This Is the Iron That Keeps Spago’s Dining Room Flawless
Spago, celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck’s legendary restaurant in Los Angeles, is best known for two things: its iconic smoked salmon pizza and its impeccable hospitality. It’s the type of place where the staff pays attention to every single little detail: Your water glass is always full; any lingering crumbs are swept away with ease between […]
Spago, celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck’s legendary restaurant in Los Angeles, is best known for two things: its iconic smoked salmon pizza and its impeccable hospitality. It’s the type of place where the staff pays attention to every single little detail: Your water glass is always full; any lingering crumbs are swept away with ease between courses. Drop your spoon? Another one will appear quickly.
Each table in the expansive dining area is draped in pristine white tablecloths. (Technically, there are two white tablecloths per table.) It’s an elegant touch that gives Spago a timeless feel. The team takes pride in keeping those tablecloths smooth and crisp. Watching the staff swap out the top tablecloths between guests is almost like watching a short-form ballet: The linens are elegantly draped on the table, followed by a member of staff quickly bringing over a portable iron to gently steam the fabric and smooth out any wrinkles. And in just a few minutes, the table is meticulously reset.
The doors to Spago first opened in 1972, before it moved to its current location in Beverly Hills in 1997. According to Michelle Ley, the General Manager of Spago, the restaurant seats hundreds of diners a day in its bustling dining room; on a busy night, the staff at Spago can easily go through 300 tablecloths, Ley says. That number can be even higher if the restaurant is hosting a private event. So process and efficiency are important, and the iron the staff uses on the tablecloths is not just a bonus, but crucial to Spago’s standard of service.
So, which iron gets the job done? The staff relies on the Freemove Force, made by 140-year-old German appliance brand Rowenta. It is Rowenta’s most popular cordless iron, with a continuous steam output for up to 40 minutes, and features a sleek, ergonomic design that’s both display-worthy and blends in with its surroundings. If you weren’t paying close attention to the dining room, you might not notice the six irons the restaurant keeps in rotation — with Spago’s bussers using each iron for six to seven hours a day.
This particular model of iron accommodates the bustling restaurant’s very specific needs. It must be cordless, for obvious reasons, with an easy and speedy charging system, and each iron needs to last for a couple of years under heavy use. Most importantly, the iron needs to not leak water in any direction. “We don’t have time to let the tablecloths dry,” says Ley.
If you’ve ever dined at Spago and wondered how they keep up or even if you’re just in the market for a new iron, let it be known that the Rowenta cordless irons reign supreme in this capacity.
“We care about every detail — down to the wrinkles,” Ley explains. “Everything matters and we need the right tools to do that.
Rowenta irons are available for purchase at Williams Sonoma and Costco.
