Smart Casual: ‘fine-dining in trainers'

25 March 2013 by
Smart Casual: ‘fine-dining in trainers'

When Bacchus's Philip Mossop coined the phrase "fine-dining in trainers" in 2006, the concept seemed so out-there that journalists jumped on it. Yet it's now the norm. What changed in the industry to make it so? And how should you be reacting? Tom Vaughan looks for the answers

It is a quirk of his, the Sunday Times critic AA Gill often tells his readers, that he is rarely correct when predicting restaurant trends. Yet, five years ago, when he launched into a trademark rant against the unnecessary formality of a London fine-dining restaurant (which shall remain nameless), he was certainly a few strides ahead of popular sentiment.

"So, what's a restaurant like this for?" he vented. "I couldn't say. I don't know anyone who wants to eat like this, who would put up with the stress and the interruptions and the business and the fawning and the constant attention; the information, the formality and the rictus politeness. This was a 50-thank-yous dinner. It's grand, nostalgic, arrogant, laughable, laudable and impossibly awkward. Dinner that has lost its way."

That was August 2008. Two months later Lehmann Brothers collapsed and everyone, including British diners and the restaurants that service them, was forced to reassess things. Five years on, as we crawl to financial recovery, the landscape has changed dramatically.

Meanwhile it is rumoured that another nameless Michelin-starred chef made a paltry £5 profit last year. Formality, silver service and the world of the white-gloved waiter is on the ropes. What changed? And why?

To answer this, we need to look back to 2006, and two openings in the West and East Ends of London: Will Smith and Antony Demetre's Arbutus, and Nuno Mendes and Philip Mosop's Bacchus. For Smith and Demetre, when they hit upon the concept of Arbutus, and realised it could work, it was a eureka moment: "We realised around 2004 that if we wanted great food, we would typically have to go to a Michelin-starred restaurant that was typically formal and prohibitively expensive," says Smith. "By the way they looked and the formal service they imposed on guests. 
And all of this only served to bump up the bill on top."

Keen to offer Demetre's Michelin-standard cooking at affordable prices, any extra costs were done away with in the planning of Arbutus. "We decided we didn't need tablecloths, we kept the room simple, menus were printed on a simple piece of paper, we had a small list of 40 wines so there wasn't loads of money tied up in stock in the cellar, we did away with amuse bouches, we had no sommelier, simplified service, no expensive crockery, and so on," explains Smith. The result - an avalanche of praise and accolades for the site and its pricing, which at one point offered a three-course, Michelin-starred lunch at £15.50.

Across town, in London's East End, something similar was happening - restaurateur Philip Mossop and chef Nuno Mendes opened Bacchus, an old boozer converted into a shabby-chic fine-diner, with all the attention on Mendes' avant-garde tasting menu. At the time, Mossop christened it "fine-dining in trainers" and the concept seemed so alien that the aphorism stuck. However, the stripped-back informality of the place was more by necessity than design, reflects Mossop: "I'd love to say it was some great foresight into the future of dining but we did it like that because it was all we could afford."

However, there was certainly a degree of pre-meditation about the feel, he concedes: "It was a generational thing. I was 25 when we opened Bacchus and I was eating out at Michelin-starred restaurants with friends but we'd come back and say that we loved the food but you can stuff everything else - it was so stuffy, so formal, so elitist."
With its grungy, bare-brick walls, open kitchen, chefs-cum-waiters and sublime tasting menus, Bacchus soon became the talk of the town, burning bright before suffering at the hands of the recession and closing in 2008.

"There's a history of things that come along and first challenge the status quo failing, before the second wave try again and succeed long term. There was something like that with Bacchus. Now you can't shake a stick in Shoreditch without hitting some pub or restaurant with bare-brick walls, waiters in jeans and an ambitious menu," says Mossop.

The realisation that you could have great food without all the formal trappings suddenly began to dawn on restaurateurs. "It was like the Emperor's New Clothes," says restaurant consultant Chris Barber. "For all these years we'd thought that dining was about the sommelier and the nice crockery, but as soon as someone pointed out that it wasn't necessarily the case, the pack of cards came tumbling down. Suddenly people started creating an environment where the punter could feel much more comfortable."

While the ball had started rolling with these launches, another big factor came into play; the worst global recession in living memory stretched Britons' finances to breaking point.

"It certainly sped things up," says Smith. "People had a lot more money eight years ago, but now they are much more careful with what they spend."

Value for money became a beguiling quality in a restaurant, and sites such as Russell Norman's Polpo, which kept menu prices low by doing away with fripperies such as table linen and huge service teams, were packed out.

From that economic Armageddon, a new type of diner has emerged, who seeks a lively atmosphere, good food and value for money.

"I ate out at a two-star formal restaurant the other day for a special occasion," says Mossop. "While I left happy, I couldn't help but think that I could have four or five nights out at Meat Mission or Polpo for that price, and we blew it on one meal. It isn't all about the food; it's about the atmosphere, the party, the feeling of an event that you get for your money."

Places like Dabbous, where a Michelin-starred tasting menu is priced at £59, aim to create the feel of a special event through an infectious, laid-back atmosphere rather than the expense of huge teams of waiting staff and a luxurious setting.

"Ultimately people want to feel at ease and enjoy themselves; the restaurant aesthetic and service should be tailored to that," explains chef-patron Ollie Dabbous. "We just want everyone who walks through the front door to have a good time. Oskar's Bar downstairs is also key: we wanted to provide a good night out as opposed to just a good meal out."

All of this is not to say the old-school style is moribund, Dabbous is swift to point out. "Though in many ways our vibe is the antithesis of classic fine dining, I hope classic fine dining always exists as there is room for everyone," he says. "There is no right or wrong." Mossop lists restaurants such as Simon Rogan's L'Enclume as a perfect example of the kind of high-end destination site that will always sit atop the industry.

Tastes are cyclical, and while there's every reason to expect formal fine dining will bounce back into vogue, don't expect this new wave of informality to be a flash in the pan, says Barber.

"Chefs like Ollie Dabbous are the new generation of talent and they want their restaurants relaxed and informal, while still being ambitious in the kitchen," he adds. "Younger chefs will grow up with people like Ollie and Russell Norman as their heroes, and so it goes on. Informality is here to stay."

Capital ventures

More often than not, food trends start in the capital and spread across Britain. And while diners might be lapping up informal fine-dining in London, is the rest of the country ready to dispense with their tablecloths and cosseted service on nights out? These case studies suggest so.

Wedgwood the Restaurant Edinburgh

At the same time as Arbutus and Bacchus opened in London, Paul Wedgwood and Lisa Channon were opening Wedgwood the Restaurant in Edinburgh with a similar mission statement: they wanted to avoid any sense of "pretentiousness".

"We both love our food but that formal feel of restaurants makes us feel uncomfortable," says Wedgwood. Tableclothes were a no-no; as was a sommelier; as were fussy, overbearing front of house staff. Wedgwood even declined to appear in any guidebooks that gave him the choice.

"As soon as you start opting for things like 
that it brings a load of pretentiousness with it," he says.

Yet six years on from its 2007 opening and the restaurant is going from strength to strength, picking up accolades such as the Hardens 2010 award for the best UK restaurant outside of London along the way.

Much of the success is down to front of house, where Channon runs the all-female team, says Wedgwood: "We try to take people new to the industry and train them up; that way they haven't picked up any bad techniques. We want them to be efficient and friendly and knowledgeable. They're well turned out but casual and they know that their goal is to offer just the right level of service without intruding on the customer's evening."

Sticky Walnut, Chester

When chef Gary Usher opened informal restaurant Sticky Walnut in Chester last year, it wasn't merely the lack of tablecloths and un-uniformed waiting staff that punters struggled to get their heads around.

"Even the fact that we don't put pound signs on the menu - people would come in and asked what currency it was in. Obviously, it's pounds sterling," says Usher.

As well as wanting an informal feel, running costs are also kept low by the lack of unnecessary luxuries. "Linen would be a massive cost on my bottom line. And if we wanted to polish all the plates I would need an extra member of staff."

In London, he admits that the restaurant would be "one among hundreds" for its informal atmosphere, but in Chester he is more or less unique.

But managing expectations for what a night out should be like can be difficult. "You still get people who come in here and expect everything to be done for them, and you can't tell them how they should be acting or explain the style of service we aim for," Usher says. "But we're booked out three weekends in advance, thinking about a second site and the other day I spotted a restaurant that isn't using pound signs on its menus!"

Top tips for stripping back formality

Create an atmosphere
At Dabbous, music filters up from the basement bar. At Russell Norman's Spuntino the American-diner feel is complemented by a 1950s soundtrack. At Pizza East, pizza chefs beaver away in front of flaming ovens in an open kitchen. All of this is at the right level to be atmospheric, not intrusive. Nailing this vibe is essential. As Ollie Dabbous says, it is as much about providing a good night out as well as a good meal.

Manage expectations
"Public perception can be an absolute nightmare," says Barber. "Do your marketing and communications and make sure customers know that when
they sit down a sommelier won't be straight over. The biggest hurdle is people not getting it."Staffing If you are to do away with uniforms and waiting staff don't necessarily look the part, then they have to sound the part. "Look at the likes of Anchor & Hope and Great Queen Street [both London] - it's informal with waiters in jeans but they really know their stuff and know their food and wine," says Barber. "People want to talk about food with their waiters and they've come to realise that it's more important than all the other bullshit that can go with fine-dining."

Cost v importance
"Operationally, it may be beneficial to pull out costs, but if you do, you can't compromise customer expectation," says Barber. It comes down to point one, above - knowing your market. Few punters would turn their nose up at lower prices from your lower bottom line, but you might be surprised how many see tablecloths and wine-pouring waiters as essential to their experience.

Know your market "There's no one size fits all," says Will Smith. "You can't just take away your tablecloth, reduce your wine list and think bookings will go through the roof." Look closely at your local market and whether the kind of people you want to attract are prevalent. If business lunches are a big deal, going all grungy could push customers away. Don't copy other restaurants just because they are successful; create the right restaurant for your part of town.

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