting with new dishes and hope that he'll be making some more changes before settling on a new à la carte menu, because the current choices fail to excite. As I've written before, a restaurant needs more than good food to survive in a very competitive market and he needs to look at his operation as a whole. After consideration, my decision was to scrap the review and, instead, to recommend that you watch the film 'Chef'. Also starring Scarlett Johansson and Sofia Vergara, it was a really entertaining couple of hours and an insight into the demanding life of a successful chef. Best of all, it's only a film and, I assure you, won't disappoint. I was recently reminded of the story about a restaurant owner in northern Spain who took a booking for a baptism celebration. The diners were Romanian and the organiser had paid a 900€ deposit. 120 people turned up and enjoyed their meal and drinks, but, before the dessert, all of them suddenly stood up and rushed out of the restaurant. The astonished owner said it was like a stampede and he was left with lots of dirty plates and was about 2000€ out of pocket from what was obviously a pre-arranged scam. Sometimes it amazes me how people will betray the trust of others, even for a relatively low sum, and I hope the perpetrators were caught. There was also a contentious incident which happened after a wedding in America. Two of the guests, who had intended to be present, were let down at the last minute by their mother who was going to babysit their children. The parents couldn't find another babysitter, so had to stay at home and missed the wedding and reception. Unfortunately, they failed to notify the bride. A week later, the couple received an invoice from the bride for the cost of the uneaten meals. I have some sympathy for the bride who may have been more hurt by being snubbed than the cost of the meals that weren't eaten, but the couple insisted that they wouldn't be paying and, no doubt, a friendship was strained if not broken. More generally, no-shows are a constant problem for restaurants. Tables are reserved and potential bookings may be refused because the restaurant is apparently full. Then, when a group doesn't turn up, the restaurant is left with an empty table and lost income. A few establishments take a credit card number and make a charge for no-shows, but that's rarely popular. A restaurant I use confirms a reservation the day before and only keeps the booking for 15 minutes past its due time, then releases the table. Surprisingly, many restaurants here in Spain take a booking and don't even take a phone number; although some people don't turn up, the restaurants seem to accept that. I feel, though, that the customer has a moral duty to cancel if necessary and respect the restaurateur. After all, if he doesn't keep a table for someone who has booked, they would rightly be annoyed. The problem of no-shows has increased with the rise of online booking sites. Apparently, a growing number of diners are likely to reserve a table at two or three restaurants on the same night and then make a last-minute choice of where to dine, but neglect to cancel the other reservations. Whether or not that is done to impress their friends, or simply through selfishness, I don't know, but the effect can be the difference between profit and loss for a restaurant owner. Running a restaurant is no easy task and building a reputation is a long process. Diners are obviously essential and the aim is to please them, so that they will recommend the establishment to others. Customers, though, occasionally take advantage and those who don't turn up, or leave without paying for their meals, do a disservice to restaurants and themselves alike. What is the answer? I would suggest always taking a credit card number and, if the diner fails to arrive or cancel, charge them an agreed cancellation fee, in spite of this procedure being unpopular. I'm sure this would minimise the problem and would be fair to the proprietor of the restaurant who is trying to run a business. |
About me Hi, I'm Robin Hardy. I was born and educated in London and followed a career in hotel and catering management. After taking early retirement, my wife, Beatrix, and I moved to Alicante, Spain. Archives
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