All lit up at night - the star attraction in the Rincon

Well its full steam ahead in Benidorm as "Levi´s Showboat" nears its one year anniversary!
Its hard to believe that it was almost an entire year ago, on Thursday 1st March 2012 that Showboat opened its doors for the first time. It has certainly bought the Rincon de Loix end of Benidorm to life and left many wondering what they did before it was there!

Wayne and Des outside Showboat

I was at the opening last year to witness the surge of people rushing in when the doors finally opened and it hasn´t stopped since. I managed to  sit down with Wayne last week, which is an accomplishment in itself as he is always rushing around. He will be taking orders and helping serve in the restaurant all evening then transform into Miss Levi and entertain the audience for a further two hours or so.... boy where does he get his energy from!  With him his customers come first, and rightly so too in my opinion (the Spanish could learn a thing or two here) - the sign of a good businessman who understands his customers!

Playing to a full house

He seriously cannot believe where the time has gone - its all been such a whirlwind and he couldn´t have dreamt for a better first year he told me. Wayne is certainly the captain of this vessel but first officer Des keeps him well grounded... together they make a formidable pair and together with the entire crew working at Showboat, have made it the success story that it is today. As some businesses close due to lack of customers, Wayne has on occasions had to turn people away who haven´t booked.

The dream girls- you can see why its always packed there!

So going forward what are his plans I wanted to know. Well the "Dream Girls" have been busy rehearsing lots of new routines to go along with the fabulous new costumes that have come over specially from the other side of the world - lots of glamour, bling and sparkle. Also new to the line up is close friend Gary George, who worked together with Wayne back in the old days at Sandra´s. He told me that Gary, who is a top comic here stepped in to help out when Wayne was taken ill last month and he is very thankful to him. Although Wayne is now fully back on board and fighting fit, Gary was such a hit with the audience that he has become one of the guest performers which you can catch among the new line up. He is introducing new acts to compliment the firm favourites and so keep the show fresh and entertaining.

Wayne in the packed front restaurant

The Florence Rose restaurant, well there are 2 really, are almost always packed. I was there yesterday and I think that I could spot only one empty table... and the reason - the amazing choice,value (11euro for 3 courses) and quality of food served. Don´t  take my word for it - you just need to look at the "showboat" Facebook page and read through the comments left behind by its more than satisfied customers.

Rear restaurant just as busy

The great bonus if you have a meal there is that you get reserved seating in the best position for the show, which starts at 10pm. It means that you don´t have to rush your meal in order to get a decent seat near the front (I not implying there are any bad seats here by the way) - but something that  Wayne likes to do to show his appreciation to his customers. Its a good job too because people start arriving at 9pm to bag a seat.... the show is free for all, even those that haven´t eaten in the restaurant beforehand.

Miss Levi rubs shoulders with all the celebs

With Mother´s Day coming up on Sunday 10th March you´d better hurry up if you want to book... there aren´t many tables left I noticed in the diary. Wayne doesn´t put a premium on for special occasions such as this - the same went for Valentines. "I can´t understand why some establishments feel it ok to hike their prices up" he told me "totally unnecessary and unjustifiable"! Good on him....

So whats happening next Friday... well Wayne is inviting everyone to help celebrate and toast Showboat´s first year anniversary. Doors will open at 8pm and he will be laying on a wonderful FREE buffet for you all to enjoy during the evening - Im sure it will be packed to the rafters again like it was on the opening night.


                                        *** COMPETITION ***

If you are among one of the few that haven´t sampled the restaurant, why not enter our competition for your chance to win a fabulous meal for two from the standard set menu... or even if you have been, you can still enter!
For your chance to win answer the following 2 simple questions:
                       What is the name of the restaurant?
                       How much is the set menu?

Email your answer to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. before 24th March 2013. Winner will be announced on the site shortly after the closing date.