The secret restaurateur: Why size matters in our business

Generally we tend to think that very big is bad, and very small can’t last, but is that the case? And is there a sweet spot somewhere in between?

Restaurateurs tend to suffer from a unique form of spatial dysphoria when it comes to their dining rooms. Picture: Getty

Does size matter? Restaurant size, that is. I’ve been pondering this after a recent visit to Badam, a new Indian and Nepalese restaurant which is surely one of the smallest in Ireland.

It’s housed in a tiny unit underneath a railway bridge on the Howth Road in Dublin, within arm’s reach of one of the busiest traffic routes in the city. My friend The Writer lives nearby, and she tells me the space has been ...