Glass act

18 January 2002 by
Glass act

Oxford's Savannah restaurant is building up a regular customer base, and diners are enjoying the interactive approach to serving wine. David Jones reports.

Wine "wizard" Richard Gibbs fills the hollow stem with 20ml of McWilliams River Gum Shiraz Cabernet, tips the glass forward gently and rolls it backwards and forwards across the bar. This creates a thin layer of wine all round the inner surface of the glass and maximises evaporation. The result is an intense bouquet, showing off the restaurant's best-selling wine to great effect.

It's another bit of showmanship, and all part of the eating-out experience at Oxford's Savannah restaurant. Pick a bottle off the list by all means, but then you would miss out on the chance to taste up to three wines at the restaurant's "bar". And the Riedel tasting glasses are undeniably fun to use. You won't come across them in too many other places, either. "As far as we know we're the only restaurant in the country to use these glasses," says managing director Stuart Campbell.

There are 40 wines on the restaurant's standard list, all available by the glass. That creates a storage problem, of course, so Savannah has invested in the Verre de Vin system, which uses a partial vacuum (or carbon dioxide in the case of sparkling wines) to keep previously opened bottles in top condition. The wines themselves are all selected by Campbell, with help from his sole supplier, the General Wine Company, based in Liphook, Hampshire.

The most expensive wine at Savannah costs £40 a bottle, and Campbell has pitched all his prices competitively. "We operate mark-ups on a sliding scale," he says. "The more expensive the wine, the better value it is, but we start at a very reasonable level. We estimate that we charge between £2 and £8 less per bottle than our competitors for what we would consider to be an equivalent wine."

Later this month Savannah will be introducing its "reserve" wine list, aimed at customers who feel like spending a little more. There will be 13 wines on the list initially (eight red and five white), ranging in price from £34 to £90. As with the regular list, diners will be invited to taste a selection and Savannah's wine wizards will be on hand to discuss their choice in depth. These wines will be available by the bottle only, however.

The restaurant's interactive approach to wine (and to food) is proving popular and turnover is building up steadily. The Christmas period was busy, but perhaps not as busy as it could have been. "During December we took an average of £16,000 per week," Campbell says. "We felt we missed out on Christmas bookings because of the delay in opening. But we did have a lot of people in smaller groups who wanted to keep away from restaurants that would be full of large parties."

Savannah was closed on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, and on New Year's Day, but hosted a special party on New Year's Eve with a gourmet menu and wine to match every course. "We advertised the event to customers by giving them flyers when we presented the bill," Campbell says. "Ninety people came and it was a great evening. We are now planning events for Valentine's Day and Mother's Day."

The big challenge for Campbell is to improve the lunchtime business. Trade is building up steadily - Savannah had a weekly average of 600 customers in December, excluding breakfast - but there are only about 20 customers daily at lunch. Fortunately, Savannah is beginning to establish a loyal customer base. "We now have quite a lot of regulars," Campbell says. "One satisfied customer has been back 10 times already."

Next visit to Savannah: 28 February

The story so far

Oxford's Savannah restaurant opened at the end of October 2001, almost two months later than originally planned. It is located on what used to be the ground floor of the Royal Oxford hotel.

Managing director Stuart Campbell hopes the Oxford restaurant will be the first of about 15 over the next four years, and the company has already identified other sites in Guildford and Reading.

The centrepiece of the menu is free-range beef. Customers are encouraged to discuss their order with the chefs and watch it being cooked in the open-plan kitchen.

Savannah

17 Park End Street, Oxford OX1 1HU
Tel: 01865 793793
www.savannah.uk.com
Managing director: Stuart Campbell
Seats: 150
Average weekly sales (December): £16,000
Average spend: £25
Projected annual sales: £1.5m

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