Have you ever dined at two restaurants at the same time? The other day that's exactly what I ended up doing, due to some interesting circumstances. This unusual experience gave me the chance to do a side-by-side review of both places, and in fact give a reasonable comparison.
The Thai and the Arab
It was last week that I went out with my wife and her mom to have late lunch in the Nápoles neighborhood of Mexico City. This is an area where the streets are named after US states, and the tallest building proudly bears the name of World Trade Center. So I bet you can imagine the types of people who live there, or just come to patronize the numerous ethnic restaurants. Okay, it may not be as fancy as pricey as some truly upscale places, yet it's a far cry from your typical barrio taquerias. In the end we settled on a place that looked like this:
Not One But Two!
Granted, it was the Thai food that first caught our eye, but as soon as we showed up in front of the place, we found ourselves holding a menu featuring hummus, falafel, tabbouleh, and the like. Not that we minded, it also looked quite delicious, and to clear up the confusion, the waiter explained that in fact they were two different restaurants, who happened to share the same terrace structure that has become so common lately. Pretty soon the waiter from the Thai restaurant also showed up, and explained that it was no problem, we could sit down where we wanted, and we decided that we might as well order some Thai AND some Arab food.
Some Very Clear Differences
As we were waiting for our order we had the chance to compare the two places next to each other: Thai Town and Arbanus so you can take a look for yourselves. Even though they both had the same size and general arrangement, there were some obvious differences: The ambient of the storefronts were almost stereotypically what one would expect: green and white tiles for the Arab, and bamboo and wood panels for the Thai. The terrace, however, showed almost the opposite in terms of care and beauty. While Arbanus had live plants growing in planter boxes around the terrace, as well as pots suspended from the ceiling, Thai Town only had a wall of plastic leaves draped along the wall.
Also the service had a huge difference, with the waiter at the Arab restaurant being always prompt, friendly, and doing an excellent job, while his Thai colleague (actually both restaurants were staffed by local Mexicans) ... was ... well, just okay. The dishes on the other hand were both quite delicious, and I could not place one above the other. In fact, combining spring rolls with hummus-pita was a lovely idea, which assured us a unique dining experience. Finally, we also ended up paying almost exactly the same amount in both places, which we had not been planing on, of course.
Thai Town More Popular Than Arbanus
So it may seem like both restaurants are just about equal, not counting the service, where Arbanus is the clear winner. However, we realized that this is not how everyone else felt. While we were dining we kept noticing the crowds of people arriving at Thai Town, only to be turned away: "It may take 30-45 minutes to get a table." Oh no! And sure enough, the Thai's tables were all constantly full. In fact, we may have ended up waiting too, hadn't it been for the quick waiter at the Arab place.
Competition or Cooperation?
So what can we conclude from this experience? For whatever reason, the Thai restaurant happened to be more popular, but that should not be a reason to rest on their laurels. Also, it makes sense that the less popular Arab would try to make up for this by offering a superior service. From the customer's perspective, nobody likes to wait for half an hour only to be seated, especially when they're hungry. But neither would they like settling for Arab food when they had their mind set on Thai. So what's the solution? Something like this, I'd say. Instead of trying to outcompete each other, it's good for the Arab to get some customers of their Thai neighbor, and it's good for the Thai to accommodate some of their guests at the neighboring table. Not to mention, it was even better for us, to be able to enjoy good food from both places without having to wait.