Demanding Spaniards as customers
So, we continue our notes on a hyper-relevant topic during the summer holidays: it is impossible to be in Spain and not go to a restaurant, but how to choose a place and not regret the time and money spent? Partly helping the tourist is that the Spaniards themselves are extremely capricious customers. This, on the one hand, irritates the restaurateur, but on the other hand makes him keep a high level of service and cuisine in his restaurant. When it comes to the hosteleria segment in Spain, many shrug: fast food is America, haute cuisine is France, styles fusion is the influence of oriental cuisines, gastronomic fashion is now the Scandinavian countries. And where is Spain? In fact, Spain is the world record holder for the development of the segment, which can be described as restaurant in the broad sense. Here, as we noted earlier, the highest density in the world is the number of establishments per number of inhabitants or per square kilometers.
In my opinion, two things slightly harm the world fame of Spanish cuisine: a small number of brands of specific dishes (except paella, other Spanish dishes are difficult for foreigners to remember) and the overstated requirements of the Spaniards themselves for the level of restaurants.
The rating bar for restaurants in Spain is very high, and the spoilage of Spaniards as customers knows no bounds. Local restaurateurs are tired of telling each other jokes about the demands of customers. The Spaniard does not really understand the self-service system. Even if the Spaniard came in just to drink (in Spain everything costs euro: coffee, beer, water) – he will still be sure that he will be served by a waiter. If not a waiter, then the bartender will bring everything. If not a bartender, then a mistress. The Spaniard may ask you to change the water if it seems too cold to him, and ask him to bring water at room temperature or vice versa, find the water not cold enough and ask him to bring more ice.
The Spaniard will leave his euro for coffee and will not leave any tips, and no interest for the service will be added to the restaurant bill. And we are not talking about upscale restaurants, but about ordinary cerveceria (a bar with beer and unpretentious food), cafes and restaurants. Do you think food quality and service are worth the price? The Spaniard does not think so. It is quite normal for him to write in the rating reviews: “We really liked the restaurant, we were all delighted. But too expensive, the rating is satisfactory. ” The fact that prices were known in advance and no one pulled your ears to an expensive institution is not an argument for the Spaniard. The principle that everything in the restaurant service should be perfecto and for a reasonable price, the Spaniards in the blood. On the other hand, this exactingness sets the bar high. That is, the average level of restaurants is quite high, but we will not allow you to go from the street to the first restaurant that comes across. We will not be lazy and look for real pearls.
