Front of House
Inspired by Spanish bodegas, Aceite in the newly opened Meliá Doha can seat 65 people, and focuses on creating a friendly and buzzing atmosphere.
With the restaurant’s laidback style of soft wood and mood lights, Meliá Doha EAM food & beverage Nicolas Marius Cedro says that Aceite provides a Spanish experience along with La Barra (the bar), where diners can “eat tapas, drink beer, enjoy your food like in Spain, and on high tables to share, so this will be a social experience”.
The restaurant consists of a bar with high tables, and a restaurant area with a few areas for a semi-private experience. The tables located in the bar have numbers on them in a nod to Spanish bull fighting. Cedro adds that these are some of the reasons due to which, as soon as diners enter, they will feel as though they are in Granada or Andalucia. As part of this atmosphere, olive trees have been placed on the tables as decoration.
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Cedro reveals: “This brand is new in Meliá, and we’d like to do this concept as a franchise to introduce this experience in the future hotels we’re going to open in the Middle East.”
He continues: “If you go to Spain, even the small bars in the street are an experience which is something we want to bring here but in a luxurious way. We are introducing a tapas bar like in the north of Spain — from San Sebastian for example, where we eat in the bar. We don’t sit down at the table.”
Staff development was deemed important for the restaurant, with an informal ‘buddy system’ developing in the venue.
Spanish staff were on–board who had worked in many chain restaurants and in tapas bars in Spain — they helped support any staff members who had not worked in Spanish restaurants before to build up their knowledge of the cuisine. An induction was also carried out for the team to further understand the cuisine, to help them develop further.
Where next for the brand? Cedro says the next step is to be “outside on the street”. He says: “That’s why we already have a marketing plan and we already hosted a wine tasting with the American Consul, and the Spanish embassy. They came here, and all the feedback I received said: ‘Wow — once you are 100% prepared, this outlet will be busy because we have something new’.”
Cedro also hints that, if successful, Aceite may be expanded to other Meliá hotels. “The brand is new in Meliá. In the new ME and Innside hotels, yes — why not [open an Aceite]. It could be an option.”
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