tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4917691940652886496.post6956744174380069281..comments2024-03-19T15:59:53.603+00:00Comments on Food & Wine Finds: A tale of two restaurants: why good food is not enoughFiona Becketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12970779962455905201noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4917691940652886496.post-23950605007486613392012-04-06T17:51:59.149+01:002012-04-06T17:51:59.149+01:00When I visited, I found Casamia's food ambitio...When I visited, I found Casamia's food ambitious, slickly presented with flashes of brilliance, but ultimately it was fairly dissapointing. Too much emphasis on presentation, theatre and experimental technique, it just felt a tad souless. If they reigned the Heston'ish tendancies back, just a bit, I reckon it would make for a much more satisfying experience. Although, saying that, it could be argued that I 'just don't get it'. <br />I'm really surprised about the bread, as the rolls I had with my meal were one of the highlights.<br />I'm also surprised at the lack of inventiveness when it came to adapting the menu for dairy free 'T'. Considering Casamia's bleeding edge reputation, you'd think they could have made a better fist of adapting the dishes. <br /> <br />Menu Gordon Jones - Agreed. The chef can certainly cook really well, sadly the food is let down a bit by the general ambience. <br /><br />As for 'no shows' I think it's acceptable to charge a fee to at least cover the cost of the ingredients if the table is cancelled last minute, so at least the restaurant breaks even. The full whack is pushing it a bit far.Danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04111357339779405801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4917691940652886496.post-26118414439569221322012-04-06T16:38:29.271+01:002012-04-06T16:38:29.271+01:00I appreciate it's not easy, Jan but the fact i...I appreciate it's not easy, Jan but the fact is that some people pull it off better than others. I by no means want a huge menu and am even pretty happy with a no choice one so long as it's well-constructed. As you point out there are places in France, Spain and Italy that do that routinely but that was before the days when restaurants were quite so ambitious. Cooking the kind of food your mamma used to make is a different ball-game.<br /><br />The no show issue is a lot more problematic with more and more people apparently conscience-free about not turning up. On the other hand there are occasions when something unavoidable crops up at the last minute - an accident (as happened to a friend's daughter recently) or a sudden attack of sickness for example. It's wrong for a restaurant to exact this kind of penalty in my view.<br /><br />@Foodycat - these guys can cook, no doubt about that - Casamia has a Michelin star - it's just that some dishes just don't come off.Fiona Becketthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12970779962455905201noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4917691940652886496.post-57783572376514300822012-04-06T12:40:41.584+01:002012-04-06T12:40:41.584+01:00You call this "why good food is not enough&qu...You call this "why good food is not enough" but it doesn't even sound like particularly good food! I think charging for no-shows is OK, although I think charging full price is egregious. Surely a 20% penalty would be off-putting enough?Alicia Foodycathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11931796992646884249noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4917691940652886496.post-79799308567021643912012-04-06T12:16:47.202+01:002012-04-06T12:16:47.202+01:00Hi Fiona
Fascinating article.
I opened & clos...Hi Fiona<br />Fascinating article.<br /><br />I opened & closed my own restaurant over the last year. <br /><br />We put a huge amount of thought into how to balance the retail mantra 'the customer is always right' & the very different approach of a restaurateur &/or chef setting their very personal creations infront of & around diners. <br /><br />In general the wider the choice, the lesser the food, unless the set-up involves a huge brigade as you describe at Noma.<br /><br />I would prefer to have only a little choice & eat something brilliant. Offering no choice at all is a very different thing altogether. It used to be quite common in small French, Italian & Spanish places, but they are not the sort where bookings are even taken, let alone that mete out punishment for 'no-shows'.<br /><br />I would not wish to eat anywhere the chef could not be bothered to bake bread.<br /><br />As to charging no-shows. Every now & then we suffered very badly. We turned people away only to have a table simply not turn up. The best remedy is to be certain to have telephone numbers & telephone the recalcitrant diner every night at the close of service for at least a week.Jan McCourthttp://www.northfieldfarm.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4917691940652886496.post-32891513885205451942012-04-06T12:00:14.014+01:002012-04-06T12:00:14.014+01:00Ah. That makes things much worse! When I've be...Ah. That makes things much worse! When I've been before, they've only asked on arrival at the restaurant, not at the time of booking.<br /><br />It's a tricky one. At high end places, you'd assume that they'd be able to fill the table, and therefore the no-show charge would be unlikely to be charged anyway. £68 per head does seem like a lot, but you can understand their logic, as their food's quite fiddly and takes a hell of a lot of prep. <br /><br />My guess, though, is that this charge is rarely paid: customers (or potential customers...) are probably too intimidated to cancel - or even to book a table in the first place - when they're told that.<br /><br />I'm disappointed, to be honest. It was quite a down-to-earth place before, seems like things have changed a lot.Bristol Biteshttp://www.bristolbites.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4917691940652886496.post-29803141502786566052012-04-06T11:52:19.774+01:002012-04-06T11:52:19.774+01:00Well he told them that morning when he confirmed t...Well he told them that morning when he confirmed the booking so they had time to get their heads round the request.<br /><br />And yes, I don't see why restaurants shouldn't charge something but £68 a head? What do you reckon would be a fair amount?Fiona Becketthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12970779962455905201noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4917691940652886496.post-76020493689340142042012-04-06T11:46:27.803+01:002012-04-06T11:46:27.803+01:00Nothing wrong with the concept of surprise menus i...Nothing wrong with the concept of surprise menus in my book - as long as the restaurant is willing to compromise if needed. I'm surprised that Casamia let you down so much with regards your husband's meal: but it's a dangerous game, on their part, to wait until ten minutes before a customer orders to find out whether they need to tweak their menu. <br /><br />I've not been to Noma, but from what I've heard, they've got it spot on. My boss was taken there for her birthday last year by her partner - when he phoned to book the table, he mentioned that my boss was vegetarian (and quite fussy). They asked for his email address, and then corresponded before the meal to find out what she didn't eat and what her favourite ingredients were in order that she'd be served something by which she'd be blown away. <br /><br />Re: no-shows, it's understandable, I think. If you're taking a table away from other potential paying customers and fail to turn up, I don't see why you shouldn't be charged for it...Bristol Biteshttp://www.bristolbites.co.uknoreply@blogger.com