Nook — Restaurant in Pulau Bali

Why Outdoor Seating Is Better for Your Guests and Your Business

You might be amused to learn that al fresco is said to be old Italian slang for spending time in prison. But, guests and patrons know, al fresco dining is far from confining.  In fact, eating al fresco or, in the open air, is a practice that can be traced back to medieval times, and with good reason (other than the fact that barely anyone had a dining room in those days).

Here’s why guests will often ask to sit outside. Even if they’re not aware of it – spending time outdoors can have major health benefits. The practice is said to reduce stress, lower blood pressure, and provide a mood boost.  Some studies have even shown that it can help reduce the risk for chronic illnesses such as cancer, diabetes, and osteoporosis. OK – we are not saying patio seating will cure everything, but it will make people feel better, just because of the vitamin D in sunshine. According to the Vitamin D Council, “exposing your skin for a short time will make all the vitamin D your body can produce in one day.” That said, if you’re not providing outdoor seating for diners, you are letting them down, especially as the sunshine starts revving up.

More reasons guests want more outdoors? Eating al fresco is its own little prison break for any overworked American.  According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the average American spends approximately 90% of their time indoors.

Adding to that, the U.S. Travel Association reported 52% of Americans have unused vacation days.  Those figures can be concerning given that spending time away from the office and in the outdoors has been shown to help people restore attention and increase creativity.  Outdoor seating is essentially a way to offer diners a chance to have a mental vacation from their usual surroundings. They can relax, unwind in the fresh air, and head back to work with a natural mood boost.

Getting at the bottom line – outdoor seating can also provide a nice increase in revenue.  With more seating capacity available, you’ll be able to get additional guests in the door. Not only will there be an increase in the number of seats available, diners also get to choose the ambiance.  Dining al fresco is often seen as more casual than indoor dining and, therefore, attracts diners looking for a laidback experience. Pair that up with food and drink specials and the fun atmosphere can encourage more consumption. Who doesn’t love a good, outdoor happy hour special? According to FSR Magazine, Millennials do.   In a survey they conducted with Study Hall Research, 43% of Millennials claimed to spend more money on alcohol when dining al fresco. Perhaps one of the biggest benefits of providing al fresco dining is the free advertising it can create.  Have you ever walked past a group of people outdoors, enjoying a nice meal and drink and immediately wanted to do the same?  Well, you’re not alone.

“When people see guests dining outside, it gives an energy to the place and reminds people of the hospitality they, too, can expect when they walk in outdoors.” – Chris Devin, Senior VP at Bar Louie

According to Devlin, senior vice president of new business development for Bar Louie, a casual bar and grill concept with more than 80 restaurants spread across 25 states – the real benefit of outdoor dining is the atmosphere it advertises.  An al fresco setting and sunlight – great for selfies – can also provide natural photo ops for guests looking to share their experiences on social media. As a result, the al fresco dining experience will create more buzz around your...

We have just come from a very unpleasant breakfast at Nook. We probably have dinner there twice a month so we are not unfamiliar with the slow and poor quality service, but they usually make pretty good food.

I think opening at 8am for breakfast is a bit late, but I am not in charge, so there’s that. But if you open at 8, maybe it would be best to be ready at 8. We arrived a few minutes past 8, and they clearly were not ready to serve guests. We had to find our way to a table, one of 4 small sofas overlooking the garden. I had to go in search of a menu, and once it had been delivered, I had to search for a waiter, which is standard at Nook. For some reason, nobody is assigned to standby in the long narrow area facing the garden. Since it is usually the busiest, logic should say……put someone there on standby.

Order placed, we were sitting in plain view of the kitchen, since we were the first table to order, I could clearly see 2 plates sitting in the pass, no heat lamp, which is unfortunate, with waitstaff walking by with empty trays. After about 5 minutes, I walked up to the pass, asked the staff if the 2 plates were the items we had ordered, which they confirmed, and I brought the food myself to the table.

My eggs were cold, I considered returning the plate, but we were in a hurry. Not once did a member of the staff come and check on us. When we were ready for the bill, we could see 2 waiters standing in front of the pass laughing and joking with the kitchen employees. We called and called for them to come over, but our calls were drowned out by the loud laughs. Eventually I had so whistle, which I have never done EVER in a restaurant to get their attention. One nonchalantly walked over and enquired…..yeah? I told him I wanted the bill. When another person brought the bill, he did not enquire about our meal and if we enjoyed it. All in all, a catastrophe, exacerbated by the lack of interest and motivation of the employees. I don’t know who the manager is, but some serious training is in order.

I ordered eggs benedict with salmon. As stated the eggs were cold, the English muffin was warm but not toasted, the hollandaise was tasteless, and they use some kind of awful very sweet balsamic reduction to make a circle of unappetizing brown sludge around the food. Who came up with this recipe?

Nook is an institution that has been here forever, and they clearly don’t need good reviews to bring customers in. Instagram does that for them. Unfortunately, the service, which always has been suspect at best, has fallen to a level which is as low as it can get. Such a shame. I remember before Covid, it was an excellent place to eat. Those were the good old days of Nook. If it were not for insta, this place would have been bulldozed years ago

It is strange, because Milk and Madu is delicious and efficient.

As an afterthought, after a quick scan of other negative reviews, they all point to the problem…..the staff doesn’t give a damn, which means the management doesn’t give a damn. Eat somewhere else,...

Yesterday we were guests at Nook for the first and definitely last time!

I can only agree with the bad reviews and I am sorry for every Ruphia we paid. Given all the bad reviews regarding service and quality of the food, the restaurant management should finally think about it and stop ripping off their paying guests so shamelessly.

We sat in the restaurant with a view of the rice field, but that was the only positive thing about the evening. As an aperitif we ordered 2 Sprizz Aperol. At 125K per drink it's not cheap, but the purchase price of the ingredients is also quite high in Bali. An official Sprizz Aperol consists of 1 part soda water (3 cl), 2 parts Aperol (6 cl), 3 parts Prosecco (9 cl) and ice cubes! That's how it is and it will stay that way!

We received a drink that was a similar color, but that was it.  No Sparkling, no Prosecco, no Soda, a hint of Aperol and lots of still water. We complained politely, they discussed it with us and in the end we decided not to have the aperitif. Any Italian would have thrown this drink in their faces.

After a while we received our next drink order, 1 bottle of rosé wine (Two Islands), which we already know and the only thing we would criticize is the poor temperature. So far, so good.

After a short time we also received our food order, one Nasi Campur Special (75K) and one Crispy Duck a 'la Nook (175K), a whole duck, mind you. Given how quickly it was prepared, it is likely that the dishes were warmed up or kept warm. Unfortunately, this was confirmed to us in a very unpleasant way by the consistency and taste. Both dishes were lukewarm, extremely dry and partly inedible.  In both dishes, we would describe the part of the poultry as mummified and hard. In our opinion and experience, this only happens when the poultry is heated too often and for too long and possibly fried again. When I tried to find an edible part of the duck, I unfortunately also discovered that I had not been served a whole duck, as described on the menu, but the entire breast area had been removed. This could certainly be used more lucratively for another dish. So I paid for a whole duck, but in the end only received an inedible half duck consisting of legs, wings and backbone. None of this was registered and recorded by the service as worthy of consideration.

I call that blatant cheating of guests!

And this as a supplement on my own behalf:

But as long as naive, arrogant Instagram dummies continue to descend upon the world's small, hidden oases like a plague of locusts and vomit their self-absorbed, emotional garbage into the media world, hardly anything will change... thank you, you...