Spencer Williams, Contributor

Alexander's restaurant, situated on the ground floor of the Courtleigh Hotel on Knutsford Boulevard, has some faithful followers.

However, ask around and surprisingly few people you know would have been there. Obviously there are a number of foreigners staying at the hotel who will have at least some of their meals there, but you'd be hard-pressed to find more than a handful of friends who've done the same.

It's in an ideal location for those who want to sit for lunch outside of the office, but be sure to have ample time - even an order of two chicken Caesar salads can take as long as 40 minutes to arrive. I'm imagining that the chicken is not just cooked to order, if you get my drift!

Never mind though, it's the perfect place (and length of time), to discuss business, or simply for 'ladies what lunch' to catch up with each other's news. And don't worry about going hungry while you wait - there's a bottomless basket of bread and a dish of butter right in front of you! I hope you're not on the Atkins diet!

The décor of the dining area is a little old-school but the seating is quite comfortable. Contemporary designs don't always allow for coziness and I don't think Alexander's are looking to be trendy. Perhaps a minor face-lift would bring it into the 21st century though, and appeal to a younger crowd. Just a suggestion, but with several bars and night-clubs within walking distance, people in their 20s and 30s are always looking for somewhere to dine before going out.

We have a growing dining-out culture in Jamaica, and now is the time for restaurants to jump on the cart and make food before the competition becomes too hot. More and more places are opening up, giving us choices. It's up to a restaurant owner to give us a reason to come to his or her joint rather than someone else's!

Handling situations

I must commend the waiting staff on the way they handle situations the interval between ordering your meal and when it arrives is extensive, the servers are always so polite and apologetic about it. You know I don't believe it's actually their fault that there's been a delay. The problem is with the chefs and their speed at churning out course after course for each table. And the thing is, by and large the food is good - their soups, ackee rundown with gnocci, chicken Caesar salad, bowl of chili with nachos, and lamb (to name a few) - these are all really rather delicious. This should not give the kitchen an excuse for slow service though.

If you do need more help in there, train one of the waiters to assist in plating up the food - goodness knows you seem to have enough of them hanging around in the corridor which leads from the dining room to the kitchen area. The busier you keep your staff, the better they will do. The more responsibility you give them, the more ambitious they'll become. Whatever you do, don't leave them. "If my boss isn't working, why should I?" Need I say more? You want a successful venture? You have to continually work on it.

You're doing a fairly decent job Alexander's, if you're happy with the steady flow of tourists, and locals who know about you. But if you want to entice more customers, then you can't rely on things simply being fine. You need to strive for excellence. Give Kingston a first-class experience by revamping your entire outfit.