2018 Irish Enterprise Award

EU BUSINESS NEWS / 2018 Irish Enterprise Awards A , Tapas Bar & Restaurant of the Year - Dublin Salamanca is an innovative, Dublin based Spanish restaurant dedicated to bringing new Spanish food and wine to the market. We invitedManaging Director Caroline Boyle to tell us more about the establishment and the delicious food it serves. important form of marketing is to listen to your customer and respect their opinions. We have a strong regular base (60% of our diners) They expect change, but they also expect stability on our food service as well as our wine lists. Our head chef Aleksandar is brilliant at taking culinary risks and believes in educating the diner through our creations. Word of mouth is the best form of advertising, but it is important to invest financially into it also whilst being creative in house. We change and update our menus regularly, we advertise, run competitions and receive feedback on our new dishes and wines through Facebook.” Creating a truly Spanish atmosphere through food and décor is the restaurant’s focus, as it seeks to offer an authentic experience which guests will remember and want to recreate, as Caroline highlights. “Currently our unique style and presentation as well as our innovative recipes allow us to come out on top. We spend as much time as our work allows in Spain gathering ideas. I myself am passionate about Spanish food and culture and try to implement this in Salamanca as much as possible. Our Mediterranean style décor is synonymous with our theme. Andalucian inspired lanterns with candle light are placed all over the walls of the restaurant, dimmed chandelier lighting completes this beautiful ambience. The walls are decorated in orange and yellow colours, large ornate mirrors, bringing you from the office or home to a place where you can imagine you are on holidays on a rainy day in Dublin. The large dining room which consists of French style chairs and red velvet couches in the back, along with cream leather Spanish style chairs in the front add to the whole experience. All of this along with a mix of Flamenco and Salsa tunes make for ‘a taste of Spain in Dublin’.” Looking ahead, despite the many changes that are constantly occurring within the restaurant industry, Caroline is optimistic about the future of Salamanca, as she explains in her concluding comments. “Overall, my ultimate goal is to stay on top and work with Aleksandar to create dishes that will keep people coming back for more all of the time. This will remain our ongoing focus as we look towards a bright future. In November of 2017, we launched our very own cookbook A taste of Salamanca featuring recipes from present, past and future menus. It has been very well received to date, the book is for sale in major bookshops, in house and online. We are looking forward to developing both the book and the restaurant and creating a brand that offers customers a true taste of Spain in the heart of Dublin.” Company: Salamanca Contact: Caroline Boyle Address: 1 St. Andrew’s Street, Dublin 2, Ireland Phone: 00353 1 677 4799 GBA17005 Founded in 2002, Salamanca was one of the first tapas bars in Ireland, and today it remains one of the top of the list for Spanish tapas dishes in Dublin. Caroline talks us through how the establishment has achieved this position thanks to its commitment to providing exceptional food and service. “At Salamanca, our tapas and good Spanish wines have been carefully chosen with the aim of whisking you from the mundane to the Mediterranean in a prime city centre location. I am originally from Co. Mayo and have 24 years’ experience working in the trade in Dublin. I took over Salamanca in March 2008 and have with my team, been at the helm of Salamanca’s success ever since. We have captured the culinary hearts of the locals and indeed the vast majority of the counties in Ireland. We invest heavily in marketing and advertising throughout the west of Ireland, also as well as tourist magazines, tourist maps and emergency service magazines. Our tourist audience is also very high especially in seasonal months. “To meet the needs of our varied guests, we offer lunch and early bird deals that are the best in town. We pour San Miguel, Estrella and a huge other range of draught beers. We cater for groups large & small and indeed any occasion. Ultimately the most