Restaurant Etiquette: 30 Rules to Follow When Dining Out

Gourmandize Staff, 03/14/2024

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It's always nice to dine out and be waited on, but we don't always realize the difficulties of working in food service. Here's what you can do to make the job a bit easier for our hard-working waiters and waitresses.

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Wait to be seated and don't change tables without asking

Depending on the kind of restaurant, you probably have to wait to be seated. As a general rule of thumb, don't automatically seat yourselves. Once a hostess leads you to your table, you might find it drafty and ask to switch. This is fine, but respect the answer you get, especially when it's not possible. Most restaurants follow a seating rotation so that all the servers receive an equal number of tables—and no one server gets multiple tables at once, which is difficult to handle. Be flexible, as this will make the dining experience easier for both you and the restaurant staff!