From exclusive fine dining establishments to casual clubs and lounges, every restaurant needs the basic table setting – forks, knives, and spoons.
But knowing the nuances of a formal table setting goes beyond the basics of choosing a style, pattern, and quality that supports your dining experience. There are seemingly endless combinations of niche tools and trinkets. Do you need them all? Will your diners expect them? And what difference does restaurant flatware make to the dining experience?
Let’s take a look at the importance of quality restaurant silverware and which pieces are must-haves, even if you’re a casual family restaurant.
Are table settings really that important?
When you’re choosing decor for your dining room, you’re likely working towards a design aesthetic or theme. And your flatware is part of that, adding a subtle-yet-unmistakable detail in support of your overall design goal.
The handle pattern gives visual confirmation of your decor ethos, so frilly, intricate patterns (like Madison) work well in high-end, fine dining restaurants, while pared-back handles (like Metro) look best in a modern, chic restaurant setting.
But the construction of your restaurant silverware matters, too. Heavy weight flatware feels better in hand and gives diners another subtle clue that your restaurant doesn’t skimp on quality.
Science agrees. This study found that the weight and handle shape of cutlery had a direct impact on diners’ perceptions of “how artistically plated the main course was rated as being, how much the diners liked the food, and how much they would have been willing to pay for it.”
What should every table setting include?
While every dining room should have high-quality cutlery, the number and variety of pieces should match the restaurant’s style and price point. Here’s what we suggest for both informal and fine dining clubs and restaurants.
Informal table settings
At a minimum, informal table settings should include a dinner fork and a dinner knife. Spoons should be available, but they don’t need to appear on your table unless the dish calls for them.
Some dining rooms opt to pre-roll their cutlery into paper napkins, but we suggest setting diners’ places before they arrive at the table. It’s a zero-cost, low-effort tactic for improving the dining experience and making your establishment feel more high-end
Settings for fine dining restaurants
Fine dining restaurants have more complicated place settings, but even casual restaurants should consider adding some of these less-common utensils. Using specific cutlery for each course makes the dining experience special, so even if your diners have ordered a platter of nachos for the table, serving them with a salad knife and fork is a simple way of making even nachos feel fancy.
Discerning diners will look for:
- Salad forks: The salad or appetizer fork should be part of the standard place setting. Including a salad fork encourages diners to order a salad or appetizer, and it looks more polished than a bare-bones place setting.
- Dessert spoons and dessert forks: Never expect diners to use the same cutlery for dessert as they did for their main course! Include clean and appropriately-sized dessert utensils with dessert service, and bring out enough forks and spoons for the entire table – even if they’ve only ordered 1 dessert.
- Soup spoons: If soup is a standard course in your meal, include a soup spoon as part of the basic table setting. Otherwise, bring a soup spoon to those diners who ordered it.
- Butter knife: Butter knives are usually reserved for restaurants that serve butter for the table (rather than in individual servings). You can opt to provide every diner with a butter knife or include 1 butter knife with the butter dish for everyone to share.
- Steak knives: Provide a steak knife to each diner that has ordered a steak. Make sure your steak knives are correct for the types of steaks you serve and match your overall design aesthetic. (Browse these steak knife designs to get an idea of your options.)
Arranging your place setting
A properly-arranged and consistent place setting looks professional and adds an air of polish to your restaurant, even if you’re a casual club.
But your cutlery placement is also tied to your water glass, wine glass, bread plate, and serving plate arrangement, so it can be tough to remember what goes where.
The best materials and finish for restaurant flatware
As we said above, high-quality flatware reflects well on your restaurant and impacts the way diners perceive their meal. Flatware weights can range from 50-90g per dinner fork, and the higher-end the establishment, the heavier weight they use.
Your restaurant flatware should be made from 18/10 stainless steel (18% chromium and 10% nickel; the rest is mostly iron) – corrosion-resistant, practically rust-proof, and consistently shiny.
Speaking of shine, you should look for either a mirror finish or silver plate finish for your flatware. A mirror finish has been highly polished, and “silver plate” means the flatware has been dipped in a thin layer of silver. Both provide a hygienic, scratch-resistant, and hard-wearing polish that keep your cutlery looking good for longer, and both add a bit of sparkle to your table settings.
Wholesale flatware at its finest
From fancy formal settings to the casual-yet-classic fork-and-knife combo, your table settings matter to your diners – so they should matter to you.
Take a look at our exciting array of handle patterns, each of which offers the niche utensils diners expect to see on your tablescape. No matter which you choose, you’ll get heavy-duty cutlery made from quality materials at a fair price. Talk to our sales team (973.366.8300) to learn more or request a catalog to see our latest collections.