How to Eat in an American Restaurant

Etiquette in American restaurants changes depending on the price of the food and level of service provided. Fine dining restaurants serve more expensive food and provide customers with higher quality table service. Family dining restaurants will have cheaper food and the server will be attending to more tables. If you are unsure how to eat and act, observe how the people around you are behaving. Does this Spark an idea?

Instructions

Fine Dining

1

Make a reservation. Many fine dining restaurants will take walk-ins, but you are sure to get a table with a reservation. Call to check availability or use an online reservation service, such as Open Table. When you sit down to begin dining, people tend talk quieter at their personal table.

2

Order drinks. Whether alcoholic or not, the server will want to ensure you have something to drink immediately. Most restaurants compulsorily serve still (tap) water, but if you want sparkling water, it will have to be ordered. Fine dining restaurants employ tableside wine service when an entire bottle is ordered. If you request a wine, you will do a taste test before it is poured for the table to ensure quality.

3

Order appetizers for the table. The server will be able to tell you the customer favorites if you are unsure what to order. Dinner at fine dining restaurants moves at a slower pace. Ordering appetizers will hold you over until the salad or entree is served. Use the plates brought by the server to dish out the appetizer.

4

Ask the server the nightly specials, if they have not told you, and order. Chefs create dishes that are only available for a short time. These are often the best because they tend to use ingredients not in other standard dishes. Most fine dining places will serve a soup or salad to start your meal also. If the server offers many options for the soup or salad, explain the type of food and tastes you enjoy (cream-based soups, vegetarian or traditional greens salads). They will be able to tell you the starter that will best match your tastes.

5

Ask to see the desert menu after everyone has finished their meal. Many fine dining restaurants employ in-house pastry chefs to make fresh cakes, creme brulees and sorbets. Names of deserts often use terminology not found in everyday life. Ask for clarification about what a part of a desert tastes like or what kind of standard dish it is similar to.

6

Pay for the meal once the server brings the check. It is customary to tip 18 to 20 percent at a fine dining restaurant.

Family Dining

7

Choose a restaurant. Many family dining places are first come, first served. Make a reservation if possible, but you might have to wait if the restaurant is busy. Feel free to talk at a standard, conversational level as family dining restaurants tend to be louder than fine dining restaurants.

8

Order drinks, and specify if you would like water. Family dining restaurants do not usually bring water for the entire table unless requested. If there is a buffet in addition to served entrees, it is customary to walk around and look at the buffet to determine if it is something you would like to purchase.

9

Ask questions about the menu and any specials being served, especially if the dish is unique to the establishment. The server will also be able to clarify substitutions that you can make to your entree. For example, if you would like green beans instead of steamed carrots.

10

Order appetizers and entrees at the same time. Servers often do not have time to come to your table to retrieve each order separately. Hold on to your silverware if you have a salad or appetizer before your entree. The server will not automatically bring you extra utensils after each course. If eating from a buffet, use a clean plate each time you get food from the buffet line.

11

Request a desert menu when the meal is finished if you would like. Ask if the restaurant makes their own desert. If you do not order desert, request the check. It is customary to tip 15 to 20 percent in a family dining restaurant.