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A dramatic shift has taken place at restaurants found in Westin hotels and resorts. Gone are many formal dining rooms and traditional "coffee shops." Replacing them are new, upscale, energetic, themed restaurants which appeal to hotel guests and the local hotel communities. Alfiere, a new Mediterranean Bistro opened at The Westin San Francisco Airport last year.
It features a generous collection of Mediterranean specialties, freshly baked pizza and spit-roasted poultry, in a fun, lively, open-grill kitchen atmosphere. |
| The restaurant also offers an extensive wine list selected from Westin's annual international wine review. Alfiere seats 75 guests for breakfast, lunch or dinner, with additional bar seating. |
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This restaurant concept is expected to become part of other Westin food and beverage operations, although no two will be exactly alike. Possible sites include Charlotte, Fort Lauderdale, Malta, Manila and Guam. The Albee restaurant at The Westin Cincinnati, for instance, follows a similar theme. "Alfiere provides a fun, up-scale dining experience that meets the quality expectations as perceived by the Westin customer," said Kurt Fischer, Westin's vice president of food and beverage.
Another advantage to the Alfiere concept is its mediterranean menu, which allows Westin to incorporate healthy dining options into the mix. |
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| And research has shown that when a customer dines casually, they prefer a Mediterranean menu. The menus can be tailored to each hotel, and are created by a team of leading Italian chefs throughout the Westin system. |
What does "Alfiere" mean?
| Fischer and Westin wanted Mediterranean Bistros. But to keep them unique, we decided to fashion each restaurant after a slightly different story from the area.
For example, the theme of The Westin San Francisco Airport, is based on the "Horse Race in Sienna." The race is depicted on a large mural in the restaurant. A dominant part of the mural shows the "Alfieres" carrying the flags of the Sienna families in front of the horses.
While in Fort Lauderdale, the story revolves around the theme: "Carnival in Venice." |
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Each of thse events in the Mediterranean is celebrated with festivals and parades, decorated with colorful flags. The bearers of these flags in Italian, called "Alfiere." Thus, selecting the name "Alfiere" ties our Restaurants together reflecting these festivals of the Mediterranean. Each Bistro is decorated with a mural of its story.
We further plan another outlet in San Antonio, whereby the story will be based on the theme: "Fiera di Sevillia." |
The Alfiere Design Concept was developed in cooperation with Aileen C. Munoz, Interior Design.
