Best Tapas in Ireland

For all those of you who missed the Irish times on Saturday, Tom Doorley (the food writer) picked Cava for one of his Galway's restaurant to make up his Restaurant Guide 2009. As well as being a great honor, Tom also said we served the best Tapas in Ireland at present! A really great and wonderful thing to say and we cannot thank Tom enough as his words and voice are worth their weight in gold.

Fair play to you Tom!

Furthermore, two of our wines also featured in the wine section of the Times as two great bottles coming out of Spain at the moment.

So altogether not a bad weekend in the restaurant business.

Jp

Another good night

Well.

We have reached the half way mark up to the Oyster Festival, and I am indeed half destroyed. Another good night with lots of nice people in. Particularly table four who worked their way through much of the wine list.

Doctors, I think they were.

We were heavily under staffed on the floor but the lads did a great job.

Where did the queue come from?

I have no idea, but there it was, trailing out the door from the front section.

Very bizarre.

I expect tonight will be the same, as all seems to be rising in some crescendo fashion to most likely explode on Saturday night.

Don't forget Cava week, I think it's from the 5th of October onwards.

Sarah started yesterday, and though she talks a lot of Spanish (I blame Samuel) she is indeed very good.

Jp

Monday and Tuesday Madness

It is unfathomable where all the people have come from but by Christ they have come. Both Monday and Tuesday this week have been super in relation to the current drop in the eating industry in Galway. Whether it's the good food or wine, or all the followers of the great William P. I don't know, but I welcome them.

Long may it last.

Cork's very nice Tapas bar has closed down, which is a shame, but nothing surprises me in this current condition of tears and servitude.

I am off to work for another day.

Jp.

Oyster Festival

As the Oyster festival approaches, it is with an air of apprehensive and melancholic gloom that I write these words. Traditionally the last thing to happen in Galway until the next season, one wonders whether or not we will all still be here come the next season. Furthermore, I wonder also if the summer season is getting so short that it can adequately fit into the last two weeks of of July and the first week of August.

I do remember (as many others will also remember) went it was with Paddy's day all started and remained that way until the weekend of the Oyster Festival.

But alas!

Now they are gone. Our helicon days.

Let us hope that October and November are not all doom and gloom (with sideways rain and perpendicular wind).

Let us also hope the rent comes down.

But could Cava move elsewhere?

No doubt.

But hopefully it will not come to this.

Jp.

Early Bird Menu

Last week we launched a new early bird menu. This menu involves 5 tapas for the price of 4. The cheapest Tapa is free. You can have this menu, Monday through to Thursday, from 4.30 to 6.30. It's ideal for two.

Apologies regarding the wine menu. The printer has yet to deliver it to use. All the new wines are in the back, so if you're in and you want something different just ask you waiter.

I have been told that are waiter Samuel is actually Christ in disguise. I had noted the resemblance but was thrown by his unkempt and nonchalant manner. However, these days its good to have Jesus on your side.

What more could you need in a recession?

Money, perhaps.

Well, if they sort out Nama, the bank might give us more so as all can keep going in the direction that it is purportedly going in.

That is, if there is, a direction that one should be going in.

Anyway.

I promise.

The wine menu will be ready Friday evening.

More big parties in last night. Where do they come from? The land of big parties perhaps. I am not complaining.

Finally, we received a glowing review from the great William P. Could not be happier. But I wonder who designed his page this week. Certainly not a graphic designer. Maybe a small blind child?

Who knows.

Jp.

What did the good weather bring?

A strange weekend overall. With the good weather (and all out at Salthill) lunch was indeed very quite (almost nothing) but those whose came in after the sun went down enjoyed the food and new wine.

So not all that bad overall.

I am currently writing up the xmas menus, so they should be ready at the end of September.

We're also starting new party menus (Mon-Wed) for parties from 15+. This means that people wont have to order but will get a selection of tapas to share with a glass of wine.

Nothing else to report.

Jp.

Reflections on a Wednesday (the day after)

I wonder sometimes do people still work. Not that I am complaining. If you don't need to work, you shouldn't. I am not a Marxist. But in all fairness. Last night we had a table of 11 who wined and dined themselves until the early hours of the morn. They did look like they worked. Not that I am complaining. They contributed to the Cava cause in such a generous and diligent manner. Lovely people as well.

For those of you looking for the new wine menu, I apologise.

There is wine everywhere in Cava, expect the menu has not yet been printed. On Monday, I promise you.

So many new wines.

We also received a lovely wine map (framed) from Cases to hang on our wall. We nearly have wines from every DO in Spain now, and that's not bad.

A pity the government take a good bit off the top!

But someone has to keep the country going and if it has to be the wine drinkers then I would rather them than the whiskey drinkers.

Anyday.

Jp.

Cava Week

Dear all,

For those interested, Cava week (a celebration of Cava will begin in the first week of October). In conjunction with this festival, Cava will be giving out free Cava during the week at selected times.

I mean really: you didn't think I would say all week?

That would be a bit too much.

But Cava there will be.

And there will be Cava.

The cava week website is http://www.confrariacava.com/ and you can read it in English.

Jp

When is a tuesday like a thursday?

Last night in Cava I really wondered where the recession had gone. Not that we are out of the water by any stretch of the imagination (one swallow does not make a summer nor does one Tapas fill you up), but in all fairest, last night we had people waiting (yes, I said waiting) for tables. If this continues, we might just be alright!

I mean it.

How can a restaurant as popular and successful as Cava be in problems?

Overheads, I tell you.

While rent, vat, wages, and electricity are the biggest users of cash coming in.

And while housing prices and stuff in supermarkets has fallen, very little in the restaurant trade has gone down in price.

So in a sense, there is no recession. Things are just as expensive as they were a year ago, and somethings had actually gone up, like wine.

Did you know I came across Sirloin steak in Tesco for €12.95 a kg. This is a scandal. The restaurant buys its meat from Collerans and its sirloin is about €16-17 euro a kilo. A good price, I assure you. But when Tesco (this big, useless non-Irish monster) comes to town and starts ridding farmers for all its milk and meat, then something has to be done.

I suggest to boycott Tesco, becasue if you do buy milk or meat there [or veg] (even if its Irish) you can be assure the farmer is getting fucked (pardon my English).

I could not say enough about this.

Bastards.

But anyway.

Back to last night.

It was great.

Really what its all about.

Food and drink flowing and customers enjoying all and if it keeps us as I said above we might just survive the winter and make it until next summer.

When is the summer the winter?

In Ireland, I suppose.

But look outisde.

It's septemeber.

And its sunny!

Jp

A rack or not a rack: that is the lamb

And so the perennial question (problem) returns: is the customer always right? I had the most unfortunate meeting with an angry customer last week who proclaimed (it is not too strong a word) that our rack of lamb was not a rack, but cutlets. I tried to explain to her that cutlets and racks where too different cuts and even if you cut a rack into two (or four) it remained a rack. Though she had eaten all, I told her that I would not charge her seeing our lamb had caused her such semantic and ontological angst. I do not like when customers are upset. I also get very upset. Customers are necessary, but they are not everything. What else, you may ask? I will leave that one with you.

I only would like to add (in my defence) two photos (which I now present to the jury) which show racks of lamb that are cut, but which remain (in all intents and purposes) racks of lamb.

If a rack of lamb became a cutlet that I would have to say that we could safely believe that people could turn cows into geese!

Having not charged the woman for something she ate (and we served) she was still not happy. She threatened to ring Galway Bay FM and ask people of Galway what constituted a Rack of Lamb. Well! I hope she did. And I hope Galway got a good conversation regarding food. If there is one thing Galway needs, is more and more good food conversations.

Another thing: she said she would not return.

I only ask you this. If you went into a restaurant, were served, ate all and drank all and then complained and subsequently had the item removed from the bill, would you come back?

I certainly would.

Restaurants do so much for their customers that it is about time that customers do something for their restaurant.

So we have an answer: there is only one thing more important than the customer (on an individual level) and that is the restaurant (as a whole)

Following my fallout with this woman, I had the pleasure of meeting and greeting many many others whom loved our food and drink.

For their love, I gladly gave them drinks on us.

That is the cost of love: a few drinks from the restaurant.

How bad can ones life be?

Regards,

Jp.