Restaurant Dining Etiquette – The Adventure Begins!
August 8, 2008
When it comes to dining out with friends and family, there are generally no formalities. When it comes to entertaining business colleagues or impressing a date, knowing proper restaurant dining etiquette may be essential in both your professional and personal successes. So let’s explore some do’s and dont’s below.
Don’t Flake On The Restaurant!
Before you even get to the restaurant, show proper respect for the restaurant you will be dining at. Restaurant reservations are like any other appointment. Making a reservation is a commitment that you will be dining there. If you’re running late, call and let them know and if you can no longer make it, cancel your reservations as quickly as possible.
Napkin Manners
- Once seated at your table, immediately place the napkin on your lap. At fine dining restaurants, sometimes your waiter will do this for you, but if not, than there’s nothing wrong with you doing it yourself.
- If you have to leave the table, place your loosely folded napkin to the left or right of your plate. Wadding it up on the table is not acceptable and never place your napkin on your chair.
- When your meal is over, leave the semi-folded napkin at the left side of the place setting. Do not crumple, twist or leave on the chair.
You May Be Hungry But Hold Your Horses!
Curb that appetite and always wait until everyone receives their food before partaking of your meal.
So Which is My Salad Fork Again?
Use the silverware farthest from your plate. Start your meal by using the knife, fork, or spoon that is farthest from your plate. Work your way in, using one utensil for each course. You’ll find the salad fork farthest to your left with your dinner fork usually the closest to your plate. Your soup spoon will be farthest to your right, followed by a salad or fish knife and dinner knife. Your dessert spoon and fork are above your plate or brought out with dessert. Since even place settings come in different variations, you just need to remember one key thing. Let me repeat. Always work from the outside in and you’ll be fine. See an example of a place setting below.
Image Taken From Social Couture
A. Napkin B. Salad Fork C. Dinner Fork D. Fish Fork E. Soup Bowl F. Soup Plate G. Dinner Plate H. Dinner Knife I. Fish Knife J. Soup Spoon K. Bread Plate L. Butter Knife M. Dessert Spoon N. Dessert Fork O. Water Goblet P. Red Wine Glass Q. White Wine Glass
Utensil Manners
- When it comes time for the actual eating of your meal, hold your knife with your right hand and use your fork in your left hand to hold the food. After you’ve cut your food into bite-sized pieces, place the knife on the edge of the plate with blades facing in. Eat food by switching fork to right hand (unless you are left handed).
- While in use, your utensils, including the handles, should not touch the table again. Be sure to rest them on the side of your plate or in the bowl.
- For more formal dinners, from course to course, your tableware will be taken away and replaced as needed.
- Once finished, rest your fork, tines up, and knife blade in. Be sure that the handles are resting at five o’clock with the tips pointing to ten o’clock on your plate.
- Any unused silverware is simply left on the table.
Helpful so far? Do you want to know more? Than I guess you’ll have to wait for the sequel. Really! There is one. Just stay tuned.
By Abby C. Abanes
Menuism Community Manager
Entry Filed under: tips. .
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1.
Justin C | August 8, 2008 at 9:13 pm
I need to be better about my napkin, I usually just wait until the food comes before putting it on my lap.
2.
John Davis | August 9, 2008 at 7:25 am
Thanks! Really interesting. I wish i could spend my time on writing articles…just have no time for it.
3.
Lanie Denslow | August 9, 2008 at 9:37 pm
Nice idea and beginning about the being polite to the restaurant.
However, on the napkin guide – during the meal if you leave the table it goes on your chair, not on the table. Think of it as a utensil. Once used, it can’t be on the table again. At the end of the meal, as you said, it does go to the left of the plate.
For some related comments check my blog http://lanie-worldwise.blogspot.com
4.
Fred Cohen | August 11, 2008 at 2:45 pm
An excellent article, but may I add that in recent years ,when hot food is served, if all the entrees do not arrive at roughly the same time then one of the diners who has not yet been served should urge the others to “start before your food gets cold.” If that consideration is not forthcoming, then it is acceptable for one of those who have been served to exhibit the common sense to say, “I hope you don’t mind if we start before this gets cold.” Particularly in groups of more than four, this is frequently required.
5. Restaurant Dining Etiquette - Part 2 « foodha for thought - menuism blog | August 18, 2008 at 4:44 am
[...] Dining Etiquette – Part 2. I’m sure you’ve been waiting with bated breath, right? Click here to read Restaurant Dining Etiquette – The Adventure Begins! In that first article, I focused mostly on etiquette in regards to proper use of your napkin and [...]
6. Restaurant Dining Etiquette - The Finale « foodha for thought - menuism blog | August 25, 2008 at 7:28 am
[...] Yes, the Restaurant Dining Etiquette Finale is finally here. If you haven’t done so already, click here to read “Restaurant Dining Etiquette – The Adventure Begins” and click here to read “Restaurant Dining Etiquette – Part 2″ and than you’ll be [...]
7.
Lord Roberts of Buckingham | October 21, 2008 at 8:22 pm
Some formal diners are served banquet style. This means that all the utensils are laid or as you say in the US set on the table prior to the meal, this is probably the most perplexing situation for diners.As an etiquette trainer I am asked all the time about which fork to use first. I assure people that in a restaurant the utensils will be simple and generally you will use what is set on the table for the entree and if others are needed they will come with each course. However, if you are placed in a situation where you have to decide follow two basic rules. 1) Start from the inside out and work in as each course comes. 2) the smaller the dish the smaller the utensil e.g. The salad is smaller than the entree; use the smaller fork.
Lord Roberts is a British Master Butler. Meet him on his blog: LordManners.com
8.
Deepak Bista, Australia | April 11, 2009 at 3:01 pm
Hi Abby,
This is an excellent article and thank you.
I do not like to dine with people who do not have manners. They really annoy me and I might copy these tips and e-mail or refer these pages to them.
9.
SpummaMurnbub | April 19, 2009 at 3:39 pm
Очень полезно
10.
AnimaBlue | May 22, 2009 at 3:27 pm
This is a great article, lots of good info.
I liked the specific clarifications about what to do with napkins.
But I do have a question, echoing commenter Fred Cohen above about this part:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You May Be Hungry But Hold Your Horses!
Curb that appetite and always wait until everyone receives their food before partaking of your meal
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That is fine if you are dining with a handful of people.
But what if you are with a large group?
I host large-ish restaurant outings on a monthly basis (20+ people at a time).
Is it practical to wait for every single person to have their food before eating, when there are large groups?
My members are very polite and often want to wait, but I encourage them to go ahead, or else their food can get cold. Especially if the entrees are soup.
With larger groups, the wait time from the 1st person to the last can be a bit of time – from 1 minute to up to 30 mins.
Would that make sense to have everyone wait for 30 mins, until everyone was served?
I would really appreciate if you could perhaps give a time guide for groups & how long people should wait before eating.
Please let me know!
Thanks muchly,
AnimaBlue
11.
charles aldren l. lemon | August 12, 2009 at 8:34 pm
i need to learn some napkin foldings also how to make a good skirting.thanks!!!!!!!!!! by the way im from UEP binalonan.
12.
maharaj kumar Ranjit Rana | October 17, 2009 at 6:46 pm
Mr Bista when you become so couture in Europena foods with spoons and forks and knives. Di you not still with left hand your chamre jogi bhat?
13.
Dr. Ranjit S.J.B. Rana | October 18, 2009 at 1:51 pm
I am a social couture for the Australian Army and related regimental duties to the Her Magesty’s Officers’ Messes.
I feel sorry to the write ups of Deepak Bista.