Restaurants brace for festive frenzy with early reservations

Restaurants across Barbados are seeing a surge in early holiday bookings, with many fully reserved for Christmas Eve and Old Year’s Night. Restauranteurs told Barbados TODAY that demand has skyrocketed since October, driven by a mix of festive tourists and enthusiastic residents eager to celebrate.

Chiryl Newman, owner of Champers in Worthing, Christ Church, said: “Christmas Eve is always full and always fills up from very early. It’s never full at the last minute. Christmas Eve is normally booked up at least a month in advance, and this time it’s just the same. We might have had one or two cancellations, but I would probably say we were generally fully booked from about October.”

Newman noted that bookings have been coming from residents and visitors from the US and Europe.

She said: “It’s been busy since November because we had the cricket tour to Barbados, which started even earlier. After that, we went straight into December with a good mixture of locals and visitors; I would say we’re seeing increased visitor numbers.”

The restaurateur added that the majority of visitors in November were European, with more Americans arriving for the holidays. “In November, we had a lot of English people because of cricket, and now we’re getting a good number of both English and Americans, including visitors from North and South America.”

Although most of the bookings for this time of year are from tourists, there are still several reservations for local events. “You have the office parties and similar gatherings with locals, but really and truly, at this time of year, you’re dealing with a lot of tourists.”

Meanwhile, at Buzo Osteria Italiana in Hastings, general manager Danny Mansour revealed that they are trying something new this Christmas Eve: “We’re starting a Christmas Eve buffet. We begin at 12 o’clock and go until 7:30. It’s something we look forward to offering our guests because it’s something we’ve never done before, and we want to try something different this year to give back a little more to our guests.”

He explained that, while bookings are still coming in, this initiative was requested by locals they usually cater to. “Bookings are coming in, but being that it’s a first-time aspect of the business, we’re assessing how best we can accommodate and manage the requests.”

Mansour is optimistic about the initiative’s reception: “I’m sure it will yield good feedback. Everyone is busy with Christmas shopping and last-minute tasks. Tomorrow, we’ll put it in the hands of everyone and will receive good support as always.”

He anticipates a strong local crowd for New Year’s Eve, as bookings have also been rolling in for December 31: “Our locals are the ones we look forward to seeing every year, especially as we ring in the New Year. It feels great to have our supporters with us as we welcome 2025.”

Ciro Perna, director of two high-end West Coast restaurants, The Cliff and QP Bistro, shared that this year has been significantly better than last year.

“Cliff and QP Bistro are doing very well this year,” he said. “The season started to kick in a little earlier than last year; by the middle of November, we were already seeing strong numbers. The first two weeks of December were a little quiet, but since the 18th or 19th, numbers have been excellent.

Perna noted that reservations for Christmas Eve at both restaurants are looking promising.

He revealed that The Cliff attracts more tourists, while QP Bistro has a more local crowd: “At The Cliff, the majority are visitors, but we do have a decent percentage of locals as well. At QP, it’s roughly 50/50 between visitors and locals. QP is a little more casual and fun, with live entertainment every day except Sunday nights. We have many locals who love to come to QP.”

Both restaurants will feature live entertainment on New Year’s Eve for their guests. “We have over 21 different artistes performing on New Year’s Eve at both restaurants.”

Both venues plan to keep their options simple on New Year’s Day, offering à la carte dining with entertainment at QP Bistro.

(LG)