Thirty Years of Observations and Sightings From a Bar Stool In WC2
The Book of ATE
Thirty Years of Observations and Sightings from a bar stool in WC2
February ‘82 Café Pacifico opened in a banana warehouse just “off Long Acre, next door to Pineapple.”
In an article in Class magazine Dick Bradsell reflects on the passing of time.
Once again, “at the bar” in Pacifico.
“ I ordered the same as I would back then (1984) a big floury quesadilla with a cold beer a shot of Tequila and a shot of Sangrita. I sat at the bar beaming lovingly at my little collection until I made the mistake of looking up and confronting my reflection in a large mirror behind the bar, always a shock for a man of my age. It occurred to me that I had sat in that very space eating and drinking those very things years before. How different things were back then.”
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Very different indeed. When we first came to Covent Garden (1981) it was considered a risky area for a business venture. The Pineapple Dance Studios were enjoying a huge wave of success following the movie Flashdance, which helped us tremendously, as our catch phrase became (We’re) “Next door to Pineapple”!
At that time the council was not giving out restaurant licenses despite many old buildings crying out for refurbishment. Due to this attitude there were very few contemporary restaurants throughout the Covent Garden area. Eight established restaurants of that time were:
- Tuttons
- Brahms and Liszt
- Peppermint Park
- Joe Allens
- Grunts Pizza (Where Jack Dee was a Manager)
- Porters
- Maxwells
- Smiths (Graham Norton worked in the dining room)
So back in 1982 with a 7 year lease, our neighborhood included the Ballet School, Film Academy, Pacman (the brass instrument maker), St. Martins College, casting agents and a few pubs and sandwich bars. The flora and veg market had moved from the area, making way for artsy stalls in the old market place.
Having come from our first restaurant in Amsterdam and being Californians (with a few Brits thrown in), we were excited and thrilled for the opportunity facing us.
Our challenge was to convert 3000 sq. feet of banana warehouse. We collected items from everywhere to divert the “newness” of the conversion. The indoor and outside railings, light covers and round windowed swing doors were salvaged from the old Ealing Hospital one very cold morning in December ’81. The big mirror in the middle of the bar was from the closing of the Blitz Club down on Great Queen Street.
The tagging graffiti came by way of our artist friend, Dennis McGonagle in Whittier, California. We paid he and his East L.A. homies $100.00 and a case of beer to tag yards of canvas and send it over. We mounted 11 metres of canvas down the hallway and somehow it became an open invitation for our customers to add their own speak. Layer upon layer of graffiti graced that area until the refurb in 2003 when the whole wall was removed.
One of our favorite restaurant stories is of the night before opening at our first staff meeting. As I stood there talking about the values of our company I kept noticing everyone looking behind me and to my left. We had been sought out by David Litchfield of Ritz magazine to hold an interview with Hunter S. Thompson in Pacifico because we were the only place to have Mezcal, a requirement of Mr. Thompsons. While our introduction was going on so was their interview. Thirty pairs of eyeballs glued to the drinkin and party activities behind me. I’ve often wondered did anyone remember my speech that night?
A few days later, February 1st to be exact meant our first night launch, we were running late and the plumber still welding in the toilets accidently set off the sprinkler system one hour before the press and guests arrived. Luckily it didn’t work in the dining room as the buffet and decor would have been ruined. But gallons of water did pour out of the toilets. The new staff were frantically mopping up the deluge. Jim, Tom, Danny, Richard, Jeanne, Jay, and Bill drank a lot of tequila that night and as they say if you can remember it you weren’t there.
Along with some random brainstorms and adventurous design ploys the next three decades heralded our own kind of innovation. At Langley Street we...
- Introduced Fajitas to the UK in ’87, still our most popular dish.
- In ’82 we served a range of customized Nachos and taught Bob Payton, from Chicago Pizza how to make them.
- Introduced Mud Pie in ‘82, (the original recipe lifted from the Chart House Restaurant, Newport Beach, California).
- Developed “Modern Mexican”, a new style of cooking featuring an exotic marriage of ingredients, launched in ’85.
- Began Southwestern and Fiesta de Mariscos Food Festivals in ’86.
- Premium Tequilas were introduced with El Tesoro in ’91.
- Started the first UK restaurant website with support from Corona Beer in ’96.
- Tequila Week immigrated from Amsterdam, much tequila, much danger in ’83.
ON REFLECTION, there are many things in the Covent Garden restaurant world that have changed and improved since 1982. Cheers to:
- No Smoking
- “Sipping” not “Slamming”.
- Customer focus
- Product availability
- Covent Garden development and expansion
- Serving our own Tequila Ocho.
- Modernization and improved Operations.
- We’re all older and wiser or not.
One of our colleagues once said, “you could easily base a soap opera on restaurant life.” Perhaps it’s the nature of the ambience, the excitement of the city, the late hours or drink, there is definitely a sense of romance and belonging that seems to engulf the staff, night after night, shift after shift. Some come and go quickly, hopefully taking a valued experience with them, while others stay committed to Pacifico at 5 Langley St.
The longest serving staff still with and without us are these record holders:
1. Sheila Lakeman (27 years) Server, Floor Manager, now General Manager.
2. Adriana Aguayo (28 years) Line Cook, now Floor Manager.
3. Eamonn Mullen (27 years) Head Chef, now Group Chef.
4. Dooj (22 years) now Managing Office and Art department.
5. Alastair Feltell (16 years) Bartender, Manager, General Manager, left in 2003.
6. Billy Craig (18 years) Linecook , Assistant Head Chef. Disappeared in 2001 (literally).
7. Fernando Roldan Pineda (13 years) Kitchen Porter, Chef, now Head Chef.
8. Carlos Londono (14 years) Server, Bar and Floor Manager,
now Assistant General Manager.
Here’s a nod to the staff that moved on to success outside 5 Langley Street by opening their own restaurants.
- Denny Blais - Belgo in London, 1992
- Jay Travis – Wagamama worldwide, 1992
- Diane Thomas - Mildreds Soho, London, 1988
- Gavin Marks - Ruby in the Dust, London, 1985
- John Spiteri - The French House Soho, London, 1994
- Danny Rodriguez -Las Margaritas in Vancouver 1991
- Jim Reedy - Pancho and Leftys, North London, 1984
- Richard Travis- Sloppy Joes, Colchester, UK 1984
There are many events and stories that have circulated over the past 30 years often surprising us, here are a few bits of “trivia” we’ve remembered.
At Café Pacifico:
- We have worked with 37 different nationalities at different times.
- Served over 2 million Margaritas.
- Become the largest sellers of Coleccion tequila for £100 a shot and the customers name inscribed behind the bar.
- Launched our own tequila, Ocho on 8/08/2008.
- Offered free Spanish lessons to staff given by a staff member.
- One former manager won the UK lottery.
- The beautiful, actress Natasha McElhone was a server.
- Launched a veg menu with Linda McCartney products for charity.
We have been visited by many celebrities throughout the last 30 years and have come across a somewhat surprising story why Madonna never dined in Pacifico. During her height as one of the worlds most famous celebrities “her people” came in and checked out our women’s w.c. Because the toilet doors weren’t flush with the floor, creating a chance of an illicit photo being taken underneath the door, we were passed by. There were many others who did visit however, eight of our favorites are remembered below...
- David Bowie
- Neil Young
- Janet Jackson
- George Michael
- Noel Gallagher
- Robert Plant (claimed Pacifico his favorite in the UK)
- Steffi Graff and Andre Agassi
- Emma Watson
If you were born the day Pacifico opened you would now be celebrating the big 3-0 and perhaps have kids, be on your second marriage, contemplating a mortgage and finished educating yourself . This collection of thoughts is about that time past.
With much gratitude to you our customers and the fabulous, eclectic staff members then and now, a huge galloping thanks for all the support and fun you brought to our door.
D. Feltell
posted by The team at
12:56 PM
