Streamlined restaurant means better service

Press, 21 October 1983, Page 10

Streamlined restaurant means better service

The Chancery Tavern restaurant will offer a new approach to the popular carvery style of dining.

Large by inner-city standards, the restaurant avoids any barn-like atmosphere by a cunning use of split levels and booth seating. The tables have been designed to fit together in any configuration, allowing large or small parties to be suitably seated, and the furnishings are luxurious and comfortable.

The restaurant makes no pretence at haute cuisine. The emphasis is on quality food, served quickly and priced reasonably. The menu, nevertheless, is extensive: soups, pate and seafood cocktails can be followed by either hot or cold main courses and a selection of six desserts.

Roast pork, lamb, beef and chicken are served hot from the carvery while a variety of steaks can be cooked to order. Even slimmers have not been neglected — the Queensland Diet Platter is a must for the calorie conscious.

There is an emphasis on family dining in the restaurant and children’s meals will be served at half the price of an adult portion.

A computerised order system has been programmed into the cash register to streamline the operation. When a steak is ordered at the servery it can be paid for on the spot, with the receipt recording an order number. When the steak is cooked, digital display units

light up in both the restaurant and the adjacent snug bar to advise the diner that the meal is ready.

The snug bar is a feature of the restaurant, providing a cosy meeting place for people either before or after a meal. A marble-topped bar and white marble flooring, pink velvet upholstery and gold-plated beer taps contribute to the feeling of luxury that is apparent throughout the complex. The snug bar offers both steward and bar service and, as part of the restaurant, allows children to join their parents. Special children’s cocktails make dining out even more enjoyable for youngsters.

The restaurant, which seats 150 diners, has a cooking staff of 15 as well as wine stewards and table attendants. In charge of the operation is Mr Simon Bardon, who has joined the Chancery Tavern staff from Noahs Hotel.

In order to cater efficiently for such large numbers of people, the kitchen and servery areas have been carefully designed by experts.

The company responsible, Inscape, works on the principles of ergonomics to cut down on traffic, distances travelled by staff and the duplication of work, providing a model of efficiency.

The entire tavern complex is controlled by a sophisticated air-condition-ing system that fills a dual purpose. As well as keeping the temperature at a constant, pleasant level, the

system extracts smoke and cooking odours from the atmosphere by filtering and recycling the air. By combining the latest technology with superior service, decor and quality food, the restaurant aims to

attract patrons on a regular basis. Repeat business is vital to a concern as large as the Chancery Tavern and the satisfaction of diners is the first priority to be considered.