El Ruedo Tapas Restaurant

[biscuit]

Here comes a restaurant review - Having read on STF that the Mexican restaurant on Sydenham high street had changed hands / management and was now EL RUEDO tapas restaurant, I decided to test out this new business.

We were warmly greeted by the new owner who was keen to listen to the wants and needs of local customers. Service was prompt, efficient and friendly. We ordered hot tapas dishes - all mouth wateringly delicious (no I'm not getting any perks for this review!!). The ingredients were fresh and of good quality - the calamares and patates bravas totally scrumptious! Good value and didn't break the bank. The tables were obviously inherited from the previous owner, and require some TLC. Did not check out the toilets - sorry ladies. But all seemed clean and nicely presented.

The manager/owner was keen for any design tips/ideas to improve the look of the interior - on the walls exist the (charmingly) naff primary school paintings of a cowboy setting (partner says a la High Chapparal)??

Lee - perhaps El Ruedo could benefit from your design wisdom??

The ambience, whilst warm, would have benefited from more custom - but it's early days yet. El Ruedo, in my books, is a very welcome addition to the high street. Good ingredients for an enjoyable local evening.

[leenewham]

Thanks for the review 'biscuit', we may have to try it out. I really didn't like the Mexican place, but then I was married in Latin America, travel there a lot and am a huge fan of proper Mexican food which you struggle to find in the UK.

We even talked about opening a proper Latin restaurant here once as a bit of a pipe dream.

I have to admit to being put off by the way the Mexican place looked. It doesn't look like much has changed! I'd love to have a chat with them...

[digime2007]

I have to admit to being put off by the way the Mexican place looked. It doesn't look like much has changed!

Amazing isn't it! Why would you go to the trouble and expense of setting up a new restaurant and not sort out the dining area, exterior, and signage before opening?

I drove past there the other day and saw the horrible outside and assumed the new place wasn't open yet.

No wonder customers are thin on the ground.

[leenewham]

It seems to be the norm here though.

Two shops in the high street haven't even bothered to have any sign, let alone change it.

Musti's and Try me both have signs from an earlier generation of owner. I'm sure there are more (it's a credit to the personality of Musti that people refer to his shop by his name rather than the name on the sign, but surely it makes sense to change it!) 'Try me' says it's a seafood takeaway, yet it was taken over, sold a variety of food (not just fish) and they didn't change the sign. It's now shut.

Then another shop (that used to be Sainsbury's) still has broken sign after months and months.

The Opticians has changed their sign to a horrible gaudy big brother eye, then there is that new shop Candy/candice or whatever it's called with a cheap temporary banner which looks awful.

I thought we were supposed to be a conservation area? There are really good guidelines (and good ones too) from Lewisham Couuncil that give clear guidance on shop front and sign design.

We really need to engage with the shop owners to improve the appearance of their businesses otherwise the millions spent on doing up the high street will be wasted. People will see the shops, not the cleaner pavement, not the mosaics, not the new litter bins...and if the shops looks shabby (which a majority do) then not much will change.

A LOT of people drive through Sydenham and don't stop. Their impression of the place is formed by what they see...mainly the shops in the high street. If they don't improve, any advantage from the East London Line and the high street improvements will be wasted.

Anyway, rant over! I will get of my soap box, await to be flamed and visit the tapas place as soon as...

[angela53]

I completely agree with you Leenewham. The shop signage says everything about an area. The Council should pull the owners up for such ugly eyesores. I get really angry every time I have to look at them.

[Trawlerman]

This is really interesting. I had no idea that shop signage says everything about an area. I'll have to bear that in mind on my travels; it'll save me a lot of time, anger and worry.

[lizzie]

I noticed last week while walking past that the Mexican had changed its name to El Ruedo. How odd that they replaced the hideous exterior signage from the last owner with something equally as hideous. It actually took me a minute to work out what was different, it looked so similar. Then I realised it was a completely different name.

What a missed opportunity. It may well now be a lovely tapas bar inside but it still looks tacky and horrible from the outside. Could have been great. What a shame.

[coll]

I actually loved that place when it was a Turkish restaurant. The food was great and the interior was fine. When they changed to Mexican I walked in and started speaking to the owner in spanish. It was a bit of a joke becasue I knew him as the Turkish guy own ran the place before.

THe Mexican place was OK but a strange addition to the High Street. We use to joke that there must be a 'Mexican Resturant' kit that you can buy. We imagained a giant box that when opened exploded and put all the 'Mexican' knick-knicks, hats, menus and cheesy lights in place. Is it really under new management or just new signage?
I'd love to have it return to being that Turkish grill. It was really underrated.
But I'd still pick the Trattoria Raffaele over anything in Sydenham.

[bensonby]

It may well now be a lovely tapas bar inside .....

Could have been great. What a shame.

if it's a lovely tapas bar then surely that is great? What does the exterior matter? Does a wonderful exterior 'make' restaurant?

[lbere]

Dont judge a book by its cover

[leenewham]

Dont judge a book by its cover

But people do.

Otherwise they wouldn't have a cover!

[leenewham]

It may well now be a lovely tapas bar inside .....

Could have been great. What a shame.

if it's a lovely tapas bar then surely that is great? What does the exterior matter? Does a wonderful exterior 'make' restaurant?

It encourages customers like lizze to go inside. Therefore a bad exterior turns off customers.

So yes. It does matter.

A lot.

[Ronski]

It is important when you need new customers and can't rely on of mouth.

If a place looks cheap and nasty on the outside chances are the food probably is. Granted not 100% of places there are hidden gems out there. Nothing from the exterior entices you in saying great food & atmosphere. So unless loads of glowing reviews start appearing here I doubt I'll pay a visit.

[biscuit]

Bensonby wrote: if it's a lovely tapas bar then surely that is great? What does the exterior matter? Does a wonderful exterior 'make' restaurant?

I could not agree more with bensonby. Of course it would be preferable to have great cooked food with fab exterior but I take the example of the Lahore restaurants in East London - started off as one Lahore in Whitechapel. Now it's a chain. For 20 years the first Lahore spent the barest minimum on its exterior - one pane of clear glass window with school dining tables and and matching chairs. Naff plastic paintings and cheap cutlery. But the food was and remains amongst the best that curry houses have to offer in the UK and are a favourite haunt of local residents in Tower Hamlets and city suits.

So you can talk about the worthiness of a fab exterior and even boycott such places on the grounds that they don't quite meet your delicate design tastes. But you may be missing out on a good thing which can only be a shame.
So do give El Ruedo a try and make up your own mind.

[leenewham]

It's got nothing to do with design tastes.

People judge by how a business looks unless a business has an incredible reputation.

As already seen on this forum some people are put off by the way the Tapas place looks.

Sp therefore the way the business looks is losing them business.

So therefore it is important.

Why is to difficult to grasp? Geeeeeeeeeeeeese!

[lbere]

Once you have been and eaten, then judge it.

How any place looks on the outside is a poor indicator off what goes on inside.

[Ulysses]

Got to agree with Lee and other posters on here.

It's an assault on the eyes that place. And not like some of the other 'eateries' on Sydders Road which are an assault on the eyes through neglect; this one is ghastly and yet you are inexplicably left with the suspicion that they have actually tried!

TBH using Lahore isn't a very good example. They [Lahore] trade on good food in tasteful and sympathetic surroundings. Simple food, simply prepared and delivered in simple surroundings. It's not unlike the Indian YMCA in Fitzroy Sq. Besides, the large expanses of glass and simple furniture is #1 in the 'gastropub guide'.

Funnily enough the Lahore Kebab Houses in the cockney heartlands aren't unlike what we had when El Reudo was a Meze place...and it was often very busy.

Were I ever to venture into El Dreadfulo (highly unlikely especially when such delights as The Dolphin exists) I would fully expect to leave with a straw donkey under my arm. In fact it would only be complete it they changed the name to Revo Gel*, gave a free pitcher of Sangria upon arrival whilst playing Viva Espana on loop...


Naff, naff, naff.


* Read it backwards

[leenewham]

How any place looks on the outside is a poor indicator off what goes on inside.

It certainly is in the Tapas place!

That's a good reason to change it isn't it?

[lizzie]

Apologies to Bensonby et al. for being shallow, but I think it's naive to say that the exterior of a restaurant doesn't have any bearing at all on it's quality as a dining establishment, or if not 'quality' then at least it should be an accurate representation of the type of establishment it is. What would be the point of having any signage at all otherwise, if not to advertise the interior offerings? We might as well just have a completely blank high street with no distinguishing features between any of the shops.

As I think someone else mentioned, the disappointing thing about this place is that they actually spent money on a makeover and still made it hideous, naff, tacky etc. Yes, of course there will always be exceptions to the rule and I'm sure we can all think of them (The Indian YMCA is indeed a wonderful place and it does what it says on the tin - simple, basic, no frills, good food), and hidden gems are a wonderful thing. I just wish this place was a bit more hidden - not much chance of that, what with it being so gaudy.

So I'm not talking about a 'boycott' or even do I have 'delicate design tastes'; I just like things to look nice. Nothing wrong with that, surely? Do people not want our high street to look attractive? And for all the businesses to be as successful as possible? Or do you think that it doesn't matter if everything looks crappy?

As Lee says, if the tacky exterior is not an indicator of what they do inside, then why on earth did they refurbish it to look like that?? So, I say it again: a wasted opportunity.

[G-Man]

I think the owners may have taken note. Looked like builders were in their last night, place looked like it has been somewhat gutted...fingers crossed.

G-man