This restaurant is GARDEN not only by its
name. It is GARDEN because it is located in a garden, not
because somebody found this name attractive, fashionable,
interesting, neutral, traditional, enough abstractive, quite
popular, provoking nice associations.... Well, it is in the
garden, indeed, but it is a garden itself. And if it is a
garden, than we have to imagine a garden, not tables and
benches standing along narrow alleys winding among
decorative trees and flower beds. Oh, no – we should imagine
an orchard. Yes – an orchard. Because this garden is more an
orchard than a garden.... It was an orchard, which long time
ago transformed itself into a garden which is transforming
itself right now into a forest. So, this restaurant should
be called ORCHARD. With no doubt. Obviously. So, why it is
not called ORCHARD? Because it would be the first restaurant
having such strange and stupid name? No, it doesn't matter.
The fear of unconventionality is not the point. To be afraid
of unconventionality, here? No way. Here the most
unconventional is something that is conventional... No, the
convention rules also here, for the
convention rules everywhere, so here as well. It may be a
different convention than the one which rules not-here, but
convention is nothing but convention.... The restaurant
can't be called ORCHARD because this is not an orchard any
more, but a garden. And the convention which rules here is
the convention of congruency and adequacy of names, of names
which are not abstract but coherent.... So, it could be
called SEA-NEAR – the sea is really near. Or UNDER-THE-SKY –
you enter it, raise your head, and you see the sky through
the roof full of holes.... Yes, the roof is really full of
holes, plaited from branches, twigs and leaves. The floor is
grassy, not smooth, not even, full of creatures nosy and
timid, sometimes biting and stinging, so both lying and
sitting is not that pleasant as we could expect having seen
lush herbs, tall stems, abundant weeds, all the more thorny
wild roses are growing everywhere, while the ground, quite
clayey is never dry. With no doubt it's better to bring
folding chairs, or eat standing. Portable and folding table
is not necessary, although it's not forbidden to bring them
– such a table is not necessary, tea, coffee and other hot
and cold beverages are not served here, so there will be
nothing to be put on this table, unless we would like to
play cards as a dessert.... This is fully self-service restaurant.
There is no kitchen, either. There is no reason to have a
kitchen if all meals are being prepared by themselves. And
they are not many. They are only a few. Very few. There is
no reason to print a menu. It's enough to look around and
make a choice.
>>> Various apples just picked from trees.
>>> Plums just picked from trees.
>>> Raspberries just picked from bushes.
>>> Black wine.
>>> Young chestnuts freshly shelled
