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With age comes experience, and so after 13 years of Vikings buffet restaurants, the Vikings Group has opened a new experience called Nix.
Named after the Greek goddess of the night, One Ayala Restaurant is appropriately luxurious. In a February 3 preview for its February 4 opening, we saw silver chain mail hanging from the ceiling, stone floors, cozy private rooms, mood lighting, a lounge singer, free-flowing wine and, of course, an all-you-can-eat buffet. All this in a space of approximately 2,000 square meters. In which there is seating space for 450 people.
It is slightly different from the Vikings Group's other outlets (such as its other buffet concepts: Vikings, the slightly expensive Niu, and the more budget-friendly The Alley). Instead of piling their food onto plates like there's no tomorrow, one walks up to a station and points out their preferences, which they then place on smaller plates and serve as reminders of the abrasive offerings. You can either wait for them to finish plating, or drop off your orders and wait for them at your table.
First day jitters?
Therein lies the growing pains in this distinctive new addition: During our experience, it felt like we had to wait forever for our plates to arrive, and a few splashes of flowers and dollops of sauce weren't going to make up for it. That, and we'll finish our meal in a matter of seconds, leaving us to wait several more minutes for our next meal.
We were offered their best: foie gras, pasta with scallops and a sprinkling of caviar, and beef Wellington, among other dishes. We see it as a careerist of good food, but a few other guests at our table left their offerings untouched: one complained that their free-flowing wine wasn't at the right temperature; Another complained that his Beef Wellington had bacon instead of prosciutto (or some similar complaint). Another left out a bite of foie gras because it was not pressed hard enough. We tried our best not to make the same complaints (except for the time difference between bites), but we will say that we found some of the sashimi a little too chewy and our lobster tasted a little fishy. We believe that if you are paying over P3,000 for a meal, not to mention knowing the amount of experience our hosts have, expectations will be very high.
We liked the Italian station (the oxtail ravioli with the deep broth didn't take that long to spoon), the noodle station (the duck noodles were excellent), and the carving station (our lamb and our steak were very good, if a little thin, but we're making docket points for the horseradish sauce that lacked kick). We give plus points for food not typically found at buffets (who has time to fold that many ravioli?). We provide them with the grace of first day jitters, and, also, years of experience in watching other guests taste their offerings.
Furthermore, Charles Lee – the second generation of the restaurant family and independent director of the Vikings Group – acknowledges these growing pains, and promises to make it better for the masses. “We've looked at it. We've just started, so we're kind of in the soft launch phase,” he said. businessworld in an interview. “We'll fix it. We'll add manpower if we have to; we'll work on the systems. We'll change what we have to.” 'The Namin Titipirin'yon (We will not skimp on this).”
The plan was to transform the idea of a buffet from a place into a real experience. “Buffets have been the same for many years,” he said. “What we're trying to do here is change the experience.
“We're trying to create a mix between fine dining and buffet,” he said. “We want people to stay here as long as possible… eat as much as they want; drink as much as they want.”
In exploring this new direction, he builds on previously observed changes in what diners want. “We've seen how hungry they are for new things. Not just new flavors and new tastes, but new experiences.”
buffet model
When they first opened 13 years ago, they hit upon a winning formula with the Vikings, which helped them open buffet restaurants across the country. Now, he has around 20 eateries to his name, and many of them have unlimited food offers. Of course, all the restaurants are branded with the Vikings name, but they also include Taishu Yakiniku, Sam Stew and Tong Yang (acquired from the previous owners), among others. “People in the Philippines always think about value,” said Mr. Lee, who added that unlimited deals are popular here because Filipinos will always try to maximize that value. “If the value is there, and they see they can maximize it, play.”
They're still playing in the fine dining and a la carte game: Lore is found on the roster at Viking, a partnership with celebrity chef Myke “Tatung” Sarthou and Putian, a Singapore franchise. Recently, they have opened two new franchises: Ikaoka Yakitori and Ramen Ibuki, both in BGC, both from Japan. The plan is to open a total of five (with three more to come) Japanese concepts, some of which have received Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition in their home country (such as Iacocca).
Mr Lee talked about the difference between the challenges of running buffet and a la carte dining. In a la carte dining, quantities are less in terms of people and inventory. “The challenging thing is that you are limited to the menu and the dishes that are given to you. If people don't like it, so be it.
“Buffets, at the end of the day, will always be very challenging because of the sheer value of people.” This involves both customers and manpower, but he cites another challenge as always knowing what the diner wants. “How do we know that people like the food that's being served down the entire line? You need to manage it. If you don't manage it, you'll have a lot of wastage.” — Joseph L. Garcia