Basildog

Fuck em!

JFYI, the last 2 weeks have been pretty bloody awful for the restuarant trade down here, hell even i had empty tables! January is a killer at times.

How many scallops do you get for £17?

Pricing does seem a bit steep. £5 for olives? Is that a bowl of olives? or do you get something else? Charging for Bread always seems a bit tight. What is your market? Locals, buisness expense acconts, tourists, foodies who will travel?

If you want to raise your profile in your community, try getting involved with your local school( either career advice, or healthy eating, cooking demos etc).Don't think of it as promotion, getting involved is worth it in it's own right.Same with local charities. As for the critics and guides , all you can do is let them know you exist.I actually sent off the AA form today (for 2008!) so write to them.If you feel the critics are the way forward, well Jay will read this in the next 24 hours, and if you can get one in, the rest will probably follow in time (pack animals ) Advertising is very difficult to quantify, more like throwing shit at a wall and hoping some of it sticks .Better off using that money to benefit a local group, and raising you profile that way. Best of luck!

NY timesMaybe this is the answer, you could start a UK version of this Tim

I think it happens all over the country, more often than not at the better known/higher end places.

Which is it in a nutshell.If the public decided overnight that they wanted something different from restaurants, then we would change or die.Unfortunately Tim, there are enough people out there who accept the situation as it is, so it pesists. and of course, if the system has to change, then prices would change aswell.It's a tricky balance between giving the guest what the want, making a profit , and feel you are being fair. Restaurants are a very funny buisness.

There is some behaviour - asking for confirmation calls or credit card details in advance on big tables - that's an obvious and arguably legitimate response to poor behaviour by customers (actually, let's just analyse that for a second. What other business has the unmitigated cods to punish its customers like children for poor behaviour). ← Like any business , when a client breaks a contract, it fucking hurts in £££££££.Restaurants aren't punishing guests they are just trying to protect themselves.

Yeah, that will really get the restaurant on your side!!!

The main reason that 2's are offered early and late slots is they are a much safer bet to be able to turn that table.(they drink less, talk less, and you only have 2 people to be late)

The A is for atmospheric places the 2 *s are for cooking, but i could be wrong

Very open of you Pip I pay all my staff an hourly rate plus an equal share of tips (not a service charge) I,m very small, but i think sharing tips between kitchen and FOH really helps teamwork, and there is less "them and us"mentality. For your waiter to earn £350, how many hours does he do? Tell me to bogg off if you like

Protest in Plymouth earlier this monthcluck

That would be incredible if they didn't know.

Can't seem to get that link to download the pdf.Anyclue as to the Bib's edit...it's OK, got it working.

because thats all we have? Any publication that sets out to rate Thousands of restaurants on a yearly basis is going to get some of them wrong.Overall it's better than nothing.(or there is that new fangled internet, if you want up to date opinions and reviews) PS if there were annual publications that rated how you did your job, wouldn't you be interested?

I don't think anyone "needs" guides to be honest.Antony's is trucking along nicely without the star they deserve.Guides are for egos (mine included, makes my day to get a plate or sticker for the window )

Yeah like that Margots place in Padstein... How on earth did that make it into GFG? ← We are not in this years GFG Mr Smarty Pants .Something to do with me not sending the form back.Yes, i am a twat.

Because the guides are all imperfect.They all miss the mark on some places.

Naturally but would i swop it for a Bib? tough call

I don't have the reporters edition.The only symbols in mine are stars for cooking and red "A"s for atmospheric places.

Bertie, when you click on the box to select the level of resturant your looking for, it drops down with the scores and what they mean (1) Exceptional (2) Very Good etc. Matthew...As for the style thing,i really don't know what your on about.Where does it appear in the book?

If you try serarching for a place with a 1,1,1 score, you get a message"Sorry no matches,There is no such thing as perfection" Nice touch

We talk about it alot, especialy this time of year, but who actually buys it? I do most years, but then i'm in it