Eating Out

dvdfan

Hi,

I run a cafe and just want everyones opinions on what they think cafes are missing these days or point out cool things youve seen in some cafes. Hoping to get a few ideas where i can improve on.

Any suggestions, comments like "i hate getting my potatoes served on a seperate side dish" or general things like appearance and personailities of the staff, music, plate servings, prices, size of meals, your favourite meals that never seem to be available, anything or any comment or suggestions are welcome good or bad.

Im referring to your run of the mill 9am-6pm Cafe serving breakfast, Lunch, Sandwiches, Desserts, Drinks & Salads. Nows your chance to get your opinion across

antSionnach

space. its all about space. this evening i was in tribeca in ranelagh. FFS if there werent so many seats maybe peoples elbows wouldnt have to touch...

RoadSweeper

a decent portion of food. normally you get a tiny portion that would fill you for 5mins.

Wertz

Manners of staff. I don't go back to places where I get treated as if I'm some kind of incovenience in the staff's working day.

I know it's old news but it's the basic thing that so many places like shops and restaurants seem to be forgetting about lately...

SpAcEd OuT

I like a place that serves good smoothies

ODS

Wireless broadband free of charge; Cafe Java's are setting the trend on this one - ie a half-decent cafe, unlike Mc Ds or Bewleys Naas Rd, and are free

Soya milk for lattes and the like - im always amazed by the amount of people who either have lactose allergy or are avoiding it.

healthy & tasty options. In this country we seem to treat vegtables, salads, etc as if they were a punishment. Tip; unless your shopping organic, get your vegtables at Lidl as they are much fresher + better quality than tecsos, dunnes etc imo.

Smoothies are always good and rarely available - or overpriced:(

Decent prices - was charged over €5 for a double-shot coffee recently at foleys, corner of Merrion St - Very :mad:

Same goes for stale carrot cake that is priced 4.95 - people wont come up to you and complain - they just wont buy it, or worse, bitch about it to their pals.

Best of luck with it anyhow!

Ruu_Old

RoadSweeper wrote:

a decent portion of food. normally you get a tiny portion that would fill you for 5mins.

Seconded, value for money.

monkeyfudge

Decent vegetarian options please...

Oh and monkey butlers would be cool!

ODS

Ah, I forgot most important of all... discounts for boards.ie members - Where did you say your cafe was again?:D

Nehpets

Milkshakes/Smoothies, Space, Nice staff, Jukebox?, NOT overpriced, nice sandwiches, lots of light - hate dark places,

dvdfan

Nehpets wrote:

Milkshakes/Smoothies, Space, Nice staff, Jukebox?, NOT overpriced, nice sandwiches, lots of light - hate dark places,

A few people have mentioned smoothies already, i have to be honest and say im completely ignorant about these, probably because i never drink them. So can anyone give me any info on this, are there many types of flavours, whats your favourite, do you like them made fresh or prefer certain brands straight from a carton. Does anyone know of any suppliers that could get me setup to make smoothies, is it just a basic blender to make them or are their special machines these days, forgive my stupid question but im just not into smoothies and know very little about them but they seem popular enough judging by the first few threads.

My cafes in Athlone btw

RoadSweeper

check out http://www.zumojuicebar.com/

smoothys tend to be dear, s maybe if you had them at decent value, sales could soar

dvdfan

RoadSweeper wrote:

check out http://www.zumojuicebar.com/

smoothys tend to be dear, s maybe if you had them at decent value, sales could soar

Thanks RoadSweeper, so what do you think is a fair price for a smoothie then, ive checked out this website http://www.martinfoodequip.com/html/smoothies.htm

and they say the cost to prepare a smoothie is €1.40 in total and the retail price is €3.75 - €3.95, this seems very exspensive to me, what would you find a suitable price and what do you usually pay (I assume you get a Pint for those prices??)

biko

Never a big enough glass of fresh squeezed orange juice but then I really like OJ

Lust4Life

The ULTIMATE Fancy Mix Drink....
Orange Juice, Ice Cream and Vanilla flavored liquor. Blend in blender.
Oh so yummy!!!!!!!!

RoadSweeper

dvdfan wrote:

Thanks RoadSweeper, so what do you think is a fair price for a smoothie then, ive checked out this website http://www.martinfoodequip.com/html/smoothies.htm

and they say the cost to prepare a smoothie is €1.40 in total and the retail price is €3.75 - €3.95, this seems very exspensive to me, what would you find a suitable price and what do you usually pay (I assume you get a Pint for those prices??)

Well suppose anything below that is going to be good value. €3 - €3.50

There is endless thing open to you to do with smoothies,
ie. have set meals smooties incl.
Target student with them etc...

DonkeyStyle \o/

Well cleaned and ventilated toilets... if you can't keep the toilets clean then IMO it doesn't say much about how clean your kitchen/counter is.
An immaculate restroom is always plus points for me.

Aard

Space. I don't like when others can hear what me and co are talking about.

Grilled sandwiches that aren't overpriced.

Ditto for smoothies or juices.

Oh, and when you serve tea, don't have it as one cup for 1.70 (like kylemore), and dont have crappy teapots that spill when you pour ... I'll never go back if they do.

ODS

dvdfan wrote:

do you like them made fresh or prefer certain brands straight from a carton...and they say the cost to prepare a smoothie is €1.40 in total and the retail price is €3.75 - €3.95, this seems very exspensive to me, what would you find a suitable price and what do you usually pay (I assume you get a Pint for those prices??)

A pint? Wishful thinking :rolleyes: FRESH - no prepackaged please , Youll probably make more from doing them fresh if you get the basic system right at the outset. Anything less than €3 would be reasonable...Might be worth the while to target AIT students with a voycher in their fresher packs; that + a happy hour with a tag of €2 at off-peak times;)

challengemaster

good portions and i'd f'kin love to see sushi somewhere in ireland... lovely stuff

DonkeyStyle \o/

challengemaster wrote:

love to see sushi somewhere in ireland

There's somewhere that does it up in Georges Street (Dublin) AFAIK... never been there but I've heard it's good.

challengemaster

i live 2hrs away from dublin >_<

Tar.Aldarion

monkeyfudge wrote:

Decent vegetarian options please...

This.
Although I am very hard to please anyway.

kinaldo

As has already been mentioned, free wifi would be a big plus, although I wouldn't quite say Cafe Java offer if for free as their prices are so exorbitant it must be included in a hidden charge kind of way. Also, a selection of cheeses would be great. Cafe en Seine is the only place I can think of that does anything of the kind -they have a good selection on a big cheese board for €10.

lemon_of_old

Free wifi, clean,bright, spacious area, comfortable seating where you can relax and enjoy your meal - I hate feeling like I'm sitting in a canteen on uncomfortable chairs and a tiny table, God how I hate tiny tables! I need to
s p r e a d! Decent coffee, it's well worth getting training or getting a proper barista in, I managed a cafe for a while, it's amazing how particular people are about their coffee. And a friendly, relaxed atmosphere, too often I feel pressured to order, swallow and vacate the seat for the next customer. Outdoor seating (if possible) is always a plus. And a loyalty/bonus system for regular customers - people like to be loved!

Archeron

A good selection of cakes. There seems to be a growing coffee and cake brigade out there, and since there seems to be so few bakeries left in the country, its nice to have options other than scones and rock buns.

Gone West

The thread title was misleading.

DonkeyStyle \o/

FuzzyLogic wrote:

The thread title was misleading.

Yeah I was dissapointed too... but you can still have your fun with hidden double meanings... like my post about girls having to keep their pooper clean if I'm to eat from their 'kitchen'.
Bet that went right over everyones head... even mine when I was posting it.

Pal

I suggest restaurants in Ireland ofer free refills of Coke etc., to kids.

they do this everywhere in USA.

As a parent, it costs a fortune to buy Cokes at a family meal.

Saruman

dvdfan wrote:

retail price is €3.75 - €3.95, this seems very exspensive to me, what would you find a suitable price and what do you usually pay (I assume you get a Pint for those prices??)

As long as you stay below €5 its fine. That price range you mentioned is fine.
Remember a smoothie is filling!!! Its almost a meal.
Easiest thing to do is use frozen fruit and frozen yhogurt as the base with some juices and stick in a blender! You can even add in stuff like they do at Zumo.

Zumo uses fresh ingredients but you can get away with frozen in a café

Apart from that.. most people have posted excellent ideas. Keep things below rip off. Never charge €6 for a panini no matter how good it is

super_furry

DonkeyStyle \o/ wrote:

There's somewhere that does it up in Georges Street (Dublin) AFAIK... never been there but I've heard it's good.

Aya it's called and it's fecking lovely.

squire1

Free market research. Boards is great isn't it.

Mugs, not cups. If you are going to serve coffee in cups then at least have free refills available.

Goes without saying but make sure everything is spotless, people will not normally complain about dirty tables or floors but they will not come back either.

Dermington

I went to London a few months ago and I have to say any cafe like Nero or Pret A Manger is good in my book.

Everything was great about those two franchises.

fuzzywiggle

Nice staff. There are so many rude/ignorant people working in shops/cafes and I think to myself ''how did these people get jobs?!''. A little manners and politeness goes a long long way.

Beruthiel

Nobody does Croque Monsieur
They are to die for if done right!

spacecoyote

to be honest i think the main thing is really comfortable seats. People generally go to cafes to relax & chat and they want to do that in comfort!

Also maybe checkers/chess boards on tables or something like that?

The Hill Billy

If your clientel comprises of mums & kids - then smaller cutlery for kids is a real bonus. My young lad is three & has been been feeding himself for ages, but when we eat out it is a real hassle for him to use BIG forks & spoons.

Well mannered & smiley staff are a must. A good waiter or waitress can actually make a poor dish taste more palatable.

Siogfinsceal

I like nice food presentation for example if you order a toasted sandwich if it comes cut into four with a side serving of some crisps it looks so much nicer than just being plonked on the plate. Zumo is gorgus so juices and smoothies are an excellent idea. dont try to be too fancy with teh food. I hate when I go to a cafe and theres loads of new fashionalble food choices but I just want a toasted cheese sambo or some sausages and chips lol check ryans bistro if your ever in naas they have a lovely set up.

a great thing to do in summer is a menu if sundaes/ice cream dishes in this weather it will be popular! also have some meal deals - tea and a fry up for a set price etc and dont do a cafe kylemore - if people want 3 rashers and 2 sausages instead of 2 rashers, 2 sausages and an egg - let them!!!!

Siogfinsceal

oh and chicken mary land with the banana and pineapple fritters!! rarely done right - calling breadcrumbed chicken breast by itself chicken maryland is a crime. checkers boards etc is a brilliant idea and board games like scrabble etc it depends if you want people to stay a while i guess? a jukebox is also a great idea.

Miguel_Sanchez

A bit of variety and imagination in the sandwiches. Too often Irish cafes (O'Brien's anyone?) just serve up boring bog standard sandwiches that aren't much different from something you'd make at home yourself with no effort.

Experiment with some inventive combinations, sauces, codiments etc.

Also free refills of tea/coffee are always appreciated.

jaggeh

monkeyfudge wrote:

Oh and monkey butlers would be cool!

How many monkey butlers?

i agree with the wifi, would be nice to slip in get a hot choccy and a sambo and start trouncing people at poker* via my psp.



*may not actually happen

giveth

My 2 suggestions:

Free reading material: Newspapers/magazines.

Late night opening: I really want an alternative to pubs. I'd love to be able to go somewhere quiet at night time and have a cup of hot chocolate or something.



I live in Athlone. Do you want to name your establishment? I might check it out sometime!

Splinter

a relaxed atmosphere and from many years of working in customer service and retail i agree that friendly polite staff is a definite. you can't have staff that look like they hate their job and expect your customers not to notice it. the checkers/chess is a great idea as well as the reading material. also try get comfy seats, no wooden stools...jukebox is a good idea but be careful to accomedate for all people

L31mr0d

giveth wrote:

My 2 suggestions:

Free reading material: Newspapers/magazines.

Late night opening: I really want an alternative to pubs. I'd love to be able to go somewhere quiet at night time and have a cup of hot chocolate or something.

Seconded

Also, but this might not help you, I like familiarity/consistancy and a feeling of I could be anywhere in the world drinking this coffee. Its why I like Starbucks, even though it is a "chain" and is crushing independent coffee shop owners. When I sit in the Starbucks in Dublin, the coffee tastes the same as the last one I had in London and the decor is exactly the same when I was in Canada, and the biscotti had the same amount of almonds as the one I had in America. I like knowing what i'm going to get for my money.

An independent coffee shop owner could replicate this by giving out free samples, and having a decor that doesn't tie itself to any culture/period/race. There are some coffee shops (myself and a friend actually went on a café crawl one day in dublin) where I've felt the decor was trying to be too sophisticated or intellectual and not having "The Republic" or "The Genealogy of Morals" to hand left me feeling out of place.

Plus coffee shop membership, I always stay loyal to a café if after so many cups I get a free one. Plus membership could allow entrance to late night openings for, say, poetry readings, live music... etc

Making people feel like they belong to something and that they have something to be loyal to, accompanied by great coffee is always a winning combination for me... ohh and big comfy couchs

hmmm

Stay open until 7. When I get out of work I want to plonk down in a cafe and have someone bring me food while I catch up on the papers. Along with the usual sandwiches, have one or two bigger meals if possible. Free wifi would be a big bonus, I will not pay the exorbitant rates wifi providers provide however.

Miguel_Sanchez

And you should win prizes just for watching (or in this case - going to the coffee shop)

Sleepy

Couple of things have been said before I'd second: cleanliness, comfy chairs, relaxed atmosphere (if it's quiet and someone is reading a book over a single mug of coffee for over an hour, just leave 'em be. They'll be back and they're not taking a seat another customer needs), good veggie options, flexible breakfast menu, mugs over cups, wifi, open til 8, etc.

A few of my own: don't have the music too loud and never have dance music on in a café; have a bookshelf of reading materials; train your staff to remember people - it's great to get a "Hey Eoin, you having the usual?" after a few times of coming into a café and will guarantee I'll be back; Bruschetta; if there's a market to support it open late - maybe invite some of the students to hold their events in your café with discounts/free biscuits with their coffee etc.

Susannahmia

bigger orange juice portions and big comfey couches

adonis

Slayer playing on the hi-fi at deafening levels always does it for me..

Fresh milk on the tables! nothing worse than warm milk with that skin on the top uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

Paninis -- a growing market im sure...
and i was in a cafe once in London that serverd these great little pizzas made in little frying pans, best cafe i was ever in...beside Beak Street somewhere...it was italian..
and if you are making sandwiches --- nice fresh ingredients...not evryone loves iceberg lettuce!

NeverSayDie

I'll second the suggestions for later opening hours, I'd definitely be in favour of that. Don't know how it is in the city, but where I'm based (N Kildare), all cafes are shut by 1700-1800. Would be great to be able to head for coffee with friend(s) in the evening instead of only having the option of a pub or restuarant. Don't know what the general market would be for this kind of thing, but personally, that's my main complaint re cafes in general. They more or less keep office hours, which isn't much use when you're in an office yourself.

Aside from that, the smoothie thing would definitely be worth looking at - they seem to be very popular these days - there seems to be a strong "healthy option" image associated with them. You could probably get a few cheap domestic smoothie makers to experiment with before you invest in commerical ones.

dmck

If your doin rolls, please no cuisne de france crap, serve proper fresh crusty rolls. Or if you have to use them cook them correctly so they are at least crusty! For sambos consider using fresh batch bread cut there and then a place in Rathfarnham village used to do this and the sambos were legend.