44 | OUT AND ABOUT COSTA BLANCA WALSH’S WISDOM Despite it being the peak of the high season restaurants on the Costas find it difficult to make enough business to cover their overheads. Most are philosophical about the slump in business <strong>and</strong> a ‘stuff happens’ mentality is pervasive. I wonder if part of the problem is an unwillingness to adapt to societal changes. In Britain back in the 1960s <strong>and</strong> 1970s, restaurants were few <strong>and</strong> far between <strong>and</strong> mostly Chinese run. Otherwise, the best one could expect was a pint <strong>and</strong> a stale bap from a pub’s bar top display. Prosperity arrived, people wanted more <strong>and</strong> restaurant pioneers delivered. Despite considerable disadvantages compared to their Mediterranean counterparts, Britain’s restaurants flourished. Publicans resistant to change sold out to chains. Old pubs were gutted <strong>and</strong> turned into wonderful family restaurants often with indoor <strong>and</strong> outdoor play areas for the children. Properly trained friendly smartly attired in their tunics waiting on staff served customers. The food is fresh, well-cooked, healthy, tasty <strong>and</strong> priced reasonably. I recall the slogan: ‘We don’t serve fast food. We serve good food fast.’ Engl<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> for that matter, Dublin <strong>and</strong> Riga aren’t cheap so don’t have a price advantage over their Mediterranean rivals. Due to poor weather the outside terraces are few <strong>and</strong> far between. There is little or no tourist season. Yet, despite all, these eateries have no choice but to turn a good profit every week throughout the year. Before I retired to Spain <strong>and</strong> since when visiting the United Kingdom I find the British bars, bistros, pubs <strong>and</strong> conventional restaurants do a brisk trade. Why? Because the owners are restaurant entrepreneurs <strong>and</strong> a mainstay of their businesses are their imaginative makeovers. In Bristol <strong>and</strong> Liverpool, it is still necessary to book a restaurant table so be prepared to wait or be turned away Walsh’s Wisdom You need more than a good climate to run a profitable restaurant because they offer real variety. There is a bigger <strong>and</strong> more varied choice of theme restaurants in any moderately sized English city than there is along Spain’s entire Mediterranean coast. Furthermore, the service tends to be better as is the quality of atmosphere <strong>and</strong> food. On the Costas, if you have seen any two restaurants you have seen them all. The choice of eateries tends to resemble Blackpool type 1960s era tin-table cafés or Spanish ambience restaurants; take it or leave it. Karaoke musical fare is as tediously unimaginative as is the fare on the plate. Despite my living in quite a well-heeled part of Costa Blanca <strong>and</strong> being also a regular in <strong>and</strong> around Marbella, I can think of only one atmospheric exotic restaurant, the expensive <strong>and</strong> classy Trocadero that invites a smart dress code. Yet in Engl<strong>and</strong>, I was spoiled for choice. I seem to recall that in Bristol <strong>and</strong> Liverpool, two quite small cities compared to say London, Manchester or Birmingham, there was a lip-smacking choice of Mexican <strong>and</strong> Spanish, Russian, Indian <strong>and</strong> Chinese of course, Italian, Irish, German, even Jamaican <strong>and</strong> Trinidadian restaurants, oh, more than you could swing a table napkin at. Britain’s La Tasca chain of Spanish theme restaurants were so popular it was difficult to get a table even mid-week. My occasional Spanish guests would exclaim, ‘why can’t we have Spanish restaurants as good as these.’ Each themed pub truly dressed for the occasion <strong>and</strong> provided appropriate fare. For instance, if dining at a Mexican themed favourite it was easy to think one was in a remote Mexican cantina. Why travel? It seems to me that the sunshine in Spain needs a little help. I suggest we start by applying a really competitive restaurant <strong>and</strong> imaginative choice of eateries primarily to benefit the customers rather than the owner. Elsewhere, this approach results in a win-win situation for owners <strong>and</strong> diners. If you have a book or indeed any writing needs contact Michael by emailing him at keyboardcosmetics@gmail.com Michael Walsh Heart to Heart Poetry, Amazon Books. Email: keyboardcosmetics@gmail.com AMAZON ‘TOP 100 BOOKS OF THE YEAR’ Website: www.mikewalshwritingservices.wordpress.com
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