My brother's restaurant 'La Gaviota' is in trouble...

[Pavilionaire]

My brother, who is a stubborn man, owns a restaurant but it is going downhill fast and I don't know how to help him.

He has other business interests and pays his wife a big salary to run the place while he's not around. She thinks she's running a swanky eaterie in Mayfair judging by the high prices she charges, and the place is immaculate.

My brother used to have a top chef and the Spanish cuisine he prepared was very popular, but they fell out and the chef went on to be successful at another restaurant. His replacement was also good but they also fell out, whereupon he hired a third chef. This guy had been briefly successful in London but had had something of a nervous breakdown and was eager for a second chance.

The problem seems to be the food. My brother has got rid of some old favourites off the menu and his wife seems to have gone for cheaper ingredients. The chef has introduced some strange choices and they don't seem to have gone down well with the punters. Consequently a lot of them have stopped going and the place seems very empty at times.

In fact the food, if I'm honest, is disgusting. Nothing tastes good, and I take my family more out of a sense of duty than anything else. The Sous Chef has been there a while, he's loyal but hasn't got the talent to step up. I know my brother doesn't want to have to hire another chef again, and I think he feels sorry for this one. I'm worried he's losing money and will make more bad decisions, or be forced to sell. The way things are going what used to be a wonderful, popular family-run will be turned into a McDonald's, and that would be a shame.

 

[seagully]

Sounds like a case for Gordon Ramsey!

(Or maybe Tony Pulis?!)

 

[jamie (not that one)]

Sounds like your brother needs a clean sweep of the place and even consider rebranding if the reputation has been severely damaged. It may take the closure of the business to see his failings, accept them and never repeat during future ventures.

 

[fleet]

I'm sure that telling the world the name of the restaurant and that the food is dire will have helped enormously

 

[Hugo Rune]

An analogy? I didn't know Tony Bloom was your brother or that he was married to Barber?

 

[Hillian1]

Sounds like your "brother" has lost his mojo.

I suggest he goes on Holiday, to Australia, and does nothing decisive at all.

 

[PILTDOWN MAN]

Sounds like you have too much time on your hands

 

[Peter Grummit]

Suggest you keep track of the views on this thread and then let him know the number of potential/former customers who will never try La Gaviota.

I struggle to understand how you thought starting this thread would help the situation.

PG

 

[Peteinblack]

Wait until January and add new ingredients to the menu - but then don't add them in the right order or amounts

 

[seagully]

I think a few posters have missed the subtle analogy used by the OP.....

 

[Peter Grummit]

I'm sure that telling the world the name of the restaurant and that the food is dire will have helped enormously

Now, now don't be unfair. He said the food was 'disgusting'.

PG

 

[daveinprague]

If thats a brothers review, im guessing the tripadvisor reviews will be a bit on the shite side.

 

[jamie (not that one)]

Just read it again. Very subtle and very good.

 

[El Sid]

Your brother needs to take a bit of a gamble and go all-in on a top chef like Toni Highball and some top class kitchen staff who have not been borrowed from Spud-u-like. Unless tough remedial action is swift his dreams of Michelin stars will turn into nightmares about pies at that famous midlands eatery, The Bescot.

 

[skipper734]

Divorce the Wife, she thinks the job is Michelin Star ready. It isn't.
To run a successful business, you cannot feel sorry for anyone.
All the finance should go on the food, not the waiters uniforms, accountants and hangers on.
A sure sign of a business that will fail, is that the Directors and Managers and Staff who don't actually produce anything, buy themselves swanky new cars and neglect the paying customers.

 

[Stumpy Tim]

I used to go there all the time as my kids loved it. We're not going back until the chef goes.

 

[Blue Valkyrie]

The food that chef serves up there is so bad I'm surprised the council health inspectors haven't shut it down.

 

[Badger]

I've never been a fan of Finnish food, it always seems to get thrown together in a random fashion.

 

[Rugrat]

Send the wife and her boyfriends (sorry to break the news here, but there are several) off to Canada to see how it's done there, no doubt she'll make a mess of that too but when she comes back telling you how successful she's been "take it with a pinch of salt"

Hire an experienced Chef; one who knows what the punters want and how best to deliver it, consistently. That might be a bit of a gamble but your Bro needs to take a risk once in a while!!

Have the Chef tell you precisely what ingredients he needs and make sure you get them, don't simply say "that's close enough" because the end result will be s*** all your punters will piss off and next thing is your Bro will be serving food off a stall outside the station.

 

[Sergei's Celebration]

I would never eat in a restaurant named 'The Seagull'.

Very good OP.