EATING OUT

By Jason Moore ALL last week we were told that Majorca had some of the finest restaurants in the world by many experts including the Sunday Times restaurant critic, Michael Winner. Now, obviously they were talking about eateries in the Deya area which have a very good reputation but I must say that I find a sizeable number of local restaurants rather over-priced and not very good. I enjoy eating out but what annoys me is spending a sizeable sum of money on an average meal. While there are some notable exceptions across the island, which offer good food at value for money prices, I would say there are plenty of others who appeared to be in need of a visit from Gordon Ramsey. I have watched in alarm as the price of a fillet steak in a restaurant has gone from 1'500 pesetas to 22 euros in the space of five years. The same can be said for fish. Starters which once cost 600 pesetas have increased to ten euros. I would also say that in some cases the quality has actually fallen. Now, I know that restaurants have to make a living and a decent profit but they also must remember that we have to get to the end of the month and with inflated prices for many it will become a case of just staying in at home with a pizza and a DVD. The small army of holidaymakers who will be coming here this summer will have less to spend because of the credit crunch. So this is no time to start increasing prices.