Stay over-rated?.

[omega1]

Just back from a 5 night stay in the port great time and fab weather fav restaurants were tolos and tangos and we found stay very over rated as we have done for the last 3 years.

Interested to know why you think Stay has been over rated for three years

 

[richie]

I was asked by omega1 why i thought stay was overrated my main reason is the quality of food ive been a chef for 27 years in high end restaurants all over europe so i like to think i know what im on about! the setting for stay is great the service slow the food very average the price well over the top! if you want value celler le parra is hard to beat i hope i dont start off any wars!! just a personal opinion.

 

[Smiddy]

I was asked by omega1 why i thought stay was overrated my main reason is the quality of food ive been a chef for 27 years in high end restaurants all over europe so i like to think i know what im on about! the setting for stay is great the service slow the food very average the price well over the top! if you want value celler le parra is hard to beat i hope i dont start off any wars!! just a personal opinion.

That's the reason we have the restaurant guide! Will look forward to your other reviews, Richie, will be interesting reading from someone who has been in the business so long.

 

[kate1]

Personally I think Richie has a fair point and there are better and more exciting restaurants in terms of the actual food in PP. However, in terms of the overall experience I would always put Stay in my Top Five - we usually opt for the set menu, which is good value IMO (although not providing any great surprises), and I have never had poor, or even slow, service at Stay (even in August).

 

[tangofan]

I am one of those that can't get too enthusiastic about Stay. I posted this last year

" I was interested in what you say about the service in Stay because I was less than impressed when we had lunch there recently. The food was fine and very reasonably priced and of course a lovely location but I didn't think the service was particularly good. We were served with drinks straight away and I agree there is no hurry and it is good to relax with a drink before ordering the food but everytime I tried to catch the waiter or one of the two waitress's eye to order I just felt they were deliberately ignoring us. As they approached where we were sitting they all took a right turn into the restaurant before they reached our table and ignored us! Once we did get served they were very polite but I was surprised as I had read nothing but good reports about the service and thought this to be a major feature of Stay. Additionally the waitress dropped a half-full small pot of (melted) butter right at my feet, just missing my clothes and while she apologised made no attempt to clean it up from the floor. I would prefer to be asked if we were ready to order within a reasonable space of time and then if not ready, they could return later. Maybe it was just me but I don't think I would rush to go back there as somehow I didn't feel welcome"

Maybe it is better in the evening but that is really out of our budget - we thought we would try it for lunch as it was more reasonable but don't think we would bother again. Far too over-rated in my view.

 

[debz1]

I was asked by omega1 why i thought stay was overrated my main reason is the quality of food ive been a chef for 27 years in high end restaurants all over europe so i like to think i know what im on about! the setting for stay is great the service slow the food very average the price well over the top! if you want value celler le parra is hard to beat i hope i dont start off any wars!! just a personal opinion.

I don't want to start any wars either but had to respond to this. You say the main reason you feel Stay is overrated is the quality of food and said in another post that your favourites were Tolos and Tango. Tolos is our local so we often go for a snack, and Tango used to be a favourite with our children, but IMO they do not compare with Stay. The MDD at Tango is good value at around 16€ but corn on the cob (frozen), roast chicken and jacket potatoes are hardly the work of a culinary genius.

I would also disagree that the service at Stay is slow...it is so slick it's like a well oiled machine! The staff are very efficient but always friendly. I agree that if you go al la carte it is expensive but their MDD is amazing value, and never fails to please us and our family and friends we have taken over the years.

 

[Fifer]

We think Stay's dinner MDD is excellent value - £37.50(ish?) each for canapes, 3-courses, coffee, chocolate, water, a bottle of wine and a complimentary liqueur, decent quality food and an excellent view and location (although the service can be a little too formal and somewhat perfunctory at times) is difficult to argue with. Although a vegetarian option other than pasta (and listed on the menu rather than having to ask specially) would be a welcome change.

 

[sws97sdg]

Debs you had almost convinced me to go until I read Fifers post, £37 for MDD!!!
I will try it one day and then I can comment more!!

 

[tangofan]

My complaint was really to do with the service and the absolute disdain with which we were treated because I had read so many reports about the marvellous service. I couldn't believe I was left to sit there with a puddle of melted butter by my feet and also that we were ignored so often when we tried to attract attention to get served. Perhaps we were just unlucky but I wouldn't pay £37.50 per head to be treated like this.

The food we had at lunchtime was fine but I am sure no better than many other places. You can have the best food in the world but if you are made to feel unwelcome it is worth nothing.

 

[Fifer]

Debs you had almost convinced me to go until I read Fifers post, £37 for MDD!!!
I will try it one day and then I can comment more!!

Apologies, I exaggerated. Checking their website, it's €34.90. Sorry!

 

[mike_dublin]

Part of the trip for us ...

For quite some time the high set menu price deterred us from wanting to try out the Stay, but the many good reviews on the forum eventually piqued our curiousity enough to book a table. At the end of the night we couldn't believe that we had waited so long and missed out on this treat. We were back a couple of nights later

As the set menu price in the Stay includes the wine, water, coffee and liquor (I can recommend the Brandy Suau - thanks to the forum) which can all add up in other restaurants (not to mention the bread/olive charge ...) it's not really comparable to food only MDD prices.

I do agree with Fifer that the Stay set menu does offer excellent value, if you add everything together, i.e. food, service, location.
Apart from one Saturday evening in August when it was extremely busy, we always felt the service was very good. And the blanket on a chilly night ... nice touch.

Stay's sister restuarant Ca'n Cuarassa charges 30 Euro for the set menu, La Lonja 30.90 Euro, Club Nàutic (Yacht club) 29 Euro + IVA.
The a la carte options in all of them are a lot more expensive, but I've seen pleny of people treating themselves to that too.

The Nr 1 place for us is still the Celler la Parra, but a PP trip without a Stay dinner wouldn't be the same.

 

[Doogz1874]

I tend to agree it seems a little overrated.
I think the food at Stay is good - *but feel there is better available*
The value for money is okay on the MDD - *but again feel there is better available*

^* Quality & value are obviously very subjective - we prefer to eat Mallorcan/Spanish food when we're on holiday rather than "International cuisine" so that may be a factor*

The view/location is fantastic ..... but it's Puerto Pollensa the view/location is fantastic in most places and can be enjoyed for free if you want !

My complaint was really to do with the service and the absolute disdain with which we were treated because I had read so many reports about the marvellous service. I couldn't believe I was left to sit there with a puddle of melted butter by my feet and also that we were ignored so often when we tried to attract attention to get served. Perhaps we were just unlucky but I wouldn't pay £37.50 per head to be treated like this.

I would also disagree that the service at Stay is slow...it is so slick it's like a well oiled machine!

The service was probably the reason we haven't been back for a while. They try to be slick but it doesn't always work - they seem (or I should say seemed as it's 2-3 years since we last visited for an evening meal) to have a system where each waiter has a specific role: One would take a drink order, another would deliver it, another would take the food order etc. When the system works it works well but if 1 waiter gets the timing wrong the whole system seems to fall apart - too many times we saw our drinks being taken for a walk around the restaurant, or a course arrived before the previous dishes had been taken away - and when you looked to get a waiters attention to get another drink or pay the bill it could be a bit of a challenge as they were all so focussed on their one role.

I wouldn't say we'd never go back - it's just not that high up on my list so I'd expect it'll be a little while before Stay ends up back on one of my trip reports (which I am working on I promise Sparky !!)

 

[richie]

Stay!!!!

Arrived in pp yesterday for a week with family.
Last week I posted a few comments about stay restaurant which proved to be a little bit of a talking point so after some persuasion from my wife we decided to try stay again! So this evening at 7.30 6 of us had a table at stay we all had motd and with out going into to much detail our opinion of stay has just got worse!! Service was awful, food was cold and tough that was just the rabbit!! This is not a personal attack on stay but for 35 euros I expect quality! No doubt this will stir the stay lovers but I felt that I had to say how disappointed we were.

 

[Sparky]

Richie did you complain?.

 

[Chelseadons]

Sitting in stay as I type this. In a party of five, by the waters edge, with a warm glow having just had the best value meal in PP! We were booked for 9pm and by the time we arrived the place was heaving and apparently it was a full house for the first time this year. As far as I can tell everybody (with clearly one exception) have had a fantastic time. You might ask how we know this, a quick survey round the tables has confirmed to us that 9 out of 10 cats prefer Stay! May I suggest you listen to your wife and give it just one more go? But can I also suggest you steer clear of the bunny because at this time of year they're not wild (only mildly provoked).

 

[richie]

Hi sparky yes we did complain as did the table next to us! The way management dealt with it though was a farce! And chelseadons I don't need you to tell me about rabbit thank you.

 

[favie]

I must admit only ever tried Stay for a light lunch....and it was a wonderful place to experience but yet to try MDD, I never get round to trying all they wonderful restaurants .....aren't we so spoiled for choice! Wonder Ritchie, as you once enjoyed your meal at Stay, why do you personally think it is has deteriorated since your visit last year.....should I really give it a miss on my next visit? What was the main difference this year for you....compared to last year? New chef, staff......must have been a huge disappointment for you this year.

I thought the port was looking fine and the town yes it was quiet but that made a nice change to july! we had some wonderfull meals at little italy, stay, and can torrens which must be the bargain restaurant of pp

 

[debz1]

Off to Nostalgia now... I feel a song coming on
'You've got more rabbit than Sainsburys..why don't you give it a rest?
Rabbit rabbit rabbit rabbit rabbit ....'

 

[richie]

We are in nostalgia at the moment debz1 will try not to be to loud!!! When we are doing our chas and dave so maybe I won't give it a rest enjoy

 

[sws97sdg]

Rabbit! OMG. We won't be going until the get some veggie options on the menu