Controversial but is it Truthful

Chatting today to a couple of successful entrepreneurs. They say there is a ‘restaurant’ tackiness evident in many tourist towns. In their opinion much of the business approach is amateurish and eerily stuck in a 1950s time warp.

Bars that despite change elsewhere are Velcro fastened to past trends. Some calle with their Union Flag draped premises, tasteless souvenirs and postcards are an anachronism.

Although Spain has more to offer than any other part of Europe it is lacking in taste and resistant to change. Too little choice for those seeking a sophisticated eclectic lifestyle and nightlife. The couple think nothing will change until a more imaginative and entrepreneurial generation arrives.

Very good point but I guess one caters for the average clientele, which let be fair is towards the lower end of the tourist market .  ‘Those seeking a sophisticated eclectic lifestyle and nightlife’ for the most part would not be seen dead in Spanish tourist resorts.   Even though I love it here.

 Why blame Spain for something that is an individual thing and not a country wide thing, Spain in no way is lacking in taste, sure some of the restaurants are a bit on the low side of looking good but like I said this is not Spains fault, only the owners fault, and it's also wrong to point blame at the owners unless you have run, or know anything about a really hard business like a cafe / bar / restaurant.

Some folk start of with every best intention going, done all the homework, plough money into the business, yet still the business wont work how they had hoped it would, they struggle on in the hope that "Tomorrow" will be better, hanging on to the dream regardless, and it's not as easy as many would like to think it is to just shut up shop and walk away.

Many owners are underfunded for one reason or another, and in the hoping that soon business will pick up so they can put profit back in to clean the place up, yes some will keep taking profit while doing nothing, because what they are doing is working for them, so why fix something that isn't broke.

It's all well and good for successful entrepreneurs to criticise other not so successful business's but the line is very very thin between success and failure and its possible that even they are sailing close to the wind but don't let on, I know quite a few who have retail stock values of at least half a million pounds sterling plus, and they love to let it be known as well....while discreetly skipping over the fact that the bank owns 94% of this value in either a loan or overdraft.

This couple also want to be thankful that others are tacky in doing their trade because if everyone was 1000% on top of the game they might not be so lucky with the business they are in because all the successful couples customers they have might go elsewhere.

One of the biggest reasons the English are having problems now with immigration is the fact that they come to England and want it changed to the country they left behind and messed up,  sounds to me that this is what most Brits want with to do with Spain, anyone who wants a sophisticated eclectic lifestyle and nightlife should perhaps stay at home.

The reference to the union flag led me to believe the OP was referring to British run businesses - and by and large I think they are tacky.  Sort of clinging to some sort of ideal of a UK long gone.   baz is right, that is not Spain's fault - and some of the most wonderful restaurants in the world are currently considered to be in Spain.   Even in tourist places, I do not 'do' Brit restaurants, and generally avoid Brit business, so I do not recognise the tackiness referred to.

Of course the bars and restaurants are amateurish if they are run by people who turned up in Spain never having run a bar or restaurant before!    

"Although Spain has more to offer than any other part of Europe it is lacking in taste and resistant to change."

I wonder how a Spanish restaurant has achieved the top place in the list of best restaurants in the world and indeed how Spain has three restaurants listed in the top ten restaurants in the world!!?!

Here here Pitby.   I knew it was high but did not know the exact number.  Some tackiness eh? 

Duly castigated. You are right of course, anyone trying to make a living should be applauded.  I do still though reserve the right not to eat in Brit establishments - not because I am a snob, but because I enjoy Spanish food and establishments  more. When I am in the Uk I eat Sunday roasts and fish and chips......            

I think some of the replies are confusing the original post somewhat. Spain is home to the best restaurants in the world, winning the world's best restaurant title almost every year. The Spanish are passionate about their food and it shows, but despite the fact that there is a bar/restaurant on every street corner, the chances of finding this great food is disappointingly low...very low. Mike_Walsh's post is (I think) talking about the restaurants in the tourist towns and with this he is correct. They are tacky, trapped in the past and probably haven't changed their menus since the 50's. A refurb of the premises may cost a lot of money but a refurb of a tired old menu just needs a change of mentality. Although this is the case, do they really need to change and appeal to the more sophisticated? This year Spain recorded a record number of touists and they were spending a record amount of money.

Blackpool is for the tasteless, Spain is for the tacky and the South of France is for the sophisticated. Each to their own and everyone is catered for...and happy!

But the original poster was referring to Brit restaurants with the Union flag reference.   I don't think Spanish restaurants are tacky - even in the tourist towns.   Just my opinion.

This is why I find this post confusing. If the poster is talking about Brit owned bars, why does he say Spain is lacking in taste and resistant to change? And why does everyone jump to the defence of Spanish restaurants in their replies if they have nothing to do with the post? 

This isn't one of mike_walsh's better written posts.

Casperruby

I take it that you are trying to suggest that all retired civil servants that YOU meet are snobby, over-pensioned, and busy looking down on non-retired business people! You need to think carefully about how you describe those of us who are by no means over-pensioned, spent their working lives making UK a reasonable place to live in for everyone (generally) and who did in fact pay a great deal for the often measly pension which does not keep up with inflation, despite what you and others might think. Your opinion of bankers may well be right. It might also apply to a lot of private enterprise business people who spent their lives ripping off the public and the Revenue, and now spend their time lauding it on the front at Marbella et al, loaded down with their illgotten gains! Maybe you are one of those! You see, your comments have annoyed me to the extent that I let fly also.

If you try and be less annoying, so will I.

I and my wfe have spent the last 10 months living in Spain with the occassional visit to Portugal and my first visit ever to UK. Most of our time we have been based in Sotogrande but the last 6-weeks we have been in the North in San Seb. I can says that most of the eateries have been good especially in the Noth. Good fresh produce well cooked and presented and usually at a good price.

Most places have eateries we wouldn't use but they appeal to some otherwise they would soon be history. I guess as I've spent the past 30-years living and working between Switerland and the South of France we have developed a taste for the Med dishes rather than some on offer in 'the tourist resorts'.

My sabatical year is almost over and soon to return to living in Switzerland. We will be back to explore more of the North and eat some more good food.

Rossetti

Hi Rossetti

I have to rise to the bait. But it seems unlikely that someone could spend 30 years of adulthood living and working between Switters and the South of France, with native English language proficiency, and yet never have visited UK in one's entire life

Just curious. Are you related to D_B_S?

G

Tackiness is in the eye of the beholder. Businesses are businesses, if they make money they work and if they don't make money they are doing something wrong. Businesses are orientated at a certain public and whether one considers them tacky or not is irrelevant becasue that business was obviously not orientated at them but at others who value a different criteria. This is reason why some people go to Benidorm or Torrevieja and others go to Valencia or Barcelona. Spain as a country is definitely not behind the times and is probably, certainly in terms of restaurants and bars, at the forefront of Europe. Coastal tourist town are easy to criticise but they bear no resemblance to the rest of Spain, especially when you go the larger cities. Seville, Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Girona, San Sebastian the list is endless and they all have a list of non tacky venues that you wouldn't have time to visit in a lifetime. Spain has lead the world in    haute cuisine for well over 15 years and when it comes to bars and clubs has forged the business model for so many venues around the world. So I can't imagine that Spain is being questioned here by the OP but more the fact that tourist destinations have got stuck in time and depending on what sort of customer you are you might agree or say I don't really care. Clearly a lot of people don't really care otherwise visitor's numbers wouldn't increase. But what these entrepreneurs do know and may not have mentioned is that the vast majority of business owners along the coast, whether they be British or Spanish would love to revamp their venue/restaurant but can't afford to do so. There margins are ridiculously low and the tourists that go to the area aren't prepared to pay the premium price to recover the investment, so they are trapped in a viscious circle. I know because I have many colleagues in this postion. many are aware that they need to improve quality but that also means attracting a different customer, ones that aren't prepared to cross the street for a plate of fish and chips which is 25p cheaper. But lets not critices these people they are worthy customers and everyone must tailor their business to the area and to their target audience. A "tacky" british restaurant wouldn't last two day in the centre of Valencia but can last for 30 years in Benidorm and a great "cool" restaurant could be out of business in 3 months if they were to open it in a village where people just want a traditional bar. 

"Too little choice for those seeking a sophisticated eclectic lifestyle and nightlife" 

I would say your friends are clearly living in the wrong town. They need to get out a bit and move around. Spain offers a fantastically sophisticated lifestyle and nightlife, but not in your typical tourist resort. They were never intended to be sophisiticated but a budget solution to have a property by the sea and enjoy the climate. Lets be honest if you are looking for sophisitcation you wouldn't go to Blackpool would you? You'd go to Monaco. Its like walking into Mcdonalds and expecting to see lobster on the menu. It won't happen because people don't go to Mcdonalds to eat lobster do they? And people don't go to touristy coastal resorts to look for sophisitaction do they? They go because it is an economical solution for a holiday abroad. People want these places and they want to buy a tacky postcard to take home, so what? Clearly not everyone does a good job but that is no different in any other part of the world. Personally it is not my cup of tea but I do undertsand why they are successful and are still working after so many years. Tell them to travel a bit and they will quickly find what they believe doesn't exist, Spain has never stopped progressing and innovating in this line of business, they are the best in the world. The problem your friends haven't identified is that 20 years ago the tourists that came to Spain spent much more more in comparison to the tourists that come now. Laws have also changed affecting their profitablility. 

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