How One Should Act When Going Out to a Restaurant

Having worked in Kitchens for going on 9 years now, I have seen alot of people come in to eat dinner. I have observed good manners and some of the worst manners. Nothing will get you worse service or even disliked at a restaurant than bad manners when out eating. So I am going to explain how one should act when they come out to eat. This will help you to get better service and may ensure that your food tastes and looks the best.

Rule Number 1-Wear the correct clothes for the restaurant. Flip flops, shorts, and tank tops are fine for fast food burger joints, but not for fine dining. If you play to eat at a 3 star place, dress for it. A suit or a nice dress is great, but just some nice formal wear would be nice. Jeans and t-shirt are good at the family style steak joint, but is kind of frowned upon in fine dining. In fact it will get you labeled a redneck and the waiter may not expect a nice tip and therefore will not try to earn a tip. if you look like you belong, the waiter will do everything in his power to make sure you have a great time, but only if you follow the other rules.

Rule Number 2-Know something about food. Everyone knows what a burger is but if you do not know what a Filet Mignon with béarnaise sauce served with Potatoes Anna and Roasted Asparagus, then maybe you should not order it. Everyone should experiment with food, but if you have to ask the waiter for a Filet Mignon is and if it comes with Bacon wrapped around it, they will look at you funny and there goes any chance of them being there for you when you need a refill. Know a little something about the food you are ordering and you will not need to ask the waiter questions and you will even know what is in it in case you are allergic.

Rule Number 3-Know what you are drinking. Know something of wine before you order any. If you have to ask what the differences between each kind of wine is, do not order any wine. Also, most fine dining restaurants have a limited selection of soda, so do not ask for Mt. Dew or Coke Zero, you will not get it. Most places have a beverage menu, so do not ask the waiter, what do you have to drink? Look for yourself. Also if you have an urge to drink a Bud with your meal, chances are you will once again be labeled a redneck. If you are ordering a beer with your meal, go for something with a little more class.

Rule Number 4- Be clear when you are ordering food. If you want two order of the chicken with the regular sides plus two extra sides, do not have one person order for both people and say; "Can we get the chicken with Rice and Asparagus." The waiter will write down one order of chicken with Rice and Asparagus and it will be split between the two people. Each person should say their order and should be clear on what they want with it and if it is a steak, be clear with what temp you want. if you say Med-rare to Medium, you will get a medium steak. If you say you want a med-rare steak with no pink in it, you will get a well done steak and you will be laughed at by the kitchen. This goes back to knowing your food. If you know something about food, you can order it right.

Rule Number 5- Act your age. If you are a famous person of the city, act like you have so class. If a waiter brings you a ticket, do not smack it out of their hand and demand someone else pay for you. Also, do not get drunk and act like an ass. No one will want to wait on your table if you act like a fool. I know certain people that when waiters see them walk in, pay others to wait on their tables so they do not have to. This also goes for the kitchen. If you are a regular, we know what you eat. So do not come in and ask us to make you something special. Every kitchen hates to be asked to make special food for special people just to please them. You have to remember that the kitchen staff is dealing with countless other tables and to focus on doing something we have never done before can affect other tables. So keep that in mind when you ask the french bistro to make you a BBQ Pork Pizza when they can easily make you a Porterhouse Steak with a nice mushroom bordelaise in half the time.

Rule Number 6- Know your restaurant. This means if you are in the mood for a burger, do not go to the steak place. If you ware wanting pasta, best bet is to not go to the bistro on the corner. Know what the place offers as far as food, wine, drink, and even atmosphere. If you want nice and quiet, avoid the chains and franchises. If you want someplace nice for your anniversary, stick to the fine dining. Keep that in mind to for large birthday parties and things like bachlorette parties. A small fine dining place with a kitchen staff of 3 and a seating capacity of 45 will not have enough room and can not make food fast enough for your frats birthday bash. Knowing where you are going to eat will help you avoid any problems.

Rule Number 7- Come in knowing you can not get everything you want done the way you want. This means if the waiter says they are out of Filets, do not cause a scene and call the manager over and chew them out. Good restaurants prep for the day based on the reservations. If they prep too much, food goes bad, so they want to run out of everything by the end of the night. That is what makes a kitchen happy. No waste, no spoiling food, and no worries. So be happy that filet is out. In a bad restaurant it may sit down their for a week before it is sold. It may even be in a plastic package sealed in and stewing in its own blood. Things happen, products run out, and on busy nights they do not have the time to cut more steaks. So be happy that the next day, after you make your reservation early, your filet will be fresh and will be great.

Rule Number 8- Unless you are a famous chef, the kitchen knows more about cooking than you, so do not try and tell them how to do their job. Now this not true at say the local burger hovel, but it is true at fine dining places and some good local mom and pop places. The kitchen staff is 9 times out of 10, restaurant veterans. I have worked with chefs, managers, and cooks in places making burgers, pizzas, BBQ, steak, pastas, and even Escargot. I know how to make a mother sauce and I know how to cook your steak to perfection. So please, PLEASE, do not call me out to your table and tell me how to prepare your steak or curry or seafood unless you are Eric Ripert, Anthony Bourdain, or Emeril. I know what I am doing or I would not have been there as long as I have been. We know what we are doing or we would not be in business. Medium is not slightly pink. Med-rare is not pink. Well is not charcoal black. Certain fish can to be cooked Rare. It is hard to sautee vegies with just a dry skillet so I do need to use that oil. We know our food and how to cook it, trust us.

Rule Number 9- It is ok to tip the cooks, no matter what anyone says. That waiter may be making less than me, but they get more than me in tips. So an extra $10 or even $5, will make a big difference for me. I will also make sure to make the food just as good if not better if you come in again after tipping me. Same goes to all cooks. I made $20 at a pizza place because the guy said I made a great pizza, and it was a franchise place with rules on how to make the pizzas, so it was easy. Your Lobster Newburg is a little harder. Also, never give the money to the waiter in hopes they will give it to us. Call the chef or even manager to the table and tell them who it is for. They will be happy.

Rule Number 10- Kitchen's are not like they are on tv. Just know they are chaotic and cramped. Do not expect it to be like on your fav. show. We know how to work in it, so this means stay out. No kitchen likes someone from the front wondering in because they wanna see the chef. We will kick you out and we will not be cool about it.

Rule Number 11- Know the time. If a kitchen closes at 10, please do not come in at 9:50 and expect a 4 course meal. It may close at 10, but they started closing the kitchen at least 30 mins before you even walked in the door. Same goes for opening. if we open at 5, do not show up at 4:30 and expect the door to be unlocked and food to be served. No matter how much you beg, we are not ready. Another thing. If the hours say 10, but you walk in at 9:30 and the place is dead, the kitchen closed at 9. No chef will let his kitchen stay open another hour if the place has been dead, he needs to save money. If they are still open, there will be only 1 guy in the back, maybe 2 instead of the normal 3 or 4, so do not order a ton of things. Eat light and be happy they served you and were open. It cost more to make the food then what they get in profit. Prompt reservations mean great food and a great time. We can serve you and you wont have to worry.

So keep these rules in mind. I shared these because not a lot of people will. I do not mean to anger cooks or guests or waiters. If everyone followed these rules people would have a great time and the people trying to make money can do some in a happy mood. No one wants to work at or eat at a place like the one in the movie Waiting. Trust me, I have worked at places like that and I will not go back. So I hope this helps.