How to To Have Table Manners At A Fine Dining Restaurant

A fine dining restaurant expects its customers to have good table manners. Good table manners are an important part of life. The manners you have while dining are noticed by others. These tips will help.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. After you are seated. The first thing that you do is put the napkin in your lap. Always put the napkin in your lap first, because you are going to begin dining shortly, and if wine is poured right away you will be prepared. Sometimes drinks of any kind are served right away, while you are looking over your menu. When you are ready to leave the restaurant, take the napkin off of your lap and fold it neatly and place it on the table. If you have to get up during your stay, then place the napkin on the table out of the way of others.

2. If you will be served soup, then the soup bowl will be in the center of the table setting on top of the dinner plate. When the soup is served, use the spoon at the outer most edge of your silverware setting. Take the spoon and dip it into the soup, near you. Then move it away from you and lift it out. Put the spoon in your mouth. Don't sip the soup. This prevents dripping the soup on your clothing, and it is also the proper way to eat soup.

3. Use the silverware from the outside to the inside. The silverware at your place setting will be in order of the courses. i.e. soup, salad, main course, dessert.

4. Bread. The bread and butter plate will be at the left above the dinner plate. Break the bread or roll with your fingers and butter it. You can either eat it piece by piece or break it all at once and butter each piece and eat the pieces with your meal. Sometimes there will be butter pats on the plate already. If there aren't, then cut the butter with the the butter knife on the butter tray and bring the piece to your plate. Use the piece to butter your bread.

5. Cutting meat and other items. Meat needs to be cut a certain way. Use the fork to steady the piece of meat, and cut the meat with the hand that you use to eat with. Cut several bite sized pieces, then switch the fork to the eating hand eat. After the meat is gone, then cut several more pieces and do the same. If, the lettuce in the salad is too large for bite sized, then cut it like the meat. Always remember to switch the fork to the eating hand before eating what you cut. Rest the knife at the upper edge of the dinner plate until you need it again.

6. While you are eating, always place the hand that you are not using to eat with in your lap. The exceptions for this are cutting meat and buttering and eating bread.

7. Say please and thank you frequently to the staff. Please and thank you should be observed even at a fast food restaurant. Although lunch and breakfast are usually one course, observing these rules will improve your dining experience, as well. These tips should get you through the meal.

Resources

• 13 Basic Table Manners for Kids

[majesticdevotio]

on 9/18/2009 nice article. People should be more aware of their manners when eating out.

[harvard]

on 9/7/2009 Great advice on dining etiquitte. I make sure I don't watch any Three Stooges within a few weeks before going to a fine restaurant and find this helps. Great article. Thank you.