AsiaLIFE

With views across the Tonle Sap river and its Dr No style polished copper interior, Pacharan Tapas and Bodega has become a Phnom Penh favourite. General Manager Javier Elola reveals that well-priced, high-quality food is the secret to Pacharan’s success.

Even though he has been just 14 months in Cambodia, Javier Elola has seen many changes in the catering industry. “To tell you the truth, I was really amazed when I came here,” he tells AsiaLIFE. “This is such a small city but it has so many different restaurants – Japanese, Italian, Chinese, Korean, North Korean, French. So I think you have a lot of restaurants here.”

Such a saturated industry will always be competitive – in Phnom Penh only the strong survive. “I’ve seen a lot of places open and close,” says Javier. “The people keep changing – the NGO workers for example. The prices of supplies are going up. In just one year it has changed a lot.”

With so much uncertainty, predicting what will happen next year is no easy task. “I have no idea,” Javier laughs. “There are many people who want to open new places here, but it’s not very easy to do. The competition is very high – you have nice products at a good price. People here are not big spenders, so you have to give the best quality at the lowest possible price.”

Quality Food and Service

Pacharan at least seems safe, with both the Phnom Penh branch and its Ho Chi Minh City counterpart only growing in popularity. So what is the restaurant’s secret to success?  “I guess quality,” Javier says. “I think our secret is that we have real Spanish food. It tastes Spanish because the chef is Spanish, the general manager is Spanish, and we have Spanish ingredients. Pacharan is based on quality and trying to get the prices as low as possible. But our main concern is quality – quality food, and of course, quality service too.”

The open plan kitchen, where chefs prepare dishes in full view of diners, is more than just a trendy fad. “We want to show that everything we have is fresh and everyone can see the cleanliness of the kitchen,” says Javier. “I think that’s very important in Phnom Penh where the food is not really fresh in many other places, and it’s good for people to see the way we work.”

Simple concept

The menu concept is simple – “basically tapas.” “It’s good-quality, fun eating – a really Spanish concept where people gather together and share dishes,” explains Javier. “We try to get the best out of each ingredient. We try to make it as simple as possible so you can taste the best of the flavour of our ingredients.”

Getting the best is important as most ingredients are imported from Spain. Manchego cheese, chorizo, Serrano ham, Iberian ham (“the best ham in the world”), anchovies, olive oil, olives, and even the rice for the paella are all Spanish. Steak is from New Zealand, and only the vegetables are Cambodian.

Just don’t ask what’s best. “Many people ask what is best here,” says Javier. “I don’t like to say that one thing is better than other things. All of our dishes are really good quality. That’s what we try to do. Paella is very popular among Japanese and Koreans – it’s probably the best known Spanish dish around the world. This is food you can find all over Spain. ”

Growing Popularity

Most of Pacharan’s customers are expats, according to Javier. “I’d say we work 80 percent with regulars, and there are also some tourists because we’re recommended in all the tourist magazines,” he claims. “We have some Spanish tourists coming here because we’re highly recommended on blogs. But mostly, it’s people who live here – I’d say people who like to go out, drink and eat. They come here because they know what they like.”

Spanish cuisine is apparently growing in popularity amongst wealthier Cambodians. “We’re starting to get a lot of Cambodians, usually they’re high-ranking officials,” he says. “They’ve travelled a bit more so are a bit more open to new things.” The food might be unfamiliar but Cambodians like it, Javier adds as they keep coming.

“I want people to come to the bar and gather, make it a little bit noisy with a warm atmosphere,” he says. “There are many people who come to the restaurant to enjoy a nice conversation – you feel like you’re in a good mood to socialise, do business or whatever.”

Pacharan (389 Sisowath Quay, Tel: 023 224 394) is currently offering one free tapas with every drink, except during happy hour.