By Naomi Marshall

PRESIDENT of the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG), Mitra Ramkumar, said that Guyana Restaurant Week (GRW) will be a “culinary adventure,” one that you can “explore, eat, and repeat.”

This was said on Thursday at the official opening ceremony of Restaurant Week, which was held at Herdmanston’s Lodge. Some 18 restaurants will be providing a fine dining experience for Guyanese and tourists, as Guyana hosts its sixth year of Restaurant Week.

This is the first Restaurant Week of 2019. Guyana Restaurant Week is usually held twice per year, since it’s commencement in November 2014. The next season of Restaurant Week will be in November 2019, of which 30 restaurants are scheduled to participate.

For the week, 18 participating restaurants would have their meals listed at a fixed price. Lunch at any of the restaurants is $2,500 and dinner is either $4000 or $5,000.
In his feature address, Ramkumar said that standards have been placed on restaurants in order to encourage domestic tourism. This includes that lunch must be a two-course meal, while dinner must be a three-course meal.

Carla Chandra, Deputy Director of Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA), stated that Restaurant Week has had great success over the years, which is why it continues to be an anticipated event on the tourism calendar that showcases Guyanese culture and cuisine. Chandra noted that the event is a perfect opportunity for one to enjoy great prices at their favourite restaurants and to even discover new ones.

“Enjoy all the foods that our talented chefs in Guyana have prepared for you during this Restaurant Week,” she implored.

Restaurants range from casual to fine dining and will be offering multicourse signature lunch and dinner menus, catering for everyone and their taste buds.

According to Chandra, the GTA is presently working with event managers to implement ‘green’ event practices in an attempt to mitigate the environmental impact associated with events such as GRW. She added: “we started this with Guyana Carnival and it is our plan to continue to do so with signature events.”

Participating restaurants have been asked to use biodegradable boxes and paper bags when patrons would like to take away their food. If dining, patrons will only be offered a plastic straw upon request. Chandra indicated that the feedback of patrons is important “because we want to be able to improve services over time so we look forward to receiving your feedback.”

Participating restaurants of Restaurant Week are, Aagman Restaurant, Antonio’s Grille, Bistro Cafe and Bar, Cafe Bellvana, Grand Coastal Hotel, Hibiscus Restaurant, El Dorado Italiano, Pegasus Hotel Guyana, Java Coffee Bar, New Thriving Restaurant, OMG! Restaurant, Sucre Restaurant, Herdmanston Lodge, Terra Mare, Guyana Marriott Hotel, The Duke, Roraima Duke Lodge, The Vintage Wine Bar and Lounge, Windjammer Restaurant, Xie Xie, Beach Specialties, Caribbean Inn and Park Vue Restaurant.
Guyana Restaurant Week will run from June 21 to June 30, 2019.

Meanwhile, President of the THAG, in response to a question posed, explained that Restaurant Week is opened to all restaurants providing that they meet the minimum standards including being a licensed restaurant, having a food handling certificate and a sanitation certificate. “We want to ensure that the standards are there to provide that fine dining experience. We are not excluding any one; we want to be as inclusive as possible so we would help you to work to get the standard,” he explained.