Leylaty

“What sets Leylaty group a side from all restaurants is that we always seek for the costumers’ pleasure and approval above all, and we always keep an open eye for the quality of food we are serving,” Said President of Leylaty Group of Restaurants Hani Al-Attas. “We always invest in our staff for they are essential to us and to our restaurants because they are the people in charge of the quality of food and service in the restaurant,” he added.

SETTING STANDARDS IN RESTURANTS: Almost 11 years in the business, and the Leylaty group of restaurants still leads the fast developing fine dining experience in Jeddah. Leylaty Group has created five distinct concept driven fine dining restaurants locally, from Chinese - Toki, to Lebanese - Byblos, seafood - Al-Muktaqa, international fusion. Bubbles and the recent - Indian arrival –Baharat; each restaurant transports the patron to a different culinary experience through their outstanding service, pleasant atmosphere and delicious cuisine.

Opening a new restaurant, means creating an escape, a unique experience people enjoy and want to keep coming back for. “This is what Leylaty tries to do, it doesn’t open a new restaurant, it opens a new concept for people to experience. This is always faced with criticism, this stage takes time for people to start experiencing it and getting to know it and be okay with it. People often compare what they are used to with what they are introduced to,” he said. “You have to be open to criticism and take them seriously and you have to work on improving your restaurant and cuisine,” he added. “When it comes to criticism a manager should always listen to the customer’s needs and the customer’s comments and then take action towards making the restaurant a better place for everyone,” said Al-Attas. Taking the long path is the Al-Attas strategy to success. “You should never cut corners and before we open each restaurant we do a long and short-term plan to know the outcome of it,” he began. According to Al-Attas there are certain ingredients that combine together to create an exceptional five star fine dining experience, You have to put in mind five different elements to upgrade your restaurant to the level of five stars. Those elements are service, quality, atmosphere, class, presentation décor and ambiance,” he said. “If all these elements are in your restaurant, then you definitely will have what it takes to call your restaurant a five star restaurant,” he added.

A smart manager should always look for ways to upgrade the restaurant. “Leylaty group of restaurants frequently adds dishes. We also sometimes hire new chefs to produce a whole new menu so the visitors don’t get bored with the same old menu on every visit,” said Al-Attas. “Just now and after 11 years in the business, Toki has constructed a new menu using only 50% of the old one and adding new dishes. Just two weeks after updating the menu our original costumers started coming to the restaurant more often, just to experiment the new dishes we produced,” he added.

According to Al-Attas the biggest obstacle one might face when opening is the staff. “One of the biggest difficulties Leylaty faced was the human element which is the staff. Finding the staff, building the staff and providing them with the best training and work experience on the job,” he said. “For the last couple of years marinating longevity has become a very important issue, because we invest money in our staff and then they just leave after being armed with the best quality of experience,” he added.

“This creates a huge problem because when staff leave, the owner of the restaurant has lost his time, money, energy and above all a trained member of his staff. This leads to a bigger problem where you have to hire somebody else, train them and invest in them,” said AlAttas. “What sets Leylaty group apart from all restaurants is that we always seek for the costumers’ pleasure and approval above all, and we always keep an open eye for the quality of food we are serving,” said Hani Al-Attas. “We always invest in our staff for they are essential to us and to our restaurants, because they are the people in charge of the quality of food and service in the restaurant,” he added.

Al-Attas advises anyone interested to open a restaurant to stick to their gut, listen to your inner voice and do your homework and keep in mind the small details that would make your restaurant special.