 |
| Open-air: Jean-François Delaunay, general manager at Le Pont de la Tour, near Tower Bridge in London, on the restaurant’s riverside terrace |
Charlotte Street, just north of Oxford Street, is a foodie destination that encapsulates cosmopolitan London. Along its length there are cafés and restaurants offering pizza, steak frites, Mexican food, and Malaysian seafood alongside Thai noodles, Asian dim sum and Spanish tapas, as well as the usual wine bars and pubs.
In a recent spell of sweltering heat, many people were eating and drinking outside. As I wandered past, I saw some diners enjoying formal terraces with full length windows open to a cool, air-conditioned dining room behind. Others, at cheaper establishments, had ad hoc arrangements with somewhat rickety tables. But every available outdoor seat was taken and everyone appeared to be having a good time.
Food and wine undoubtedly taste better in the fresh air but the most important ingredient is the outdoors. Just being on a picnic; or on a mountain terrace looking down on the ski slopes; or by the water’s edge – such as the unique pleasure involved in eating on a terrace in Venice, for example – will often provide memories that endure longer than the flavours we experience at these moments.
In recent years, more city-centre restaurants in Britain have realised that customers love outdoor seating, which provides us with the opportunity to live like a Mediterranean, however temporarily,and also allows us all to enjoy a little more space than our increasingly crowded working and living conditions normally permit.
For the restaurateur, taking on premises with a terrace is not just a commercial decision but one that will require the highest levels of diplomacy any receptionist can manage. When the sun is out, most people want to enjoy it and somebody will undoubtedly be disappointed.
. . .
The most important calculation is to be sure that terraces can work all year – not just for three or four sunny summer months. Ted Schama, director of leisure consultants Shelley Sandzer, reports that an increasing number of the new restaurant developments in central London are incorporating terraces. And financially, an outdoor space is not too much of a gamble. Schama explains that the rent for a terrace is roughly a quarter of what the main restaurant space will fetch.
Although at the mercy of the weather, a terrace with outdoor seating brings the restaurant indirect benefits, according to Schama. The first is the sense of the relaxed southern European lifestyle that it conveys. The second is the impact on sales – which can be far higher than the restaurant has budgeted for. This often happens when diners find the right style of relaxed, informal food in a busy location – St Christopher’s Place in central London, for example, or along bustling Bankside, along the south of the Thames. Terraces allow customers to unwind; they are likely to spend more time at their table and, therefore, more money.
But the biggest impact of any outdoor seating is the free advertising it generates. The sight of people enjoying a glass of wine and some food in the sun creates a compelling desire in passers-by to stop and do exactly the same thing.
The challenge, of course, is that no terrace is ever large enough to accommodate demand when the sun is shining. A golden rule of restaurant management is that no customer will ever be guaranteed a table on the terrace when they phone to book.
Instead, as Jean-François Delaunay, the experienced general manager of Le Pont de la Tour by London’s Tower Bridge explained, “Our receptionists are trained to respond to whoever asks for a table on the terrace that their request has been noted and we will do our best to accommodate them. More than that we cannot promise.”
This reticence is based on good commercial sense – any restaurant needs to fill more than its terrace to remain profitable – but also on long experience. Blue skies can cloud over very quickly and along the river Thames, according to Delaunay, the wind can change direction suddenly, forcing his staff to strip the outdoor tables and hastily reseat all customers inside as thunder and lightning pummels the once-crowded terrace.
Such sights, Delaunay confessed, are one of the most frustrating aspects of his role as a general manager in London, but they happen everywhere. A lunch at El Bulli in north-east Spain one summer’s day was memorable for more than the legendary food – we began on the terrace, continued under an awning as the rain began, and finished inside as the storm brought rain so heavy that it seeped in, around and under the window frames.
As the British climate seems to be getting warmer, more uninterrupted sunshine will bring subtle changes in our eating patterns. At lunch, we will eat less and drink more beer and less wine; the late afternoon and early evening period will be even more popular as customers linger to drink on terraces and stand outside pubs rather than head to the cinema, theatre or home. Some recent hot, humid evenings have led to greater demand for restaurant bookings at the normally less popular 9pm and 9.30pm slots rather than the customary British 8pm.
And, once the final al fresco customer has been served on busy, balmy nights on Charlotte Street or elsewhere, there is invariably a welcome cool bottle of beer waiting for every – by now somewhat sticky – member of the hard-working kitchen brigade.
Favourite terraces
Berowra Waters Inn, Australia
www.berowrawatersinn.com
Antica Locanda Mincio, Verona, Italy
www.anticalocandamincio.it
Cip’s Club, Cipriani Hotel, Venice, Italy
www.hotelcipriani.com
Café Marly, Paris
..........................
Al fresco with FT writers
Rome
Though there’s no such thing here as dining “al fresco”, writes Guy Dinmore, the FT’s correspondent in Rome, (actually, it’s Italian slang for being in jail), you can eat all’aperto and hope for Rome’s refreshing ponentino, or little western breeze.
Rome is getting expensive and too many outdoor establishments rest on their laurels. Still, here is a suggested tour of the historic centre.
 |
| Grand Hotel de la Minerve |
Then to Baffetto for probably the best value pizza in town – Roman- style, thin and singed at the edges, served on paper tablecloths by waiters who have done this for decades. On a corner of Via del Governo Vecchio. No bookings, so be ready to queue and share a table.
Alternatively, when in Rome do as Michelle Obama did. The no-frills Maccheroni trattoria on Piazza delle Coppelle offers satisfying cacio e pepe (cheese and pepper pasta) and gricia (bacon and pecorino cheese pasta), with a jug of house wine.
Next pop into Piazza Navona for the densest darkest crunchiest tartufo, chocolate chip ice-cream, at Tre Scalini, near Bernini’s newly restored fountain of four rivers.
Finally, follow your nose to café Sant’Eustachio, in the square of the same name by the Senate, for Rome’s most glorious coffee, roasted in-house, served sweet unless requested otherwise. Open until the early hours.
Additional research by Giulia Segreti
Paris
Paris is a city made for walking, and when the weather is right, it is also a wonderful place to eat outdoors, writes Mike Steinberger.
Yves Camdeborde’s superb Le Comptoir du Relais, the most acclaimed of Paris’s New Wave bistros, has excellent sidewalk seating and is ideally situated on the Carrefour de l’Odéon, just off the boulevard Saint-Germain in the sixth arrondissement. Also on the Left Bank, in the Seventh, is Les Fables de la Fontaine, one of a quartet of restaurants on the rue Saint-Dominique started by Christian Constant.
 |
| Hotel le Bristol |
Mike Steinberger’s ‘Au Revoir to All That’ has just been published
Shanghai
A decade or two ago, it would have been unthinkable to sample innovative tapas dishes on the elegant terrace of a quirky, stylishly renovated old mansion in the heart of Shanghai’s old French quarter. But just like any other Asian city, Shanghai has embraced al fresco dining, writes Gwen Robinson, an FT Asia Alphaville correspondent.
 |
| M on the Bund |
Bangkok
In Bangkok, Lebua’s Sirocco restaurant claims to be the world’s highest al fresco restaurant. But other destinations for hip open-air dining include Mahanaga, the Long Table, Café Ice, a newish western- Asian fusion restaurant, and the artsy bistro Eat Me.
Tokyo
In Tokyo,diners still largely prefer indoor dining, though habits are changing. Popular outdoor eateries are often better known for their surroundings than for gourmet food; among them are restaurants in the Global Dining group. Other scenic spots include the French Kitchen at the Grand Hyatt and venues in Roppongi’s Midtown complex.
