A series of anecdotes with or without any connection to the running of a restaurant.

Saturday, July 29, 2006

Six months on...




















Scorchio!!!!

Our tapas bar, Casa del Mar is now 6 months old.
It has been an interesting learning curve for Adam, my son. Today, he admitted that, although the restaurant had been ticking over nicely, after three months he began panicking that it was not performing as well as he had hoped.
The World Cup came and killed the restaurant trade for a full month!
But as soon as Zidane kissed Matarezzi goodbye and the sun came out, it was as if the floodgates had opened!
Casa is now catering for more than 120 diners on week nights and more than 200 at weekends.
Alfresco lunches are also proving very popular.

I have lent a hand on a few occasions and really enjoyed it.

The best bit was when a party of Spanish diners asked whether the chef was Spanish...
Kevin, our young chef was so delighted, I could have changed his name to Pedro and he would not have mind!














The scorching weather (by our Northern standards, 28 degrees) has brought an added bonus to the operation with the 24 terrace seats being used all evening.

Last night, at 10pm I shared a glass of red wine with a couple of regulars who had arrived at 6pm, had a few tapas and downed 3 bottles of Chilean red!

Long may the good weather continue even if the price of vegetables is predicted to rise!

Labels:

16 Comments:

Blogger Brian the Mennonite said...

Cheers to you, Cream. I'm happy for you and your son...and your chef. What a fine compliment.

29/7/06 10:24 PM  
Blogger DCveR said...

Way to go! Have a glass of red for me!

30/7/06 1:49 AM  
Blogger Mary said...

Great reviews! I am glad you posted the pic of the mosaic. Love it!

30/7/06 2:05 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

When I was a soldier in Texas, I discovered an exciting phenomenon - drive-through liquor stores. It seemed weird and wacky to me, but they are very popular. Have you ever thought about a drive-through window? You could have the world's first and only drive-through tapas bar.

(FYI - this is not a serious suggestion)

30/7/06 2:25 PM  
Blogger neena maiya (guyana gyal) said...

Mmmm, I can almost smell the food.

I'm glad the restaurant is doing well, it means you can blog :-D

Oh Cream, 28 degrees? That's all? Pffft.

The price of veggies will rise? Not here. Food going cheap...but still many can't afford.

30/7/06 3:04 PM  
Blogger Daphne Wayne-Bough said...

Oh you've added me to your blogroll, lovely man. You almost make me want to come oop noarth to eat at your restaurant. Almost. But I'd rather you opened a branch in Brussels!

30/7/06 6:01 PM  
Blogger Cream said...

Cheers, Brian! It was a good compliment coming from Spanish people.

DC, you never know, we may share a bottle one day!

Mary, when it comes to mosaics, you astound me! Thanks!

CD, what a good idea! We even thought about doing takeaway food but the chefs are far too busy as it happens... Drive through liquor stores? Does that not encourage drink driving??

Thanks Gigi! Thirty years in the UK have turned me into a wimp as far as heat is concerned! 28 is hot!!!
You'll have to sell us your veggies and then you'll be able to afford them, if there are any left!

I have Daphnée, indeed I have! Your blog is great!
Well you know where I am and it's not Tizi Ouzou!
One of our branches might sprout up in Brussels one of these days...

30/7/06 7:21 PM  
Blogger Daphne Wayne-Bough said...

"Sprout up in Brussels" -- heheh, v.good. Lettuce hope it happens.

31/7/06 6:42 PM  
Blogger y.Wendy.y said...

May the price of veggies rise and rise until we all have to resort to steak and potatoes and wine and nithing else....poo...veggies..gah!

31/7/06 11:05 PM  
Blogger Hayden said...

wonderful! and a fabulous mosaic, thanks for sharing it! you must feel very proud of your latest creation - and you should! It takes a special talent to make so many other people successful at what they do -

(and oh yes, drive-through booze stores is unbelieveable to many of us in the states too - still, it's true, it's insane, and it's not uncommon in the southern states. In the north you can't be caught with an opened bottle in the car w/o being prosecuted: in the south they serve you through the drive-through!)

1/8/06 5:21 AM  
Blogger Cream said...

Oui, mon p'tit choux de Bruxelles! Puns galore!

KG, I think you've been a regular for much longer than that! And you are welcome to call when you're around!

Geena, so green beans are off, then?

Thanks, Hayden! And booze drive throughs are really an alien concept!
So, if you find you're gonna be stopped by the police do you guzzle unfinished booze asap?

1/8/06 10:19 AM  
Blogger iluvnyc said...

wow... good reviews you have there... congratulations! everything goes well for you :)

1/8/06 10:23 AM  
Blogger carla said...

Wow! Six months! I remember when you were making those beautiful mosaic designs! Congratluations on having such a success!

1/8/06 12:16 PM  
Blogger Dizzy said...

200 Covers, very impressive. Congratulations and long may it continue.

See what the sunshine does, makes us all more sociable. I love real Spannish tapas along with a good bottle of rioja. Delicious!

1/8/06 3:42 PM  
Blogger Cream said...

Thanks, Iluvnyc!

Hi, Carla! Time flies when you're having fun! Or working hard...
Thanks!

Dizzy, you know the restaurant business and it's good when things go right.
I often pop in to Casa for a couple of tapas and glass of wine. Delicioso!

1/8/06 5:21 PM  
Blogger Caribbean Colors Belize said...

I love Chileano reds, its about the only decent wine we can get here in Belize that doesn't taste like vinegar, not counting the Boone's Farm. I love your Casa Del Mar graphic!

1/8/06 10:09 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home