Caleta very busy.

[admin]

Thank you to those that have posted reviews of Caleta Bars & Restaurants.
It's coming along nicely.

http://www.fuerteventura-forum.com/index.php?board=49.0

Please keep them coming 

[IsThisForumStillGoingWow]

Yes sorry Admin..I did think after I posted it but couldnt really reply to Paddy asking him to look in the restaurant / bars sction for the answer..damned if you, damned if you dont   

[Paddster]

I apreciated the reply hev,thanks again 

[lionfish]

To Paddster and Hev,
Yes, I meant The Cave - I also have known Walter for very many years having been a great fan of "La Torre".  Walter is a lovely man and cooks great pizzas made to order - I almost feel guilty of taking advantage of the happy hour on drinks, but it's good to see him doing well with the venture.

[Paddster]

Cheers lionfish,apreciated,i checked out the reviews on TripAdvisor,many good but one stood out complaining about the dogs ? And the waiter sat smoking outside the door and not washing his hands ?

[IsThisForumStillGoingWow]

I've never seen dogs there and as I sit on the outside terrace I wouldn't be able to see if the waiter washed his hands or not as he would have to go inside to do that. I'd be more concerned though if the waiter was picking his nose and didn't wash his hands 

[Paddster]

Cheers hev  Hope you didn't pick your nose 

[IsThisForumStillGoingWow]

Lol Only when no one was looking  Someone else posted that they were 'shop bought pizzas' too and as Lionfish will hopefully confirm there is no way they are...and he will make any topping for you that you ask. I'm also pleased that Walter's doing well, was really upset when La Torres closed as we went there every few weeks when we lived there and always took visitors / guests there.

[Paddster]

Nice one hev - am gonna try it out when we're over in October - i love freshly made pizza's..Tried ringing Kathy last weekend - couldn't get a reply 

[Can the Man]

Cave is excellent Paddy, just down the road from my place.

[Paddster]

Well that's where we're meeting up i suppose 

[whyme]

Well Sheila most of the non british customers in our restaurant enjoy practicing their English on our waitresses obviously you have to have a minimum of one fluent Spanish speaker as it's law but there is often a good bit of banter as the girls want to practice their spanish and the customers want to practice their English.

As for tripadvisor surely no-one takes any notice of that, it's full of people giving their competitors bad reviews whenever they're being successful, or good reviews for themselves under ficticious e mail addresses a total waste of time.

[thomo]

As for tripadvisor surely no-one takes any notice of that, it's full of people giving their competitors bad reviews whenever they're being successful, or good reviews for themselves under ficticious e mail addresses a total waste of time.


You Hope

[whyme]

Hi Thomo haven't heard your sarcastic tones for a while, I know we're know where near the top of tripadvisor but I'd rather have what's in my till at the end of the day than nearly every single one of those above us.

[Paddster]

So which ones do you own whyme ? I'll come and try them out incognito and posts my opinions on here when i get back,no problem........Honesty is my name sir 

[lionfish]

The Cave - comments that pizza bases were "bought in" may well have been true when Walter first opened up. I'm know he was on a very tight budget and also unsure just which way the business would develop, if at all - this was a very short term measure and as soon as practical Walter started to make his own pizza bases, which he continues to do.  As Hev says, he is always happy to vary the ingredients/toppings on request
As it happens the guy who makes the pre-packed pizza bases (available in Atlantico!) is genuine Italian, just like Walter, and is also a good friend of mine - his factory is on the El Matoral industrial estate, near the car hire company we all love to hate.
As for dogs, I have never seen any inside, although, I have occasionally seen one on the outside patio where they may well be legal - just like smokers!
Hand washing I can't comment on - as with most bars/restaurants the food prep area is not easy to view, especially from the outside patio.

[pestcatore]

 

As usual, quite a lot of nonsense is being written here.
Every business owner needs to continually review the range of products they offer, the quality of the products they offer and also review prices compared with competitors.
In the end of the day, in this difficult economic climate, if the balance sheet is positive over the whole year with enough surplus to enjoy the life you desire, then you are doing well and there's probably no need to change - but do keep a watchful eye!
If the balance sheet is in the red, or if you have insufficient surplus to live on, then serious questions need to be asked regarding the range of goods/food/drinks, the quality of goods/food/drinks and the pricing structure.
If a restaurants needs to change then an idea along the lines used by a one quite well known in Caleta of regularly taking the dish which proves least popular off the menu and replacing it by something new is a good model. If an Eastern European dish (or a dish from any other nation) is thought to be appropriate, then by all means try if for a few weeks as an option, but don't go the whole hog to convert the whole menu to some other country's cuisine until you have evidence to support the move.
Pestcatore's comment that "The food in Caleta is dire!" is probably just a wind up, or it's the comment of someone who has no idea where to eat. Caleta is not a 4 or 5 star resort (yet!) and therefore food prices need to target clients who don't want to spend 50€ p.p.p.n. eating out and in my opinion bars and restaurants do this well with a really good range on offer.
My own experience of the last few days:-
On Sunday evening I ate with my family at El Capitan's in Calata. There were 8 of us, we all had our fill of excellent tapas style food, ordering more as and when required, and 2 drinks each. The  bill for all 8 people, including drinks, was 80€. The bar/restaurant was busy, but not as busy as it can be, but it operated with around 6 staff to man the kitchen, the bar and to serve food to the tables - those staff working flat out the whole time we were there.
Last night, back in the UK, I went to my local pub for a meal. There were at most 14 diners, including a party of 8, and about 4 people just there for drinks. My bill for food and 3 drinks was £23.95 (~27€) - almost 3 times what I paid on Sunday in Caleta. In terms of staff, 1 behind the bar who hadn't a clue how to operate the till, 3 waitresses (to serve 14 diners!), 2 cooks in the kitchen ( to cook 14 meals!) plus the 2 owners floating around doing very little, which didn't include socializing with customers! Guess what - staff standing around with nothing to do - a certain recipe for disaster.
Tomorrow night I will be back in Caleta, and will probably go for a pizza (just across from Fado Rock) which I know will be superb and, with 2 large drinks, it will probably cost less than 10€p.p.
Where do you think I prefer to eat?

Maybe dire was too strong a word, but my dinning experiences have not been good in Caleta, I come from a  catering restaurateur  background primarily in London and can  tell you good food needn't be expensive either, it needs creativity!  Sadly this is lacking on the island, second rate food especially British  muck attracts second  rate  punters.

[Paddster]

As usual, quite a lot of nonsense is being written here.
Every business owner needs to continually review the range of products they offer, the quality of the products they offer and also review prices compared with competitors.
In the end of the day, in this difficult economic climate, if the balance sheet is positive over the whole year with enough surplus to enjoy the life you desire, then you are doing well and there's probably no need to change - but do keep a watchful eye!
If the balance sheet is in the red, or if you have insufficient surplus to live on, then serious questions need to be asked regarding the range of goods/food/drinks, the quality of goods/food/drinks and the pricing structure.
If a restaurants needs to change then an idea along the lines used by a one quite well known in Caleta of regularly taking the dish which proves least popular off the menu and replacing it by something new is a good model. If an Eastern European dish (or a dish from any other nation) is thought to be appropriate, then by all means try if for a few weeks as an option, but don't go the whole hog to convert the whole menu to some other country's cuisine until you have evidence to support the move.
Pestcatore's comment that "The food in Caleta is dire!" is probably just a wind up, or it's the comment of someone who has no idea where to eat. Caleta is not a 4 or 5 star resort (yet!) and therefore food prices need to target clients who don't want to spend 50€ p.p.p.n. eating out and in my opinion bars and restaurants do this well with a really good range on offer.
My own experience of the last few days:-
On Sunday evening I ate with my family at El Capitan's in Calata. There were 8 of us, we all had our fill of excellent tapas style food, ordering more as and when required, and 2 drinks each. The  bill for all 8 people, including drinks, was 80€. The bar/restaurant was busy, but not as busy as it can be, but it operated with around 6 staff to man the kitchen, the bar and to serve food to the tables - those staff working flat out the whole time we were there.
Last night, back in the UK, I went to my local pub for a meal. There were at most 14 diners, including a party of 8, and about 4 people just there for drinks. My bill for food and 3 drinks was £23.95 (~27€) - almost 3 times what I paid on Sunday in Caleta. In terms of staff, 1 behind the bar who hadn't a clue how to operate the till, 3 waitresses (to serve 14 diners!), 2 cooks in the kitchen ( to cook 14 meals!) plus the 2 owners floating around doing very little, which didn't include socializing with customers! Guess what - staff standing around with nothing to do - a certain recipe for disaster.
Tomorrow night I will be back in Caleta, and will probably go for a pizza (just across from Fado Rock) which I know will be superb and, with 2 large drinks, it will probably cost less than 10€p.p.
Where do you think I prefer to eat?

Maybe dire was too strong a word, but my dinning experiences have not been good in Caleta, I come from a  catering restaurateur  background primarily in London and can  tell you good food needn't be expensive either, it needs creativity!  Sadly this is lacking on the island, second rate food especially British  muck attracts second  rate  punters.


Couldn't have put it better myself,thank you 

[ashworth]

I wish I had not started this topic. I stated a fact that Caleta was busy, which it is and the stuff that then follows? For the people who cant find a decent meal in Caleta you poor things have your taste buds looked at. For all the businesses having a good time well done. For all the rest keep on trying. For the Camel man who has had to get a 3rd one on board to meet demand nice work son. For everyone else have a happy summer...

[Brightspark]

I wish I had not started this topic. I stated a fact that Caleta was busy, which it is and the stuff that then follows? For the people who cant find a decent meal in Caleta you poor things have your taste buds looked at. For all the businesses having a good time well done. For all the rest keep on trying. For the Camel man who has had to get a 3rd one on board to meet demand nice work son. For everyone else have a happy summer...

If you feel that your human rights have been violated due to this thread, or indeed that there could be some elements of cyber bullying going on here, then make sure you press that "report to moderator" link Ashworth

Have a pleasant day

[Truncheon Meat]

Hi Ashworth. As the author you have the power and the right to delete a topic if you think it's gone too far off track or run it's course or just lock it if you think some of the information would be of use to others.

Keeps the place looking tidy.

[IsThisForumStillGoingWow]

Only Admin can delete a thread once there are replies on it I think you'l find.

[Truncheon Meat]

Only Admin can delete a thread once there are replies on it I think you'l find.

Nah, just deleted one of mine about budgies on question forum. Deleted lots of mine in the past when I've got the answer or just got fed up with seeing it.

Anyways up, this will be my last post as time to move on.

See ya'll. Been fun.

[fifi]

Ah....dont leave Truncheon Meat.


Out of curiosity how do you delete whole threads? Please pm the answer if you ever take a look on the Forum again.

[fifi]

Caleta is very busy at the moment. There are people here from all over Europe. Lots of French, Spanish,  Italians and a growing number of North East Europeans. On the Atlántico beach yesterday it had a real buzz about the place. As a Brit we were well in the minority and the place is defiantly becoming more of a mixed European resort. Not sure if that is good or bad for local business at the moment, but that is the way things are going so businesses will have to adapt to cater for different tastes.

I was over April/May and thought that Caleta had a great buzz also Ashworth . I met quite a few Spanish, French, Italians, and Norweigans and noticed that there were a lot more younger people about. I must say I loved the atmosphere.

[mobbo100]

great to see all the different nationalities....bring on the tapas the Spanish music.....it is Espana.....

[admin]

Out of curiosity how do you delete whole threads? Please pm the answer if you ever take a look on the Forum again.

Other than admin, you can only remove topics that you have started.

Underneath the last post there will be a button "Remove topic". That does the job.
If you have an answered topic in 'Queries and questions' which may be of use to others please leave it.

Anyways up, this will be my last post as time to move on.

See ya'll. Been fun.

Sorry to hear you are leaving us Truncheon.
All the best wherever you go.