Good service can make or break a dining experience: servers who know nothing about the menu or pretend to be too busy to take your orders or attend to your requests can often make a stronger impression than the food served on the table.
According to Nescafe Gold Spot Awards judge Franco of Table for Three, Please, good service is all about courteous, attentive (without hovering) and informative service staff. "In the end, it's about a service staff who gives a damn, a service staff that understands that you are a paying customer and that your continuing patronage is what keeps their restaurant going."
Fellow judge JJ Yulo adds, "Good service should be something innate in the people who work in a restaurant. You can train people to some extent, but true greatness in service? The waitstaff either has it or doesn't have it–"It" being genuine willingness to serve, compassion, and respect for the restaurant and the job. A good server is polite, sharp, and cares for the diner. Servers should be unobtrusive, but know if a customer needs something. They don't hover above guests. They allow guests to enjoy their meal and each other's company–but they are watching guests with an eagle eye."
This year, five restaurants topped the Nescafe Gold Spot Awards list for Best Service, which will be decided by the SPOT.ph community through online and mobile votes until January 31:
Aubergine, a teaching restaurant with students from the International School for Culinary Arts and Hotel Management (ISCAHM), serves world-class haute cuisine with senior culinary students joining the chefs in Aubergine's kitchen.
According to Hansjorg Schallenberg, co-founder of Aubergine and Director for Hotel Management of ISCAHM, "It's important is to train your staff to understand specific rules in table setting and food and beverage service.
Further product knowledge in food and beverage is important too, so that your staff can explain the food properly to the customers. An additional key element to train them in customer communication."
Sala Bistro, the more casual branch of Sala Restaurant, has now emerged as one of the most notable restaurants in Manila in terms of food and service. The bistro's big glass windows and ebony-and-ivory-dominated interiors makes for the perfect setting for which to showcase chef Colin MacKay's upscale comfort food.
"We maintain top service by hiring the right people who have a passion for what they do. With the right training and motivation, excellence comes out naturally," shares Sala Bistro's assistant restaurant manager Jordan Uy.
Taking the award for Best Service in last year's Gold Spot Awards, Cibo Nuovo remains on the list of restaurants hailed for its well-trained staff. Cibo Nuovo at the Shangri-la Mall, is one of the nine branches run by chef and restaurateur Margarita Fores. "Cibo", which literally means "food," serves a wide selection of antipasti, paninis, pizzas, pasta dishes and salads.
Master Sushi Chef Wataru Hikawa runs the kitchen at Inagiku, Makati Shangri-la's Japanese restaurant. The service, like Inagiku's food, are known to be topnotch, following attention to detail and high standards of service found across the hotel.
Inagiku's menu boasts of serving the freshest Japanese food in town, including bestsellers such as grilled flatfish, blue fin tuna belly, teppanyaki live lobster and soft shell crabs.
Le Souffle opened at the Fort Strip, Bonifacio Global City in 1999 has become one of Manila's fine-dining icons for service. With other branches in Rockwell and at the Top of the Citi at Paseo Roxas in Makati, Le Souffle serves French and Mediterranean food and the dishes have remained consistently good throughout the years. Whether diners are on a date, a corporate dinner or a private function, expect Le Souffle's servers and staff to give you the same stellar service they are known for.
Which restaurant deserves the award for Best Service? Vote now!
Photographs from aubergine.ph, shangri-la.com (Inagiku), Ryan Azarcon (for Cibo), Le Souffle's Facebook page, Glenda (Sala Bistro) and steadyinquiry.blogspot.com (Sala Bistro).
