Restaurant Etiquette
Restaurant Etiquette
Restaurant Etiquette
First impressions are
extremely important when meeting new people.They are visible indicators of our manners and essential to
professional success. Your table manners speak volumes about you as a professional.
Dining etiquette plays a role in everyday life, as well as our professional lives. If you have a co-op / job
interview coming up within the next few months this may be something worth reading. Often times,
employers enjoy conducting interviews, networking or having meetings over lunch or dinner .
SEATING ETIQUETTE
Your host may have seating arrangement in mind, so you should allow him to direct you to your
seat. As the host, you should suggest the seating arrangements.
In a restaurant, the guest of honor should sit in the best seat at the table. Usually that is one with the
back of the chair to the wall. Once the guest of honor's seat is determined,
The place of honor at the table is to the right side of the host because most people are right-handed.
Other people are then offered seats around the table.
NAPKIN USE
Place the napkin in your lap immediately upon seating. If there is a host or hostess, wait for him or
her to take their napkin off the table and place it in his or her lap.
Unfold your napkin in one smooth motion without "snapping" or "shaking" it open.
The meal begins when the host unfolds his or her napkin. This is your signal to do the same. Place
your napkin on your lap, completely unfolded if it is a small luncheon napkin or in half, lengthwise,
if it is a large dinner napkin.
The napkin remains on your lap throughout the entire meal and should be used to gently blot your
mouth when needed.
If you need to leave the table during the meal, place your napkin on your chair as a signal to your
server that you will be returning.
Once the meal is over, you too should place your napkin neatly on the table to the right of your
dinner plate.
ORDERING
If, after looking over the menu, there are items you are uncertain about, ask your server any
questions you may have.
FOOD SERVICE
During service of a formal dinner, the food is brought to each diner at the table; the server presents
the platter or bowl on the diner's left.
At a more casual meal, either the host dishes the food onto guests' plates for them to pass around
the table or the diners help themselves to the food and pass it to others as necessary.
Deciding which knife, fork, or spoon to use is made easier by the outside-in table manners rule –
using utensils on the outside first and working your way inward.
HANDLING UTENSILS
At a small table of only two to four people, wait until everyone else has been served before starting
to eat. At a formal or business meal, you should either wait until everyone is served to start or begin
when the host asks you to.
PASSING
Food should be passed to the right - but the point is for the food to be moving in only one direction.
One diner either holds the dish as the next diner takes some food, or he hands it to the person, who
then serves herself.
Any heavy or awkward dishes are put on the table with each pass.
Always pass salt and pepper together. If a person asks for just one, pass both anyway.
RESTING UTENSILS
When you pause to take a sip of your beverage or to speak with someone, rest your utensils by
placing your knife and fork on your plate near the center,
You can rest your utensils in one of two ways when taking a break from eating:
Put your fork and knife in the center of your plate with the tips facing each other in an
inverted V (slightly angled); Or
Rest your knife on the top right of your plate (diagonally) with the fork nearby (tines up).
Do not push your plate away from you when you have finished eating. Leave your plate where it is in
the place setting.
The common way to show that you have finished your meal is to lay your fork and knife diagonally
across your plate.
Place the knife and fork parallel with the handles in the four o'clock position on the right rim of the
plate.
You should place your napkin neatly on the table to the right of your dinner plate.
TOP MISTAKES