Whether opening a restaurant or managing one or multiple restaurants, having the right seating strategies can significantly enhance your dining space’s functionality and ambiance.
In this article, we will explore the best restaurant seating strategies and ideas to help you create an inviting and efficient dining room. Discover how to optimize your seating arrangements to ensure comfort, accessibility, and a seamless flow for both customers and staff.
In this article, you will learn:
- What is restaurant seating, and why is it important
- What are the types of restaurant seating arrangements
- Seating strategies to maximize space, comfort, and efficiency
What is restaurant seating?
Restaurant seating refers to strategically arranging tables and chairs within the dining space to optimize customer experience and operational efficiency. This involves creating various seating options such as booths, bar seating, and outdoor tables to cater to different preferences.
Effective seating arrangements ensure comfort and accessibility and optimize the table turnover rate, contributing to the restaurant’s profitability.
The types of seating in a restaurant include:
- Booth seating: Enclosed seating areas with benches on either side of a table offer privacy and comfort.
- Tables and chairs: Standard dining setup with individual tables and movable chairs, providing flexibility in arrangements.
- Bar seating: High stools positioned at a bar counter, suitable for quick dining or drinks.
- Outdoor seating: Tables and chairs outside the restaurant, often on a patio or sidewalk, provide an al fresco dining experience.
- Banquette seating: Long, upholstered benches along a wall or partition, often combined with tables, for a cozy dining experience.
- Communal tables: Large tables designed to seat multiple parties, encouraging social interaction and maximizing space.
- Bench seating: Long benches that accommodate multiple guests, often paired with longer tables, are ideal for casual and group dining.
- Counter seating: Seating at a counter, typically with high stools, allowing diners to watch food preparation or interact with staff.
Different types of restaurants benefit from various seating options: cozy booths for intimate bistros, metal bar stools for lively pubs, and outdoor seating for relaxed cafes.
Each seating type offers unique advantages and disadvantages, so it’s important to carefully consider your seating arrangement to maximize comfort, seating capacity, efficiency, and overall customer satisfaction.
Effective restaurant seating strategies offer several benefits:
- Optimized space utilization: Proper restaurant seating maximizes the use of available space (seating capacity), allowing more customers to be seated comfortably without feeling crowded.
- Improved table turnover rate: Restaurant seating strategy helps manage table turnover more effectively, leading to increased revenue by accommodating more customers during peak times.
- Increased efficiency: It facilitates smooth flow for both customers and staff, reducing bottlenecks and ensuring efficient restaurant service.
- Enhanced customer experience: It provides various seating options in the dining area to cater to different preferences, improving overall customer satisfaction and comfort.
13 best restaurant seating strategies
Below, we describe 13 seating ideas and strategies that will help you optimize your seating, whether you run a cafe, bistro, or fine-dining restaurant.
1. Consider the space available in your restaurant
The available space is the first aspect to consider when creating your restaurant seating layout. Before doing anything, consider how many tables you can fit to maintain guest comfort.
It shouldn’t be too crowded, as guests shouldn’t disturb each other or bump elbows. On the other hand, you don’t want too much empty space, as this can make the restaurant look sparse. Avoid situations where only 2-3 tables are in the middle of the restaurant, attracting undue attention from other guests.
There is no definitive guide or formula to determine a restaurant’s ideal number of tables. However, it is generally assumed that the dining area can occupy a maximum of 70% of the total space, with the remaining area allocated to the kitchen, bathrooms, and other facilities.
According to Total Food Service, the seating plan depends on the type of restaurant you are opening. For example, banquet seating typically requires as little as 10 square feet per person, while fine dining might need up to 20 square feet per person.
Most restaurants or coffee shops with a general menu usually average about 15 square feet per person.
Let’s consider a fine dining restaurant with a total area of 3,000 square feet. If 70% of the space is dedicated to seating, that equates to 2,100 square feet for seating (3,000 sq ft * 0.70).
With each seat requiring 20 square feet, the restaurant can accommodate:
2100 square feet / 20 square feet per person =105 seats
Therefore, the restaurant can have 105 seats.
Whether running a small cafe or a large restaurant, you aim to maximize your seating space. For this reason, consider separating areas for different guests, such as a section for families with children, a quiet area for business meetings, and a cozy corner for couples, etc.
This approach allows you to cater to various customer needs and create a more personalized dining experience, even in small dining spaces.
2. Test different seating arrangements and table sizes
The second very important aspect that affects the comfort of your guests is the amount of space they can take at the table.
According to TimeWorn Wood, the industry standard for adequate restaurant table space is 300 square inches of dining area per person or 24 to 30 inches of table edge per person.
To go deeper, consider several factors like:
- the size of your restaurant’s plates,
- whether utensils will be placed on both sides of the plates,
- whether you will host larger events
- the desired duration of customers’ stay,
- if the dining experience is family-style.
Don’t know where to start? Grab a pencil and a piece of paper to sketch your restaurant seating, or use dedicated planning software like RoomSketcher to visualize and optimize your floor space.
3. Enhance table turnover efficiency with a QR code menu
If your restaurant has limited space, focus on increasing the table turnover rate. Introducing a QR code menu is one way to reduce guests’ time at a table.
Place a QR code on the table, which customers can scan to view your menu immediately, order, and pay for. This reduces the time staff normally spend bringing the menu, taking orders, and delivering the bill.
You can use one of the available solutions on the market, such as UpMenu, which offers the implementation of digital menus for restaurants.
4. Enable preordering food
Enabling preordering food in a restaurant can significantly enhance your seating strategy.
Customers can place dine-in orders for a specific time and date using an online ordering system like UpMenu, which features future ordering. This means their meal is already prepared when they arrive, allowing for faster service.
This approach helps with faster table turnover by minimizing the time customers spend waiting for their food, thus maximizing seating efficiency.
5. Track table status
Tracking table status is crucial for effective restaurant management and customer satisfaction.
Using a POS system, you can monitor the status of each table in real-time, ensuring that no customer feels neglected. This helps to avoid situations where a customer complains that their waiter was too busy serving too many tables, leading them to ask for the bill or draw attention to place an order.
Observing the meal cycle, such as whether the client has just had drinks or is finishing their main dishes, is essential. This information lets you inform other guests about the expected waiting time for a table, improving overall table management and service efficiency.
6. Let diners choose their tables
Remember that no two guests are the same, and preferences may differ completely. One person may prefer to wait longer to sit in the restaurant’s garden, another will want to sit by the window, yet another may desire a quiet corner for a more intimate experience.
Listen to your guests to offer them a table tailored to their needs; this will improve their dining experience.
On the other hand, if the waiting time for a favorite place is, for example, an hour and a half, inform the customer about this and propose an alternative solution unless the customer prefers to wait.
It is essential that they feel taken care of and valued, ensuring a positive and personalized dining experience.
7. Implement table reservations
How do table reservations work in your restaurant? Do you rely on the traditional method of having the customer call and the staff make a note to reserve a table?
If so, consider introducing a restaurant reservation system to optimize the table reservation process and improve efficiency. Guests will be able to book a table directly from your restaurant’s website, and you will reduce the likelihood of errors and overbookings.
Such a system of online reservations also helps streamline operations, enhance customer satisfaction by providing immediate confirmation, and free up staff to focus on providing excellent service.
8. Don’t forget about walk-ins
Table reservations are one thing, but don’t forget about walk-ins, which will certainly constitute a large part of your restaurant’s turnover and will affect your average restaurant revenue and customer base.
Nowadays, we are accustomed to customers searching for restaurants on Google or finding out about them through social media. However, quite a few people—your potential customers—still like to go to the first restaurant that catches their attention.
For this reason, it is worth thinking about ways to increase the likelihood of attracting new customers to your restaurant, such as having attractive signage, offering specials or promotions, maintaining a welcoming entrance, and ensuring excellent curb appeal.
9. Ask for customer feedback
Your team sets the table and serves guests at the tables but does not sit at them. For this reason, always ask guests for restaurant feedback to see if and how you can improve chairs and tables.
Some tables may be too close together, or the restaurant chairs may be uncomfortable. Guests may have observations that you haven’t taken into account at all.
Ask them for their opinion as soon as possible after their visit. This way, you can better adjust the table setting to meet guests’ expectations and avoid negative opinions and bad restaurant reviews.
10. Ensure accessibility for all guests
Arrange tables and seats so that people in wheelchairs do not have difficulty moving around. Ensure there is ample space between tables to accommodate mobility devices, and make certain that pathways are clear and unobstructed.
Additionally, to ensure accessibility for all guests, avoid placing key seating areas up or down stairs. Just avoid stairs or provide ramps and elevators for easy access if possible. Instead, provide accessible seating options that are easily reachable and comfortable.
11. Notify guests about their reservations
If the customer has made a reservation, send them a reminder with the reservation time.
Remind the customer about this a day or two in advance to reduce the risk of them not showing up. This will minimize the risk of empty tables and ensure a smoother seating process.
Additionally, it helps better plan and manage the restaurant’s resources and staffing needs.
12. Provide alternative options when free tables are unavailable
When tables and reservations are unavailable, it’s crucial to provide alternative options to ensure customer satisfaction and retain potential business.
If you run multi-location restaurants, promote another nearby location where customers can make reservations. This will help accommodate their needs and keep them within your brand’s ecosystem.
Additionally, a waitlist app should be implemented that allows guests to join a virtual queue and receive real-time updates on their wait status. A comfortable waiting area with amenities like complimentary beverages or snacks can also enhance their waiting experience.
13. Implement changes
Don’t be afraid to change the seating arrangement in your restaurant.
Listen to customers’ opinions and continuously adjust the arrangement as the restaurant develops, verifying what works.
Key Takeaways
- Space utilization: Consider the available space in your restaurant to maximize seating without compromising comfort.
- Testing arrangements: Regularly test different seating arrangements to determine what best accommodates guests and enhances their experience.
- Zoning: Create distinct areas within the dining room to cater to various customer preferences and occasions.
- Implementing technology: To streamline operations and improve customer service, use a QR code menu, tableside ordering, a restaurant reservation system, and food preordering.
- Efficient flow: Design the layout to facilitate easy movement for both staff and customers, minimizing congestion and improving service speed.
- Accessibility: Ensure seating is accessible to all customers, including those with disabilities, by following ADA guidelines.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is counter seating at a restaurant?
Counter seating at a restaurant involves guests sitting on restaurant bar stools at a counter or bar area. It is commonly found in diners, sushi bars, and casual dining spots. Counter seating allows for direct interaction with staff and a view of food preparation, enhancing the dining experience. This seating arrangement maximizes space efficiency and offers a more casual, social atmosphere, making it ideal for solo diners or quick meals.
