To help diners ease into a memorable dining experience, a staff needs to let them know, from the outset, that they’re in the hands of people who truly know what they’re doing.
“You have to be a food authority — really know your stuff — to gain people’s trust,” said server Lisa Battani, adding that once a customer is reassured that they’re in good hands, they can relax and have a good time.
Battani indeed knows her stuff — before landing at this downtown destination restaurant, she honed her fine-dining service skills at Brix and Sage. She and her colleagues at Django specialize in what she calls “silent service”: They do their jobs without a lot of fuss, anticipating needs before guests themselves even know they need something.
Battani also learned a lot about the industry by working as a manager and server for Bob Tursi at Latin King, where she “learned all about customer service and working hard.”
That strong work ethic surely serves Battani well at Django. Chef-owner George Formaro has a reputation in this town for being a hard-working dynamo who in turn demands a lot from his staff. Slackers need not apply.
Yet like Formaro, Battani and her colleagues at Django are truly gifted at keeping the constant pressures of the industry from making their way to the table. Few staffs meld a good-time buzz with hard-core professionalism quite as seamlessly.
