>Jan Ostle runs [Wilson’s](https://www.wilsonsbristol.co.uk/), a small but critically acclaimed farm-to-table restaurant in Bristol, which opened in 2016. “Sometimes people come in and only order a main, and all your projections get mangled,” he agrees. “The problem is, people want to go out and feel rich but they can’t afford to do it.”
>“Most restaurants today have to traverse two lines – firstly as a local restaurant with regulars, and secondly as a destination one,” says Ostle. “It’s nice to have both, which we do. But if someone comes in, takes photographs and doesn’t seem fussed on the food, that’s the modern world. You need a thick skin for it.”
It seems better to add a minimum spend per person or a set menu. Complaining on the guardian provably isn’t going to get him anywhere
I struggle with this. Many of us were raised to believe wasting food is something of a sin, and then some of these restaurants have quite large portions. This in particular is a lunchtime only restaurant. So what’s the solution? Either gorge yourself until you can’t eat more, or order food you know you can’t actually finish? And pay for food you don’t want or can’t consume?
I feel for him; its a tiny restaurant that only seats 18; if a table for 4 only orders 1 starter and 2 mains that really hurts income.
Restaurants already operate on razor thin margins, and things like this dont help.
I saw this happen at another restaurant in London, where a group of about 12 women ordered maybe 3 starters and water and spent a couple hours taking selfies all over the restaurant. In the mean time walk-ins were getting turned away because the restaurant was full
> If you want to book a table, you phone the landline or send a postcard. Curiously, it’s not on Instagram.
Sounds like a right twat, haven’t seen hipsterism like that since the late 2000s. Is this a side effect of the Libertines being back? Does it also say the restaurant is cash only? Grow up mate. You’re lucky people are even showing up these days.
You’re expecting me to eat an entire main AND a portion of a starter while I’m on my 4th cycle of Ozempic? The nerve.
He’s not wrong, fair enough if you want to split a starter and a dessert but ordering 1 main between 2 people is cheap af,
Full plate waste penalties are a must.
Sounds like loads of Main Character types piling in for Insta clicks. Fuck them.
To paraphrase the Big Lebowski: he’s not wrong, he just seems like an arsehole.
I can totally see why restaurants would be annoyed at people splitting mains, but he’s also offended by them ordering too much food and not eating enough of it, so it’s clearly not just about the money.
Between that, the lack of a social presence, and the cash-only / anti-phone stuff, it seems like he’s got a very fixed idea of who his customer should be, and gets quite upset when people who don’t fit that stereotype dare to book a table.
Comes off as intensely snobby, and appears to fundamentally misunderstand how hospitality works.
I am by no means a small person and I cannot eat a starter and main in this country. Unless it’s a ridiculously small main.
I can’t fathom people.who have 3 courses and a coffee and maybe a bit of cheese. Like don’t they feel absolutely ill after all that?
The place is cash only? In London? That’s the true outrage part
I bet this article is nothing more than a cover for underreporting their finances to HMRC…
I think what’s partly also to blame is the rise of restaurants that encourage sharing all the dishes, and menus that are broken into smaller and bigger dishes as opposed to starter, main etc. These restaurants are especially prevalent in Highbury/Islington so the clientele may be more used to sharing a main dish or two instead of getting one each. If your menu isn’t intended for that then maybe he needs to specify.
So many things wrong here. I don’t have an issue with most of his observations.
But he wants interesting characters at the restaurant (one of the reasons he puts as being cash only). One of the most common things with interesting characters is that they don’t pay attention etiquette and niceties so he can’t ask for both.
Also why does allowing card payments prevent people from paying with cash? I mean this alone makes me think he has no fucking idea what he’s on about.
If his restaurant attracts people who split so few dishes between them then the issue is with the restaurant not the patrons. Business adjust to realities not customers (some situations yes they do but much less common). He either needs to reduce costs by reducing portion size or have a prix fixe menu. But he needs to change what he is doing rather than complaining about the clientele he is attracting. Maybe he’s not cut out for the dining business. I know a few restaurant owners and it’s fucking hard, but they look at ways to adapt because they know that’s their only chance. Some will make it some won’t.
This dude is deluded. Not about the issues but how to solve them.
I thought this was a headline from the daily mash or something
He is so insufferable I couldn’t even finish the article. It just seems like he’s upset he runs a restaurant in 2024 and not 1990. Also, maybe he should look into why people are splitting. Are the portions too big? I can never eat a full entree in some places so I sometimes split with friends and family if we want the same things. No one wants a doggy bag in the middle of the day if you aren’t going straight home.
He makes it hard to book a table.
Only does lunch service.
And makes it hard to pay.
I’ve got absolutely no idea why he’s finding things a struggle.
To be fair he’s probably got a business plan that will be built on the back of a starter and main per person, plus couple of drinks. To have a table of four turn up and spend 2-3 diners worth of money is tough.
He comes across as a nob with a mid century fetish, but he’s not wrong.
More than likely due to it being cash only. Nobody has any cash! “Just got £30 quid on me? You got anything ? Fiver. Let’s order a starter and a main and get the fuck out of here”
19 comments
Think this is a better take about the issue:
>Jan Ostle runs [Wilson’s](https://www.wilsonsbristol.co.uk/), a small but critically acclaimed farm-to-table restaurant in Bristol, which opened in 2016. “Sometimes people come in and only order a main, and all your projections get mangled,” he agrees. “The problem is, people want to go out and feel rich but they can’t afford to do it.”
>“Most restaurants today have to traverse two lines – firstly as a local restaurant with regulars, and secondly as a destination one,” says Ostle. “It’s nice to have both, which we do. But if someone comes in, takes photographs and doesn’t seem fussed on the food, that’s the modern world. You need a thick skin for it.”
It seems better to add a minimum spend per person or a set menu. Complaining on the guardian provably isn’t going to get him anywhere
I struggle with this. Many of us were raised to believe wasting food is something of a sin, and then some of these restaurants have quite large portions. This in particular is a lunchtime only restaurant. So what’s the solution? Either gorge yourself until you can’t eat more, or order food you know you can’t actually finish? And pay for food you don’t want or can’t consume?
I feel for him; its a tiny restaurant that only seats 18; if a table for 4 only orders 1 starter and 2 mains that really hurts income.
Restaurants already operate on razor thin margins, and things like this dont help.
I saw this happen at another restaurant in London, where a group of about 12 women ordered maybe 3 starters and water and spent a couple hours taking selfies all over the restaurant. In the mean time walk-ins were getting turned away because the restaurant was full
> If you want to book a table, you phone the landline or send a postcard. Curiously, it’s not on Instagram.
Sounds like a right twat, haven’t seen hipsterism like that since the late 2000s. Is this a side effect of the Libertines being back? Does it also say the restaurant is cash only? Grow up mate. You’re lucky people are even showing up these days.
You’re expecting me to eat an entire main AND a portion of a starter while I’m on my 4th cycle of Ozempic? The nerve.
He’s not wrong, fair enough if you want to split a starter and a dessert but ordering 1 main between 2 people is cheap af,
Full plate waste penalties are a must.
Sounds like loads of Main Character types piling in for Insta clicks. Fuck them.
To paraphrase the Big Lebowski: he’s not wrong, he just seems like an arsehole.
I can totally see why restaurants would be annoyed at people splitting mains, but he’s also offended by them ordering too much food and not eating enough of it, so it’s clearly not just about the money.
Between that, the lack of a social presence, and the cash-only / anti-phone stuff, it seems like he’s got a very fixed idea of who his customer should be, and gets quite upset when people who don’t fit that stereotype dare to book a table.
Comes off as intensely snobby, and appears to fundamentally misunderstand how hospitality works.
I am by no means a small person and I cannot eat a starter and main in this country. Unless it’s a ridiculously small main.
I can’t fathom people.who have 3 courses and a coffee and maybe a bit of cheese. Like don’t they feel absolutely ill after all that?
The place is cash only? In London? That’s the true outrage part
I bet this article is nothing more than a cover for underreporting their finances to HMRC…
I think what’s partly also to blame is the rise of restaurants that encourage sharing all the dishes, and menus that are broken into smaller and bigger dishes as opposed to starter, main etc. These restaurants are especially prevalent in Highbury/Islington so the clientele may be more used to sharing a main dish or two instead of getting one each. If your menu isn’t intended for that then maybe he needs to specify.
So many things wrong here. I don’t have an issue with most of his observations.
But he wants interesting characters at the restaurant (one of the reasons he puts as being cash only). One of the most common things with interesting characters is that they don’t pay attention etiquette and niceties so he can’t ask for both.
Also why does allowing card payments prevent people from paying with cash? I mean this alone makes me think he has no fucking idea what he’s on about.
If his restaurant attracts people who split so few dishes between them then the issue is with the restaurant not the patrons. Business adjust to realities not customers (some situations yes they do but much less common). He either needs to reduce costs by reducing portion size or have a prix fixe menu. But he needs to change what he is doing rather than complaining about the clientele he is attracting. Maybe he’s not cut out for the dining business. I know a few restaurant owners and it’s fucking hard, but they look at ways to adapt because they know that’s their only chance. Some will make it some won’t.
This dude is deluded. Not about the issues but how to solve them.
I thought this was a headline from the daily mash or something
He is so insufferable I couldn’t even finish the article. It just seems like he’s upset he runs a restaurant in 2024 and not 1990. Also, maybe he should look into why people are splitting. Are the portions too big? I can never eat a full entree in some places so I sometimes split with friends and family if we want the same things. No one wants a doggy bag in the middle of the day if you aren’t going straight home.
He makes it hard to book a table.
Only does lunch service.
And makes it hard to pay.
I’ve got absolutely no idea why he’s finding things a struggle.
To be fair he’s probably got a business plan that will be built on the back of a starter and main per person, plus couple of drinks. To have a table of four turn up and spend 2-3 diners worth of money is tough.
He comes across as a nob with a mid century fetish, but he’s not wrong.
More than likely due to it being cash only. Nobody has any cash! “Just got £30 quid on me? You got anything ? Fiver. Let’s order a starter and a main and get the fuck out of here”
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