What Do You Know About Table Service?

There are some details of service that we take for granted, and actually forget about them until someone points them out directly. Have you ever thought about how the bussers set the table and the server place the food there? It’s not by chance, it’s a conscious choice that the owners make when they are deciding how their restaurant is going to work. As far as silverware setting and plate placing, there are several  options, but service is the most important key that your clients are looking for. Food can be great but if service is not most likely your clients are not to come back.

Serving the table

The most important thing here is to train your staff: They are going to be the look of your restaurant, even more than the establishment itself. Your servers and bus person are the ones that make sure that every table is set, and every client is attended. This is also important to remember as there’s  several ways to do this phase of your service, there’s different ways to serve plates, and I’ll explain some of those.

American Service: Clients are offered a menu and they pick what they are interested in, with the entrees served to them already plated, directly from the kitchen. The servers are required to know the plates, describing the contents of each option in the menu if required by the clients. There’s also the ‘a la carte’ option, where a small menu is used, this is necessary when your service requires planning ahead of time, such as a wedding, or at a semi-formal event.

French Service: An additional cart is placed next to the table, and they put the food that they are going to prepare for the client's right there in front of their eyes. Some restaurants have adapted this service to their salad department or just the dessert service, allowing clients to inspect and pick the food straight from the cart.

English Service: The plates are set in front of the clients and a host serves them into their individual plates, with the women being served first and the men served in order from the right side of the host. Most of the times you see this on tea houses and very formal events.  

Russian Service: Each client is served the plate directly from the kitchen, garnished and ready to eat. It doesn’t require an extra step and every guest obtains the dishes they ordered. The combination of this service and the dessert cart is a modification of the original, and it’s one of the most common services nowadays.

Buffet Service: It’s a self service option where  plates are stacked  and people choose from their options and then sit  at a their respective tables. This service is used for salads or desserts, but it’s not limited to since it’s also used in more informal settings.