If you’ve ever eaten in a restaurant where the dining tables are squashed together so that diners are almost clashing elbows with each other, there is a high likelihood that your response to the experience was: “Well, I’m not going back there again.” There’s a simple lesson here for anyone who runs a restaurant, a café or a dining room in a pub: however good the food is, however friendly your staff, however competitive your prices, if your customers don’t feel comfortable, your business will suffer. Figures suggest that 2019 is going to be another challenging year for the casual dining, so anything that gives your business a competitive edge will be welcome.
Whether you are setting up a new business, or redesigning an existing space, if you are tempted to squeeze in a few more tables or places to maximise your revenue, remember that restaurants are heavily reliant on returning customers. If your customers have not had a good experience, they won’t come back. They are also likely to spend less while they are there. A 2009 study in America found that diners in restaurants with less space between tables stayed for less time and spent less.
Space: the final frontier
Rule number one, then, when you are making the most of your dining space, is that there should be around 18 inches between chairs and tables, and 24 inches between the backs of chairs on adjacent tables. This gives diners space to spread out, and it means they can talk in relative privacy. If a space is used as a service aisle by waiting staff, it should be wider still.
Of course, if you are running a fast-food joint, you can get away with more of a squeeze, as your customers will not be staying for long. On the other hand, for a fine dining establishment, customers will expect lots of space between tables. But for a typical restaurant or pub dining room, your need to maximise your revenues should be balanced by your customers’ need room to breathe, talk, stretch out. Remember too that there should be a clear path from every table to the main entrance, and to the lavatories.
If you are designing a dining space from scratch, it’s a good idea to visit other similar spaces to get an idea of what works, and what doesn’t. When you’re planning your space and thinking about what dining furniture to buy, try as much as possible to see things through your customers’ eyes.
Flexibility is the key
Remember, too, that while the typical dining table seats four people, most diners do not arrive in groups of four. Often they are in groups of three or five, or couples. Solo dining is also increasingly popular, and people who dine alone do not appreciate being shunted away in a corner like a naughty child in a classroom. Which brings us to principle number two: be flexible. Your arrangement should take into account the need to push tables together for larger groups of diners. So when you are ordering furniture, it’s best not to simply rely on tables that seat four. A variety of table sizes, and even table shapes will give you more flexibility - and will make your dining room look less like a chess tournament and more like something natural and organic.
Bear in mind, too, that booths are an efficient use of space: they seat more people per square foot. They eliminate your waiting staff’s need to go around all four sides of a table when taking orders or delivering food. Banquettes also use wall space efficiently. In cafes, the space alongside a window can be filled with a long counter with stools; solo diners are often happier when looking out at the world through a window.
Group thinking
Another trend to bear in mind is the rise of the communal table. The cafe-restaurant chain Le Pain Quotidien has been using these for many years, as have branches of Carluccio’s.
Communal eating is a way of dining that comes from Continental Europe and also from China and Japan, where people are less hung up about sitting near strangers. It is, as you might expect, particularly popular with younger people, who move in groups of varying size and often decide to eat on a whim. And the good news for anyone running a restaurant or dining room is that the communal table is a remarkably efficient use of space - it can accommodate solo diners, couples and groups.
A communal table could either be a permanent large table, or you could create one by shunting together several tables - a tablecloth will cover the joins! Carluccio’s has even opened a restaurant in London’s Spitalfields with a communal table placed in the kitchen, where diners can witness the “theatre” of food being prepared - an innovative way to accommodate extra diners.
You will also of course need to bear in mind access for people with disabilities. The 2010 Equality Act spells this out in detail, but the law essentially states that restaurants and other catering outlets must make “reasonable” adjustments for people with disabilities - and that doesn’t just mean people with physical disabilities, such as wheelchair users, but also those with hearing impairments or visual impairments.
It all stacks up
If you have an outdoor space for use in the warmer months, remember that today’s outdoor furniture is durable and weather-resistant - and often stackable, meaning that chairs and tables can be efficiently stacked away when the space is not being used. Trent Furniture’s Capra table is attractive, durable, requires minimal maintenance and goes well with Trent’s wood-effect Monaco stacking chair.
There are other tricks to help you to use your space more efficiently. Using hanging lights, rather than table lamps, will increase the amount of space available on the table. Even making your menus smaller, rather than the vast unwieldy things that are often handed out in restaurants, can make a difference. Try not to have too much clutter on your tables. And do you have space for a small bar next to the reception area? This will enable you to further maximise revenues while your customers are waiting for their table.
Walking in someone else’s shoes
When you have finished designing and furnishing your dining room, now is the time to check it out. There is only one way to do this: sit in every single seat. Spend some time in each one. Does it feel hemmed in? Will waiting staff be able to reach it easily? Is it easy to reach the lavatory? What is the view like? If you are facing towards a wall, perhaps some artwork or soft lighting will improve the view. Try, as much as possible, to walk in your customers’ shoes and to see things through their eyes.
Finally, remember that commercial-grade furniture is built for the job: it is made to last, and it is robustly constructed to withstand the rigours of daily use. Domestic furniture will simply not be up to the task.