While eateries are doing well in some regions, those in other parts of country are still suffering
THE RECESSION has bred a new type of diner who drinks tap water instead of bottled, skips the starter and opts for the house wine, according to restaurateurs.
People are still eating out but they are much more price-conscious than before, according to the Restaurants Association of Ireland.
It estimates that customer spending is down by about 15 per cent this summer, compared with last year.
Its chief executive, Adrian Cummins, said restaurants in certain parts of the country were having a good summer because of various events and festivals, but others were suffering.
“Killarney seems to be doing okay, but it’s very, very tough in other parts of the country where tourist numbers aren’t that great,” he said.
“The Volvo Ocean Race was a huge success for our members in Galway because of the volume of people attending.”
Fergus O’Halloran of the Twelve Hotel in Barna agreed that it had been a good year for restaurants in Galway.
Several new restaurants have opened recently and the Bridgestone Guide has described Galway as Ireland’s gourmet capital.
“Here at Twelve we’ve never been busier. Thus far, it’s been our best year since opening in 2007.”
He said the hotel had not “slashed” menu prices but was working “extremely hard” to offer customers more.
It recently opened Pizza Dozzina, a pizza kitchen and deli, and business was “flying”.
It also runs a bakery, the Pins bistro and West restaurant.
Isaacs in Cork is also experiencing a good summer, according to its owner, Michael Ryan. He opened the restaurant during a recession 20 years ago, so he was prepared for hard times.
He said the recession had exposed weaknesses in restaurants, such as high rents, bad locations or large overheads, but Isaacs was cushioned from that as he owned the city centre building and kept costs as low as possible.
“People still love dining out,” he said. However, they were watching the purse strings.
“Chateauneuf du Pape might as well be a country in Africa for all I’m selling. But our baseline wines are selling by the bucket-load.”
He also noticed that people were not booking ahead as they did before. “One Monday night we had four people booked in. We did 80 [covers].”
This uncertainty made planning difficult in terms of staffing ratios, “but we won’t complain as long as they keep coming”.
Dublin restaurants have the benefit of the strong tourist trade and that is evident in the Exchequer in the city centre, according to its co-owner Ian Tucker. “Our midweek trade would be significantly better than this time last year. There are a lot of tourists in town and because we promote Irish food we get lots of tourists, especially from America.”
The gastropub offers traditional Irish dishes such as bacon and cabbage, but with a modern twist.
He said the weekend trade was not as lively and, while Irish customers were going out, they were much more price conscious than before.
“They are skipping dessert, not having starters, asking for tap water instead of a bottle of sparkling water. But people still like to go out and enjoy themselves.”
That’s the case at Cromleach Lodge in rural Sligo, where the Sunday lunch trade is thriving and the restaurant is busy seven nights a week.
Co-owner Christy Tighe said business was better than last year for the restaurant and hotel. “We are putting that down to the fact that we are offering real value for money.”
At night it offers a three-course meal with a choice of dishes for €39 and it has reduced room rates.
He has noticed an increase in customer feedback since it began focusing on value.
“We are getting emails and reviews on Tripadvisor that we wouldn’t have seen before,” he said. “People really appreciate it.”
Business at Cafe Sol in Kilkenny is better now than it has been for the past two or three years, according to owner Noel McCarron.
“I’d say the worst period was late 2010 to early 2011 but we’ve bounced back from that. I’d say sales are slightly ahead of this time last year.”
Mr McCarron said the restaurant was popular with tourists but asked where all the Chinese and Indian tourists were. “Are we doing enough to attract the burgeoning middle classes in these countries?”
While value for money was the number one concern of many diners, Mr McCarron said a survey of Cafe Sol customers found that they rated food, service and atmosphere ahead of value for money.
