Coco Reef Resort - Review Page 3
Dining
The Coco Reef Resort has a long established reputation for the excellence of its catering, under the watchful eye of award-winning chef Kenneth Thomas. I must endorse the opinion we expressed in previous reviews: we considered the catering very good, but not exceptional. Alright, maybe extremely good by Caribbean standards. However our views seem to be in the minority - most people seem to consider the catering truly excellent.
Breakfast was always superb and is served buffet-style in the main Tamaras Restaurant. Those not wishing to face the world too early in the morning can enjoy breakfast on their room balcony (service charges apply). Lunch is served in the casual Bacchanals Beachside Bistro, which also featured a variety of theme buffets in the evenings and was popular with guests who preferred to dress more casually than would be appropriate for Tamaras where stricter dress code applies. Regardless of the venue, presentation was superb and service excellent, although it could be a trifle slow during busy times.
General Manager, Eric Feniet, is remarkable. Morning, noon and night, seven days a week, he can be seen buzzing around Tamaras and Bacchanals checking that everything is running properly and chatting to guests. Leading from the front, he is a truly first class maitre d’ and wins the respect of guests and staff alike. Eric has trained his staff to perfection and they achieved a wonderful combination of service, courtesy and friendliness. Within a day of arrival, guests are laughing and joking with the waitresses. This, in turn, breaks down barriers between the guests and creates a wonderful ‘family’ feel. Many people comment that the service is not up to the standards of some other Caribbean hotels (the Blue Waters in Antigua being a popular two-centre ‘twin’). No, the Tobagonian character means that local staff will never become the performing automatons of some destinations. They are an extremely proud people and no matter how professional, will have exceptional difficulty hiding their disapproval if you upset their sensibilities. Clicking a finger is a guaranteed way of crossing that line. What you will get, however, is true and genuine Tobagonian warmth and friendliness; the characteristics that cause so many visitors to fall in love with the island and which makes Tobago far more than the sum of its parts.
Cuisine in the Tamaras restaurant is international in nature and served á la carte five evening per week. A buffet is served on Thursdays and Saturdays, which are the main arrival and departure days of the week. Reservations are normally essential for Tamaras, but not on buffet nights. Newly arrived guests clearly have no reservation and it would be impossible for the hotel to predict whether they would want a reservation. Buffet nights with no reservations solves the problem. However, the hotel accepts that most Coco Reef guests prefer the á la carte and so there is every possibility that one of the buffet nights might be dropped in the future. After all, Bacchanals has a buffet every night, so guests enjoying this style of catering always have an option within the hotel.
The only regular complaint voiced to us by fellow guests during our stay concerned the reservation system for Tamaras.
Both restaurants are extremely attractive, but very small.
Each has a maximum capacity of about 130 people. The hotel can accommodate
300 guests. It doesn’t take a genius to work the mathematics. So, how do you feed all these people?
One solution would be to make more use of their associated restaurant, Café Coco. Although located just a few hundred metres from the hotel, there is no direct route and the hotel would need to provide a shuttle service for the 2-minute journey. However, Café Coco is a stunning venue. The building and décor just ooze character. The only problem is that the restaurant is the largest on Tobago and therefore seldom busy enough to create any degree of ambience. Of course the menu would need to be brought more up-market, but that in would probably be in Café Coco's interest anyway. The current menu has been planned to provide a third alternative to Tamaras and Bacchanals, but the truth is that few of the Café Coco’s patrons are guests of the hotel and, frankly, I don’t see the type of guest at the hotel being particularly tempted by Café Coco’s current menu. However, with a bit of research and planning, it could prove an ideal solution to over-crowding in the hotel whilst also boosting the general ethos and ambience of Café Coco and thereby making it more attractive to the general public.
Anyway, back to Tamaras…
Dinner tables can be reserved for any time between 7pm to 8:30pm. Naturally, you may be asked to dine a few minutes earlier or later if too many people have booked for the same time. Tables after 8:30pm are issued on an “as available” basis. You will never be rushed to vacate a table because it has been reserved for a second sitting, but guests coming after 8:30pm without a reservation may find themselves having to wait 15-20 minutes until a table becomes free.
Early reservation is essential. Guests normally do this at breakfast, but if you have a particular time in mind, it is essential to do so before about 8am. The earlier dining times may not suit everyone, but they are undoubtedly the most popular. You should bear in mind that everyone visiting Tobago (not just the Coco Reef) tends to ‘crash’ by 10pm. In fact, although I am more of a night person rather than morning, I have to admit that the early mornings can be the nicest time of the day and that an early-rise-early-to-bed regime is by far the best way to get the best out of Tobago.
Dress Code
Most guests would totally endorse the dress code mentioned in the hotel room notes: “Dress at Coco Reef is elegantly casual. We would be grateful if our guests would comply with the following guidelines in order to help us maintain an ambience with which everyone will be comfortable. Hotel Lobby/Reception area: Shoes and shirts should be worn in this area. Tamaras, The Gallery and Bobsters: During the evening we request that our guests dress appropriately. For breakfast, Gentlemen are requested to wear shirts and Ladies a cover-up. For Dinner, we request that Gentlemen wear long trousers and a shirt with a collar. Footwear must be worn at all times.”
Obviously the standards adopted by guests vary from week to week. I am delighted to say that during our week at the Coco Reef standards were high and everyone honoured these dress code rules. Over the years, we have heard several complaints from fashion-slaves who have either been refused entry or given a table in a dark corner and largely ignored by the staff because they were wearing jeans, cut-off trousers or collarless shirts. Respect is very important on Tobago. Respect the rules and you can expect a wonderful welcome. Show disrespect and it can be quite different. The Coco Reef is not a fashion joint – and long may it remain so!
Evening dress for
the main Tamaras restaurant is semi-formal (smart casual). Ladies
tend to favour dresses or long skirts. In my last review, I
commented that a few gentlemen dress in jacket
and tie, although the vast majority wore smart casual (short
sleeve, no tie). Four years later, I can report that I didn’t see
a single jacket or tie. Guests who prefer to dress less formally
have the option of the more casual Bacchanals restaurant.
Daytime dress is typical of most beach resorts. Most ladies throw a sarong over their bikini for lunch at Bacchanals. Men would simply add a T-shirt, although inevitably there was always one or two who ignored good manners and remained bare-chested in the restaurant.
Topless or nude sunbathing is socially unacceptable and against the law on Tobago. Local society is steeped in religious values, so these restrictions should obviously be respected. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all in favour of nude/topless bathing but here, it just ain’t the done thing. Respect, man!
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