Trend-setters

Mio marito and I dined in a restaurant in a nearby village during the week. It was recommended by a friend and we liked the place - the decor, the service, the food. We were the only customers on Thursday night - in fact we didn't open our restaurant because the period just before the run-up to Christmas is always so quiet. The chef assured us that they did good business at the weekend, especially on Sunday night when they had their aperitivo. Aha? Our ears pricked up. His list of aperitivo dishes could have been ours, in fact, we suspect, it was directly inpsired by ours - right down to the home-made focaccia and couscous and greek salad, the buffet-stlye service and the price! Just as well we have a new aperitivo menu since November. In this business, the key is to keep renovating, reinventing, improving all the time...

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