4 Ways to Ensure Your Restaurant Impresses Diners

By Elaine E. Sexton 3 years ago

How to order food in English at a restaurant | EF English Live

 

The restaurant business can be tough, with a high level of competition and picky customers to satisfy. However, when you do it right, it’s also a field that can be both lucrative and rewarding to work in. The big question is how to impress the diners who come to your eatery and ensure that they become regulars. A great menu is of course key, but on its own it might not be enough. To help you out, below you’ll find four top tips for making sure that dining at your restaurant is an enjoyable experience and that customers leave with a smile on their faces. 

 

1. Pick a Specialism

Some restaurants attempt to attract as many customers as possible by offering a wide range of dishes. However, this is often not the best policy. A better idea is to choose a specialism, and then focus on excelling at it. Yours could be anything from Italian food to Japanese cuisine or desserts if you execute your recipes perfectly and present your dishes beautifully. This can be a fantastic way to build up your brand and get a reputation as the best in your field. Plus, you can always encourage your chef to get creative with the theme to keep the menu interesting.

 

2. Ensure Staff Look Professional

First impressions are vital when it comes to enticing customers into your restaurant, and one issue that’s sure to put people off is a lack of professionalism. Ensure that your staff are always immaculately presented, both in terms of what they wear and their level of personal grooming. Consider using a website such as www.chefworks.com to source uniforms that are both fashionable and functional. You should also encourage your employees to be themselves, however, because happy staff do a better job and smiles are contagious.

 

3. Create the Right Ambience

While your menu is a crucial part of your restaurant’s success, so is the atmosphere in which diners eat their meals. For example:

  • Dimmed light and candles (even LED ones) create a more intimate ambience
  • Soft background music covers the sound of cutlery being used, while still allowing people to converse. It also helps diners to relax because it eliminates any awkward silence 
  • Ensuring plenty of space between tables ensures people have some privacy during their meal and feel comfortable that their conversations won’t be overheard
  • The colors you use will affect the mood of your diners. For example, yellow is uplifting while blue is calming, so choose your decor accordingly

 

4. Make Diners Feel Valued

One key factor that will ensure customers keep coming back to your restaurant is if they feel genuinely valued. For instance, hiring enough staff ensures waiters and waitresses have time to give every customer their full attention, whether that’s making drink recommendations or talking people through the menu. Likewise, you could consider having the manager come out to check that diners are happy with their meals. Remember that customers are much more likely to share a bad experience than a good one, so it’s important to go above and beyond to make sure that everyone has an enjoyable dining experience.