A musician plucked the strings on his guitar as diners plucked bite-size portions of food from porcelain plates June 17 at Teleferic Barcelona. While these diners were in Los Gatos, they might have felt like they were in Spain.
Teleferic Barcelona is among the Los Gatos restaurants struggling with reduced foot traffic. Manager Ruben Almazan said there has been a decline in customers in the last few years. He attributed it to people choosing to spend less on entertainment, like restaurants, when they need to save money.
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“Olé! Flamenco & Tapas Night” was introduced to help invigorate the restaurant’s dinner scene, drawing guests in with live music and a bailaora, or flamenco dancer.
This is the fourth month that Teleferic has hosted a Flamenco Night at all its locations, including Walnut Creek, Palo Alto and Los Angeles. Almazan said the musicians and dancers are selected by the marketing team from local talent. Almazan said he expected the Los Gatos event to seat about 200 people.
“It’s an event that we want to bring from Spain; some of the vibes and atmosphere that we got over there with our music, our dance, our culture,” Almazan said. “And this flamenco with this restaurant, this concept, fits perfectly for people to be able to basically see what we are all about: the Spanish cuisine, the Spanish culture. So this will help to bring the people here–in this case Los Gatos, but customers, basically.”
Guests were invited to try crispy crab croquettes topped with a slice of raw tuna, delicate oysters bathed in an herbaceous mojito-inspired sauce, and creamy burrata cheese over fresh strawberries and peeled tomatoes. The standout of the night was a large iron skillet of paella, a Spanish rice dish with seafood and pork and chicken. For dessert, guests could select from several options or try a little bit of everything with the dessert trio, which includes Nutella-filled churros, French toast and vanilla ice cream and Spanish flan.
For about two hours, a dancer from Caminos Flamencos in Oakland stepped rhythmically on a wooden board as a guitarist played and sang next to her. She invited some diners to dance with her.
Terae DeCou came to the flamenco night with her partner, said the event was “fantastic.”
“The ambience is incredible. The performance art was amazing. I’ve been to Spain; I’ve seen flamenco live, and so this felt very traditional, both the restaurant and the performance,” DeCou said.
Having been to Teleferic three times, she praised the authenticity of the flavors of the food, the attentive service and the vibe of the restaurant.
“This is for people who want to travel to Spain but can’t afford to do so,” DeCou said. “Just come here and they can get a local feel of the authentic Spanish experience.”