Congratulations to Lamine Martindale of Bib Gourmand Conejo Negro, the 2024 MICHELIN Guide Toronto Outstanding Service Award Winner!
In partnership with his wife, Alycia Wahn, who runs the kitchen and his best friend, Diego Diaz, who bartends, Martindale leads service, creating a convivial and relaxed atmosphere. The trio’s eclectic restaurant puts a unique twist on Caribbean, Creole, and Latin American cuisines.
What is a typical night at the restaurant?
We have a main dining room that has about 45 seats in it, including the bar. And then we also have a patio that has several seats, so it's lots of people. It's kind of bustling, a little bit of churn and burn. We have some tables that we have a lot of larger parties that we serve a family style, prix fixe menu. Those people tend to stay longer. We have couples and four tops that come in, and they come, eat, have a couple cocktails, and leave.
We get all different types of people. It's somewhat of a destination restaurant. We get a lot of people from all over the city, but we also get lots of neighborhood people. We have lots of regulars, so it's pretty fun and pretty chill.
How are you able to keep the team calm?
We try to have the right amount of people in place to deal with overly busy situations. As long as we’re somewhat organized, we all know where we're supposed to be and what we're supposed to be doing.
A lot of places do a prix fixe once you're a larger party because it's easier for the kitchen and it's easier for the guests. That keeps people calm, and that's why we do that.
What is the biggest misconception about your role?
A misconception is that people who do it don't want to do it as a career and are not interested in a career in hospitality. [They think] we're aspiring actors, or we're university dropouts, or we're working on our music career, or we're in school to do something different, and this is just a temporary thing. And, a lot of times it is. People do have other aspirations, and this is something that they have either somewhat of a passion for or a skill set at, or something they can do until they get to where they want to be. And that's all great.
What does "really good service" mean to you?
People view their overall experience as the service. Good service is just about being yourself, being welcoming, trying to manage expectations, not leading anybody astray, trying to ensure that people are having a good time from the beginning all the way through to the end.
Good service to me is from top to bottom. How do you greet people? Do people feel welcome when they come into your establishment? Look people in the eye, be sincere, and then everything in between, from making sure they're not waiting too long for stuff. If they are, apologize about it.
If you're being yourself, people can sort of sense that, and then there is a sincerity. If you're forcing something, or if you seem annoyed because you're overwhelmed, they can sense that too, and then that can put them off.
What's your favorite part of the guest experience?
Talking to people, learning where they're from, them asking me why we're doing what we're doing. Me explaining why we're doing what we're doing, and their reaction to it, and their appreciation of it.
Constructive criticism is great. That helps me do a better job, helps all of us do better jobs and provide a better experience and product overall.
It's nice to hear why people have come, or why they're back. A gentleman recently proposed to his partner. I organized a party with him, a little surprise. She came around the corner, and they had the whole patio to themselves, and he proposed, and then friends and family arrived. I like preparing parties and menus for people and curating an experience that I think will be great, and then people leaving saying, “I had a great experience.”
Hero image: Lamine Martindale / Conejo Negro
