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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 31, 2009 4:32:23 GMT
(Inspired by a conversation between Spindrift and Kerouac on another thread. I hope they'll recap it here.)
What things do you particularly appreciate in a restaurant? What turns you off?
For me some biggies would be:
1. Cleanliness. Not saying it has to be sterile, but unbussed tables, crumby tablecloths, sticky salt & pepper shakers, etc. make me wonder about over-all standards in the place.
2. Friendly, efficient service -- not chummy, but as though the waitperson knows about what the restaurant offers and cares about the customer's satisfaction.
3. Well-prepared food. Yeah, that's sort of a "duh", but I'm talking about food that tastes as though it were made by someone who respects the ingredients and who enjoys cooking.
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Post by gyro on Mar 31, 2009 5:03:53 GMT
I like it when they say "Thanks for coming to McDonalds, have a nice day!"
It always detracts from my dining experience if such a friendly approach isn't taken.
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Post by hwinpp on Mar 31, 2009 5:17:28 GMT
I don't like being seated at a table that hasn't been cleaned up.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2009 5:26:18 GMT
A clean, well tended place goes without saying. I like the waiter to be efficient and to keep his distance. I do not want him to tell me his name and to ask if everything is fine every three minutes.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 31, 2009 5:27:06 GMT
Oh ~~ a huge one for me: noise level. Why should people sharing a meal have to shout over the music?
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Post by BigIain on Mar 31, 2009 7:20:16 GMT
musts for me:
Good and varied menu
Food which tastes freshly made and well cooked (I like very rare steak but very few chefs prepare a proper "rare" outside of France).
A good wine list
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Post by bazfaz on Mar 31, 2009 7:36:33 GMT
If there is a bouncer out in the street I avoid the restaurant.
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Post by hwinpp on Mar 31, 2009 7:38:32 GMT
Agree with the music level, also like to see and actually recognise what I am eating. No candlelight dinners for me!
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Post by bazfaz on Mar 31, 2009 7:40:30 GMT
I agree with HW about the light level. Some restaurants are so dimly lit I cannot even read the menu.
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Post by bazfaz on Mar 31, 2009 7:43:04 GMT
Also, I dislike restaurants that give a name to a dish - and then the dish turns out to be something entirely different. In a Rio restaurant I ordered Tournedos Rossini. Now this is a specific dish (go on, look it up), What came was a huge Brazilian steak with fried potatoes, peas, sweetcorn and green olives.
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Post by onlymark on Mar 31, 2009 8:06:22 GMT
One thing not yet mentioned that is a problem here and in other hot climates is the air con. I don't want to sit underneath one nor do I have to put a jumper on to sit there and eat.
I don't like places that have a large menu, either in physical size or variety, and you find that half of it is 'off today'. You end up scrabbling round trying to find a second and third alternative.
I don't want to order food and later realise there was a Specials board tucked away in unreadable chalk with a dish on it that I preferred.
Last Summer myself and family went into a restaurant in Alcala la Real in Spain. We sat there for a few minutes and the waiter came and gave us menus, then disappeared. The menus had no prices on them (it was just an ordinary mid range restaurant). We made our choices and about ten minutes later he returned. My wife asked him (fluent Spanish speaker) about the price of one thing we wanted to order.
For some reason he remained uncommittal. He was asked about another, again no accurate reply. He was asked as to why we should order food when we don't know how much it is. He said, "You either want to eat or you don't".
I said, "We do, but not here" and we left.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2009 8:52:12 GMT
I do appreciate the rare occasion where the waiter gives an authentic opinion about a dish, sometimes daring to steer you away from your choice and saying that something else is much better, even if it is cheaper. But, as I said, that really is a rare event.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2009 11:13:57 GMT
Having to wait forever for a check drives me mad but then having to wait even longer to have the check picked up will ruin a perfectly good meal. When I want to go,I want to go!
Having enough room is another.Oft times dining rooms are too jammed up with tables and chairs. I hate sitting too close to other tables dining and having to navigate my way out of a too crowded area to go to the WC or when it's time to leave having to disturb a table of people dining and vice versa.
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