service

The smurf is back back again time to sing

lol anyway have recently being holidaying interstate checking out the scene in the hotspots of melbourne, sydney, and Perth and the one thing ive noticed is that of service standards now i know tassies small doesnt have the scene that everyone else has, BUT for gods sake how hard is it to get a smile or someone to be polite or for venues ( not to be named this time) to take some time and train there staff, for me service is the make or break of a venue this was hit home to me on the big island yes they have more competition but the staff know the menu's know there products and can sell it to the customer

Is it because here we have the mentality of lets make the most cash we can or is it laziness on owner/Managers that they dont want to spend the time or resources developing the talent? anyway thats my rant if anybody cares!

bad experience same old food

Smurfs back does anyone care?

todays topic henrys at the Henry jones

How can a restaurant thats been open for basically 3 years still have basically the same menu it started with the menu reads nearly exactly the same as it did the last time i was there and the time before that. is the chef just lazy? or is it the age old rule if it aint broken dont fix it as with so much of whats happening in this state so much great produce yet everyones pumping out the same food.
So food was serviceable not great but not bad. Ok so rating it Food 3, wine list 2 id say lower but i really dont want everyone on my back and for the price please shoddy service doesnt make up for it. service hmmmm had a bad experience in what they call a bar so that may affect the way id rate it so lets say this guy in bar 0 waiting if i want to be told how i can drink my drink id ask his opinion as someone who knows what i want give it to me i dont care what u think your PAID TO SERVE ME give me what i want, when i want it and if i want your opinion i will ask for it! luckily the person i was meeting was an old friend heavens forbid if i was on a blind date or an internet date! because it prob would have ruined my night anyway off the subject waiting staff 3.
In all an ok evening would the smurf be in a hurry to go back umm not quite yet maybe in another years time when im looking for some nostalgia about 2007.

AHA AWARDS

Just a quick note on these awards are they rigged, or has money changed hands or what because these awards are seriously not on the money sorry for all those hard working people out there who work in the venues but i want to know who decides on these things!

kings Buffet

After being told that at 6.15pm on a sturday night that mezethes could not do a table for 2 at ALL (please cant do a table at all poor service guys even when I said we could wait till nine if need be)on that night it left the smurfy in a pickle where to go for dinner so after flipping through the yellow pages kings buffet was decided upon now never having been there before i was a bit iffy but i was pleasantly surprised the service was very good the food of an acceptable standard not great but good u cant expect much for $14.95 and besides its an all u can eat buffet i will say i was a bit dissapointed in the range but overall if your looking for something cheap n cheerfull with an asian flavour i can say i will go back

Alexanders @ Lenna

Alexanders @ Lenna what can i say about this venue but Absolutely Brilliant top food good service and a great wine list which i am led to believe is about to get bigger and better.

Lenna is a place i am the first to say that i had always thought yeah just another hotel restaurant but its not its worthy to stand on its own the food was as good as i have had in a long time and at a good price as well.

You know when you go to a restaurant and you look at the menu and everything takes your fancy thats Lenna for you, normally i look at the menu see something i like then look for my fallback option of the chicken dish guess what no chicken hoorah for the record i had the Pork belly for entree cooked to perfection than the veal for mains followed by a huge Cheese plate to finish off .
in short Alexanders is a great place to dine if you dont mind low music and few people there Lenna in this smurfs opinion is of the highest quality in smurfs top 5 restaurants and easily the best restaurant in a hotel in southern Tasmania

peace out
p.s have more blogs to come kitty just may space them out for you

PUB Meals the good the bad and the ugly

Over the past few weeks i have been in search of a good pub meal ( like i used to have when i was a younger smurf) Now i thought it would be easy going to a few pubs having a few reasonably priced meals having a laugh with some good friends, its not that easy anymore so far i have been to 5 and of those 5 only 2 of these in this smurfs humble opinion were of a standard to be named so i wont name any till i have visited at least a dozen.

Ok here is what im judging these on taste, ambience, and pub dining experience ( im not an expert or pretend to be and its not like i have a reading audience of hundreds and thousands hmmm fairy bread mmmm could go some right about now..... anyway back to the smurf ramblings)

pub dining experience brings in a few key pub meal issues such as cost, options on the menu, waitress/waiter and drinks, now when i go to a pub and get a menu for me i like to experience it so over the coming months im going to try and check out as many pubs as i can to come up with Smurfs guide to the pub meal scene. so if anyone has a good pub to go to please let me know.

Ok heres something ive just thought of what makes a pub meal and how would one compare say The riverview inn with say Black Buffalo both are pubs but way different in terms of food and drinks so i will have to take this into account.

So if u see a smurf at the bar its time to go home youve had enuff to drink

Smurf

Zum Cafe

Ok Kitty heres my new post

Zum Cafe Salamanca like it!
I like it for a few reasons 1 the coffee's good 2 the foods good 3 the decors good its a warm friendly environment plus there are good looking waitresses there which is a big tick for me ( im kidding looks dont matter but hey its always good in my opinion to be served my a good looking waitress Actually just getting served by a waitress/waiter gains points in my book),
anyway back to Zum love the little court yard out back but am wondering why so many staff on the days i have been there there were 5 staff on the floor most just walking around waiting for a rush but i will put this down to the fact that it is a new business but anyway i like it nice place for an Espresso or 2 and a read of the paper or just a quick bite and chat to friends i say def go there for a good coffee. I wonder how this will affect the Quarry heres hoping it will make them lift there game.

Hobart Hobart Hobart What has gone wrong.

For a capital City Hobart's eating and drinking culture is starved for quality (this is my opinion only) by this i mean take a look out on a weekend night where does one go for a drink. lets look at a couple to start :

T-42 nice bar even so much more now that the quarry has taken away all the look at me types. but a bit noisy. Staff know there food and drinks and as an industry worker this is a plus for me as i like to know whats going on outside my own little bubble.

The Quarry hmmm ive had a problem with this place from the start getting better im told but im not holding my breath. It started on opening an order for a couple of simple Cosmo's was greeted with a blank face then
with the so called experienced staff member advising the drinks still took half an hour (well maybe not that long but it was ages) that and the fact anywhere claiming to be an upmarket Bar having Long necks of Cascade Bitter just made me chuckle. i could go on but then anyone who reads this will claim im being a picky and b unfair just because i dont like the place.

Grape as i love my wine i love this place although at the moment overcrowding is an issue but good wines at a good price. limited seating but on the whole a lot better use of space then what there peviously.

Barcelona nowhere is the old adage more true your only as good as the weakest link here they have a great Bar tender in Sean BUT he thinks hes better than he is sure hes great with cocktails but whats the point when not all your staff can make them!. Keep it simple stupid is the way to go with cocktails. Upstairs would be a great lounge Bar by the way!

Lizbon nice bar horrible location interesting staff up and down whats with the pool tables though?

The IXL long Bar what has happened here? used to be good staff, well stocked bar nice cocktails, a good place for a quiet chat and a drink went there last week no service for like 15 mins hmmmm.