Restaurateurs often bite their fingernails waiting for a critic’s review. Sometimes, when it comes and if it is favorable, business spurts. Sometimes, however, nothing much happens.
No, the critic isn’t actually filling the seats at Chicago restaurants on a given night. But someone else is: the hotel concierge. These professional genies, who are expected to respond to a guest’s slightest whim or solve the most intricate of logistical problems, play an increasingly important role in determining where Chicago’s restaurant dollars are spent.
“In the early years people couldn’t pronounce the word,” recalls concierge Abigail Hart of the Four Seasons Hotel. “Now I almost wish they didn’t know it. People use us with a vengeance, even people in the neighborhood, and making restaurant reservations is a huge part of our daily work.”
“I consider them some of our best friends,” says Dan Rosenthal, owner of the popular Loop restaurant Trattoria Ten. “They can be our salvation and fill seats like crazy in a slow month like February. We have steadily massaged them for six years and in return we’ve seen a three- to five-fold increase in the volume they generate. When there’s a convention in town, we can get 60 to 75 seats from a single hotel.”
Interviews with a number of concierges and restaurateurs reveal a system of mutual back-scratching that–despite occasional tensions–appears to work smoothly and well. A byproduct of these interviews is an intriguing list of most popular restaurants.
Dining usually is a priority with visitors to the city. Sylvia O’Neill, who has served as concierge at the Sutton Place Hotel for the last five years, says:
“As a restaurant town, Chicago rates very highly. People are happy with what the city has to offer, although occasionally guests are overwhelmed by the choices. There is a great wealth of restaurants of all sorts that you don’t find in many cities. Also, they are more affordable than New York.”
But selection can be difficult. The concierge mindset is so “can do” and positive that it is hard for them to say something negative. As Marjorie Silverman, head concierge at the Hotel Inter-Continental Chicago, puts it, “I think there’s a restaurant in this city for everybody.”
On the surface, the task is easy. O’Neill explains, “We look for restaurants that are cooperative and will accommodate and take good care of our guests.”
But anyone who has ever tried to book a table at prime time on Saturday night knows there’s more to it than picking up the phone.
Silverman elaborates: “We concierges network as a group. It’s important to us to be recognized when we call, not to have the person on the phone in the restaurant not know who we are, or not care.”
The Four Season’s Hart says, “I make a concerted effort to develop a rapport with restaurant managers and people who answer the phones. It’s very important for a restaurant to keep in mind. We dial the number in the category the guests want where we know they will work with us, where they recognize this is part of a long-run relationship. Some understand, some don’t.”
“Most restaurateurs are very savvy about what we do and how we do it,” says Silverman. “Some of them will give a hotel reservation priority, or even put aside some tables for our call-ins. We can ask the restaurant to recognize an anniversary or birthday, to give our guest VIP treatment. They might offer our guest an amenity, an after-dinner drink or bottle of wine. It’s a very symbiotic relationship and we like each other.
“What I won’t do, in turn, is try to call in a huge favor unless it’s incredibly important. I won’t try to get a guest into Everest or Charlie Trotter’s at prime time on Saturday. If the guest says he would like a really fine dining experience, it leaves me open to recommend a place where they can get in. And at a place that is so very busy, Frontera Grill for example, it helps enormously if the guest will go either early or late.”
Sometimes the requests aren’t so simple, either.
How about outdoor dining? Dining with music? Brunch with music? Something romantic? Trendy? A place to see celebrities and be seen? A restaurant with purple upholstery? Somewhere to go in shorts?
Often the answer to a question is to ask a question. Says Hart: “If they just say I want some place to eat tonight, there’s a real dearth of information. We have to become psychologists, especially if the person is in for only one night. Then I really want the restaurant to be right.
“So I quiz them:
“I ask if they want a setting that is formal or informal , ethnic, maybe a steak house. Do they want to dine within walking distance? Not all our guests know what bistro or brasserie means. We have to lead them without being snobby. And the answers to some requests–a Colombian restaurant with music, for example–don’t just jump to mind.”
Jon Winke of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, a 15-year veteran, sees himself as “an ambassador of the hotel and the city. I want to be the guest’s best friend.
“It’s work,” he says. “Guests want us to know the trendies, the newest spots. We have to keep on top of things.”
The concierges do research in various publications, stay aware of openings, closing and ratings and listen to word of mouth. But all of them agree with Winke that “it’s hard to recommend a restaurant if you have not been there.”
Getting to know restaurants first-hand is one of the perks of the trade.
Silverman explains: “Most of us do not have expense accounts, but restaurants do invite us. That allows us to say, `I just ate there, they have new chef, this dish is wonderful,’ to give our recommendations a little zest.”
An appreciative Lettuce Entertain You organization even volunteered to host a charity buffet at Bub City for the Clee d’Or, an international concierge organization.
Hart says: “I haven’t eaten at home in five years. A big part of our job is being out and about, trying things. We go to openings. Restaurants invite us to have a meal. It’s how we educate ourselves and the staff.”
The concierges appear to be gaining influence as hotel guests and restaurants become increasingly aware of the role the concierges play. But veteran concierges are careful not to reach into the cookie jar too deeply and do talk of ethics among themselves.
Richard Muetze, now of the Stouffer Renaissance Chicago after 12 years at the now-closed Mayfair Regent, is president of the Chicago Hotel Concierge Association, which has about 100 members. The concierges meet every other month in a restaurant or a shopping venue.
“It’s good for us and them,” says Muetze. “The publicists are very nice to us. It works.
“As a professional group, we don’t want gratuities or prizes. I say, `Just do a good job for my guest.’ We try to avoid competitions, prizes for the first concierge who sends 50 customers, that sort of thing. It compromises our reputation.”
At this point that reputation is good.
Trattoria Ten’s Rosenthal says: “Almost without exception they never pull rank, never seek a gratuity. They seem genuinely to want to see their guests taken care of. It’s a compliment to the hotels that hire them. We have more trouble from corporate concierges.”
But to keep it that way, Trattoria Ten and other restaurants do engage in an ongoing courting ritual.
“We keep a list,” Rosenthal says, “ask them to dine with us as our guest, no holds barred, and probably get a couple of hundred a year.” Rosenthal’s wife and partner, Lin, visits concierges and sends them cards at holiday time.
The results? “We monitor referrals very closely,” Rosenthal says. “We’re lucky. The Palmer House shovels people to us, as many as 50 a week.”
Paul LoDuca, chef-owner of Mare in River North, adds, “We sent concierges invitations when we first opened, asking them to come in with a guest, meet us and have dinner. Periodically, we send follow-up letters and gift baskets at Christmas, try to reach anyone new and keep ourselves in the front of the minds of the others.
“When they call, we always try to help them. We know they want to look good. But we also have to be careful not to offend our regulars.”
While conventions put a lot of pressure on concierges, the Intercontinental’s Silverman points out that “people who come here annually for conventions are very smart about booking in advance and being flexible about the time of their reservation. But sometimes we get very difficult requests, like `15 of us want to go to dinner at 7:30,’ and it’s already 7 p.m. In that situation it’s extremely important to know people at the restaurants who will work with us.”
But it’s an imperfect world even at the concierge’s desk. “My biggest problem lately,” says the Ritz-Carlton’s Winke, “is restaurants that do not honor reservation times. If my guests have to wait an hour, it’s not worth calling to make the reservation in the first place.”
“Prime time Friday and Saturday night can be tough,” acknowledges Muetze, of the Stouffer. “You call anyway and see what you can do. Sometimes you can’t get through. Sometimes the reservationist can’t do anything and you have to wait for the maitre d’. I offer to try someplace else rather than hang up the guest.
Jamie Byrnes, concierge at the Chicago Hilton and Towers, adds: “Sometimes there is a designated contact person for us. Some restaurants, like the Como Inn, have a concierge line. Usually I reach a host or hostess and announce who I am. I think they try their hardest to accommodate my requests and a lot of them set aside tables. They should. We do send a lot of business. But if a place is booked, it’s booked.”
Among those cited as being extremely helpful are Hugo Ralli of Gibsons, Joe Carlucci, the Park Avenue Cafe staff and Tuttaposto’s Tony and Cathy Mantuano. Richard Melman’s Lettuce Entertain You group has even created a corporate concierge liaison.
But evidently not everyone has seen the light.
“It depends on the person you are dealing with,” Hart says. “If the attitude is too egregious, a blank hello followed by `We have something at 6 or 9 o’clock,’ I have lodged complaints with the corporate office. I simply say, here’s what happened. Let me tell you my reaction.”
Among those cited as being less than cooperative, the Chicago Chop House (“They used to put me on voice mail, but things have gotten better,” was one comment) and the twin Mexican restaurants Frontera Grill and Topolobampo, described as being “very, very difficult.”
Frontera chef-owner Rick Bayless responds:
“We are small, but the situation is not just due to space limitations. What we do, if they will play by our rules, giving us a day’s lead time, is work someone into Frontera. If the person wants Topolobampo, we will put him on our waiting list.
“People who have supported us for years know our rules and they play by them. We just apply the same rules to the people the concierges call us about. Of course we have the luxury of being democratic. When it’s cold out we are still busy.”
All the concierges say feedback from guests is vital to them. Most will call the restaurant in question and pass on complaints, and praise as well.
“Feedback is very important to us,” says Byrnes. “I ask the guests to come back and tell me about their meal. About 40 percent do. If there is a complaint, I call the restaurant immediately. There’s always a response. The restaurant people take it very seriously.”
I want feedback,” Muetze says. “If our guests are constantly happy, the restaurant becomes a prime recommendation.”
“The first time we hear a bad report, we call the restaurant and talk to them,” says Sutton Place’s O’Neill. “If we hear negative reports on a consistant basis, we will stop recommending a place.”
One tricky area for the concierge is dealing with the reality that there are restaurants in his or her own hotel. Most find a way to work that into their suggestions. As for touting restaurants in other hotels, while most would pay lip service to Hart’s comment “it would be silly to preclude them,” more, like Muetze, do so, but say “it doesn’t come naturally.”
So, what do capsule reviews from these powerful critics sound like?
Listen to Muetze:
“Scoozi!, Italian bigness and a lot of fun. It’s not quiet and formal. If they want a more formal setting, I recommend Grappa or Spiaggia.
“The Chicago Chop House has an ad campaign that works. Lots of out-of-towners want to go there. I ate there recently and was very pleased.
“Something trendy? I went to a Brasserie Jo preview. I thought the room was fabulous, right out of the ’40s. But the food needed work.
“Romantic? Gordon. It’s a special place, always has been. They have a little combo playing Friday and Saturday nights.”
Byrnes sums up the view from the concierge’s desk:
“I think I have a pretty good handle on the restaurant scene,” she says. “At least I’ve never sent guests to a place they absolutely hated.”
And, from his restaurant, Paul LoDuca observes:
“It seems that their calls are coming more and more frequently. Now we hear from corporate concierges and concierges are calling us from apartment buildings. I’ve started using them myself when I travel.”
RESERVATION SERVICE A PHONE CALL AWAY
For a taste of concierge service without having to check into a hotel, call 800-688-8634.
That’s the number of Out To Dine, a new restaurant reservation service that co-founder Jim Mirochnik likens to a travel agent.
“We customize your visit to a restaurant,” he explains.
“We will provide broad or specific information (from type of cuisine and menu highlights to directions and the cost of valet parking) and make your reservation instantly because seats have been set aside. You don’t pay us. The restaurant does.”
So far, Mirochnik says, “about 100” restaurants, most in downtown and River North, have subscribed to Out To Dine. Expansion plans include the suburbs.
FOOD AND PLACES VISITORS PREFER
What do visitors to Chicago want to eat and where do they want to dine?
Across the board, the concierges interviewed put steak at the top (“It’s amazing how much demand has grown over the past four years,” says Abigail Hart”) and Italian food (“If guests are in for three nights, they may do Italian all three,” she adds).
In the Asian category, Chinese, once the favorite, is now requested less than Thai and Japanese. There are a lot fewer requests for French restaurants, too. Those tend to be for a special occasion evening, although less formal French such as Kiki’s Bistro are popular.
There are a fair number of requests for ethnic, maybe something in an old Polish neighborhood, Ukrainian Village, Taylor Street, Chinatown, Greektown.
“We get the whole gamet of requests,” says Marjorie Silverman. “One man told me, `I want the best hot dogs.’ “
Here, in no formal order, are restaurants recommended by Chicago hotel concierges:
Carlucci, Tuttaposto, Park Avenue Cafe, Everest, the Saloon, Bravissimo, Gibsons, Bosso Nova, Zaven’s, Catch 35, Ambria, Tuscany, Erie Cafe, Coco Pazzo & Il Tuscanacco, Marche, the Rosebud restaurants, Kiki’s Bistro, Ambria, Bistro 110, Gene & Georgetti, Michael Jordan’s, Eccentric, Planet Hollywood, Zaven’s, Hard Rock Cafe, Spiaggia, Grappa, Park Avenue Cafe, Charlie Trotter’s, La Locanda, Cafe Luciano, Pump Room and, among new restaurants, Palette’s and Magnum’s steak house. PHOTO: Palette’s, on State Street, is ready for lunch patrons. Concierges play an important role in determining where restaurant dollars are spent.
