Assessment 2: Reflective Report on Casa Bella Cafe Dining Experience

This report provides a detailed reflection on a dining experience at Casa Bella Cafe and Restaurant, located in Northland Shopping Centre. The report begins with the student's initial impressions, including the cafe's online presence and brand appeal. It then analyzes the establishment, classifying it as a cafe and restaurant, and discusses the furniture, fittings, and overall environment. The menu, including food and beverage offerings, is examined, followed by a critique of staff uniforms and interpersonal skills. The report also addresses service quality, including order timing and staff responsiveness. The student's experience with the food and beverages is assessed, considering quality, presentation, and additional elements. The report concludes with recommendations for improvement, such as staff uniforms and service speed, and a final recommendation of the cafe.

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Food and beverage establishment of Cesa Bella Cafe
Student
Lecture details

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I got my dining experience in Casa Bella Café and Restaurant which is located in
Northland Shopping Centre. The address for the restaurant is K40/2-50 Murray Rd, Preston VIC
3072. First, I was looking for a restaurant in Google and it recommended for me Casa Bella Café
and Restaurant on the top of the search engine webpage. Furthermore, whenever the name Bella
Café and Restaurant popped on the webpage, I recalled my childhood friend telling us about the
experience she had on the same café and restaurant a few years ago. Therefore, I thought it was a
good and popular place for my dining experience. Furthermore, the brand name itself “Cesa
Bella” is eye-catching and builds my interest in visiting the place. The reviews of the café and
restaurant were all positive on the webpage with even some customer promising for repetitive
revisits. Therefore, I developed confidence that it was a nice place to take a meal. When I
travelling to find that location that was very easy for me because it was in front of Northland
Shopping Centre.
After settling down on the dining table and perused through the menu, I ordered Monster
chicken parmigiana with salad and fries which had been my favourite meal for a couple of years.
I also ordered vanilla shake as my favourite beverage.
The types of food and beverage establishment include both café and restaurant in one
apartment. The term café differs as per location or countries. Café means the people come
mainly for their coffee, tea and light refreshments like snacks and other baked goods (Britannica,
2019 p.1). In the United States, café refers to casual restaurant primarily for sandwiches and
burgers. Restaurant means the people come for both food and beverages. In a restaurant context,
food and beverages are usually served and eaten on the premises although the current change in
lifestyles has contributed to some restaurants offering take-out and delivery services.

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The restaurant is always distinguished in various ways like food itself (steak, seafood,
vegetarian), offering style (yum cha restaurant, a testet and tapas), cuisine (Japanese, Italian,
Mexican and French) and speed like fast food (Webstaurant, 2018 p.1). Casa Bella Café and
Restaurant has a cuisine dining type of service for the customers
The furniture and fittings were well prepared in the Casa Bella Café and Restaurant. The
furniture was comfortable, stylish, eye-catching and designed in the way that it fits diverse social
groups in the society such as people with special needs. The furniture’s and fittings had different
designs and therefore it was up to customer to determine which type of design wants to use.
Furthermore, Casa Bella Café and Restaurant had an appealing environment which was
accommodative to everyone regardless of gender, age or race and I think it was one key for their
success.
Casa Bella Café and Restaurant had a separate menu for food and beverage. Furthermore,
the restaurant classified beverages as either non-alcohol or alcoholic for customers to be able to
identify their favourite or new brands. Furthermore, the restaurant separated red wine, white
wine and cocktails and therefore it was easier for me to select my favourite drink. In terms of
food, Casa Bella Café and Restaurant separated food as breakfast, mains, burgers, pasta &
risotto, traditional pizzas, gourmet pizzas entrée, salads and for kids.
Although people have a diverse perspective, in my own view I can conclude that Casa
Bella Café and Restaurant staff members do not wear a proper uniform. The staff members do
not wear hospitality aprons which is a more appealing but black shirt and pant. I think an apron
is the main thing of a staff member as it is attractive to customers and can further facilitate
repetitive revisits. The pockets of Apron are helpful to the staff members as it helps them to keep
their notebook and pens. I think if the staff have a proper uniform the customers getting happy

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and an organization is able to create customer loyalty (Angelova and Zekiri, 2011 p.232).
Otherwise, some customers can get upset, not satisfied and end up expressing their thoughts
spoiling either a word of mouth or social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
which in turn spoils the reputation of a company (Killian and McManus, 2015 p.539). In
addition, when customers are not satisfied they do not feel to come back or recommend that
place to their friends and family members.
Anyhow waiters had highly developed interpersonal skills as a trained food and beverage
attendant. They had a strong desire to satisfy customer’s expectations and had good attitudes. But
I heard another waiter’s communication is not good enough for the family behind me. Also, I
think there is not an appropriate number of staff for a number of customers.
There were only 2 waiters and one person in the payment section. Those 2 waiters are too
much busy at that time as they have to serve a long queue. When I enter to the restaurant I
greeted them well and seated in a timely manner. The waitress and waiters on the service bay
welcomed me with a hot smile. The Staffing Levels of the back of the house was good as all staff
seemed to be dedicated to their designated areas of duties. They were very polite and ready to
offer any level of assistance which was needed by their customers.
However, I think I got a little bit more time to order my foods as I had not made a choice
at that time. I ordered food and beverage at the same time. First, they gave me a drink after
delaying for approximately 5 minutes. The food I ordered did not arrive in a timely manner as I
expected before stepping on the restaurant. I receive my order after 10 minutes. After inquiring
about the delay, I was told that the Chef had to warm the food on microwave and they were a
queue from other customers who had ordered food before. Generally, the food was presented
well in a clear crystal plate accompanied by a cold glass of water.

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Generally, the food and beverages served by the restaurant were of high quality and
appealing to many customers. The restaurant focused so much on quality instead of quantity.
Other add-ons like tomato sauce and salads were also provided to enrich the meal. Despite a few
things that I did not like about the restaurants, I will recommend the Casa Bella Café and
Restaurant to my family, friends and anyone. Casa Bella Café and Restaurant need to work on
the staff uniform, design it in the way that it matches the colour of establishments. The café
restaurant also needs to work on speed and ensure their food and beverage is delivered at the
right time without many delays. In conclusion, it was the best experience visiting the Casa Bella
Café and Restaurant. I have gained a lot of experience from the restaurant and further enjoyed
their cuisines.
References
Angelova, B. and Zekiri, J., 2011. Measuring customer satisfaction with service quality using
American Customer Satisfaction Model (ACSI Model). International journal of academic
research in business and social sciences, 1(3), p.232.
Britannica (2019). Café | eating and drinking establishment. [online] Encyclopedia Britannica.
Available at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/cafe-eating-and-drinking-establishment
[Accessed 23 Sep. 2019].
Killian, G. and McManus, K., 2015. A marketing communications approach for the digital era:
Managerial guidelines for social media integration. Business Horizons, 58(5), pp.539-549
Webstaurant. (2018). Types of Restaurants. Retrieved 23 September 2019, from
https://www.webstaurantstore.com/article/353/types-of-restaurants.html