Experts say Sydney’s dining scene is lacking professionalism

HIPSTER hospo staff too superior to serve customers are making Melbourne and even Adelaide more appetising dining destinations. One food critic says Sydney’s dining scene was short of much-wanted professionalism. Do you agree? Vote in our poll.

Angira Bharadwaj

4 min read

August 3, 2018 - 12:00AM

Food

Don't miss out on the headlines from Food. Followed categories will be added to My News.

HIPSTER hospo staff too superior to serve customers are making Melbourne and even Adelaide more appetising dining destinations — but patrons may be part of the problem.

The Australian newspaper’s food critic John Lethlean has been dining across the country for more than 20 years and said the Sydney dining scene was short of some “much-wanted professionalism”.

“It’s possible to get really poor service in Sydney, even at a place that’s quite expensive,” he said.

“There’s a certain type of waiter who feels the need to identify with a tribe they call ‘hospo’ people. They are often hipsters who radiate a need to defend their career choices.”

Experts are slamming Sydney’s restaurant culture, saying it is lacking in professionalism. Picture: Supplied

Mr Lethlean said wait staff overseas knew how to work “without a chip on their shoulder”.

“Italians and other Euros don’t feel the need to self-identify as ‘hospo’ but a lot of inadequate Anglo Australians do,” he said.

Tourism expert David Beirman said Sydney was lagging because of the attitude.

“I’ve pretty much been to every state capital in the country and I think it’s probably fair to say that the city in Australia with a great restaurant culture is Melbourne, followed by Adelaide,” Mr Beirman said.

MORE: Sydney restaurant offering cheap three-course fine dining

MORE: Why Sydney restaurants rent out empty dining rooms

MORE: The Sydney restaurant who takes your phone while you dine

Hospitality expert Sunny Matheru has managed restaurants in Sydney and London for 20 years and warned professional service was “a dying art”, with waiters often treating patrons like friends instead of customers.

“Your guest is not your mate … there is this level of mateship that currently goes on in restaurants and cafes, which is a culture that’s kind of happened over the last five years or so. It’s a bit too pal-ly,” Mr Matheru said.

Momofuku Seiobo’s executive chef Paul Carmichael, believes service is about how a customer felt afterwards. Picture: Tim Hunter

Catalina Rose Bay owner Michael McMahon told The Daily Telegraph that over 40 years he had always put the customer first but industry newcomers didn’t always agree.

“There are a whole lot of people out there who think the casual service of ‘how’s it going?’ and serving bread on bare tables with no side dish plates is acceptable,” he said.

Momofuku Seiobo executive chef Paul Carmichael said service was about how a customer felt afterwards.

“I’m not the kind of person who needs to be swooned over and treated like a child but some people love that, all this attention,” he said.

“Food and service go hand-in-hand. Great restaurants have both.”

Laura Henry says hospitality workers can be annoyed if they have had a bad day. Picture: Monique Harmer

But Laura Henry, 25, who works at BangBang Cafe in Surry Hills, said sometimes hospitality staff could seem rude if they were very busy.

“If you’re paying for a coffee you want to be spoken to nicely, but then again, you’ve also got to realise they’ve probably had a bad day,” Ms Henry said.

“Sometimes you can be stressed out, but I don’t think anyone’s in the wrong.”

And Murray Begg, owner of Bondi cafe The Organic Republic, said that while he took feedback seriously, the customer wasn’t always right.

“Our staff, being warm-blooded, occasionally gets out of bed on the wrong side. Some customers even do this. An insignificant minority even have uncharacteristic moments when they behave badly,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mr Beirman said part of the problem was an industry skills shortage.

“There’s a national skill shortage in tourism and hospitality of about 50,000 people,” Mr Beirman said.

“If you can’t be choosy about who you’re hiring then sometimes the quality of service is going to reflect that.”

Hospitality student Georgina McCarthy, pictured with colleague David Bae, provides extra service for her guests. Picture: Richard Dobson

Restaurateur and chef Luke Mangan said it was important to educate young people entering the industry.

“In Europe and perhaps overseas people see it as a long-term profession and perhaps what we see is younger kids coming in seeing it as a fill-in job,” Mr Mangan said.

“We definitely have a skills shortage with our waiters and chefs. I’m actually physically going to schools now and talking to kids who are just about to leave school and telling them how good our profession is,” he said.

Hospitality student Georgina McCarthy, 20, is keen to make a difference.

“(Some cafes) don’t go out of their way to find out if they can do something extra for the guests; they just provide the minimum standard.

“It doesn’t take a lot more effort to give good service.”

SUBSCRIBE TO THE DAILY TELEGRAPH TODAY

Download The Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph app for your smartphone or tablet to get the full story.

APPLE: DOWNLOAD THE APP FOR iOS

GOOGLE PLAY: DOWNLOAD THE APP FOR ANDROID

The Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph app for your smartphone and tablet is a crackerjack way to read the stories that matter most to you

Get alerts about the latest breaking news on your locked smartphone screen and then tap to go straight to the article

WHAT YOU GET WITH OUR APP

► Live and latest news — Get the news as it breaks 24-hours a day, 7 days a week

► My News — Your own personal news feed. Tailor your news to get straight to the topics that matter to you

► Today’s Paper — Read the paper anytime, anywhere with the digital replica of the paper, as its printed

► Notifications — Be the first to know when big stories break with instant news alerts straight to the locked screen on your smartphone and tablet

► Live Sport Scores — Stay on the ball with NRL and AFL live sport scores and expect analysis

► Share — Join the conversation and share your favourite stories via Facebook, Twitter or email

► Daily puzzles — With new crosswords and Sudoku puzzles every day, there’s always something to keep your mind active

► Subscribe — Through the app (via iTunes) to start your 30-day FREE trial; then your subscription will automatically renew to $29.99 per month.

FIND OUT MORE HERE ►