Restaurant tables and diners

What Size Restaurant Tables do You Need?

Knowing what size tables your type of restaurant needs is imperative to give your customers an enjoyable experience and increase your general profit. The size of your dining space must be considered along with knowing your customer’s preferences. If you own a coffee shop, bistro, family or fine dining restaurant you will have different table needs for making the best use of your seating capacity. Depending of the types of food you serve you may need larger tables for multiple dishes or extra utensils. Keep in mind that local restriction codes and safety requirements must be followed.

The overall goal when it comes to furnishing your restaurant with tables and chairs is to have as many comfortably seated patrons as possible. The traffic flow of the room and space between tables for aisles is important also.  The suggested space between backs of chairs is 25”- 30” and for aisles it is 36” – 42”. A good rule of thumb is 15 square feet (including table, chair and aisle) for spacious dining per customer; taking into consideration the style of your restaurant it may need to be less.   For example, if you have a 42” round table to seat 4, multiply 4 x 15 which is 60 square feet for this table, 4 customers and walk space.  You don’t want your restaurant to be over crowded or appear too empty, so play with the numbers to arrive at the table sizes your customers will like.

Not only the size of your restaurant tables but the combination of your tables is important. This is to decrease the time your customers have to wait. If you own a small restaurant or a restaurant that does not often cater to large dining parties, then smaller tables would be your best option.  Remember that when bigger groups do come into dine, you can always pull your tables together, especially when they are square or rectangle shaped. If you have a family style restaurant,larger tables would better suit your customers. Large dining tables can seat eight to ten people.  Sometimes these are used in a separate room or banquet settings.

Two to four person tables are often the most popular among restaurant owners. Tables that can hold that can hold two people typically are 24” x 24” or 24” x 30”. Four people often sit at a 36” x 36” or a 42” round table.  For extra seating you could also use 36” x 60” or 36” x 72”.

Commercial grade tabletops are usually sold in two parts. The table top itself and a base. There are a wide range of materials that you can choose from for your table tops for different reasons.  Just as a quick rundown the most popular variety is wood, laminate, resin and granite. The most popular styles of bases are made of cast iron (most popular), aluminum for outdoor and stainless steel also for outdoor. You will want to make sure and buy a commercial grade base and table top as they will stand up to repeated use much better than residential options. Another benefit of buying table tops and bases separately is that you can use them with booths. Ground or wall mount bases are very useful in creating intimate booths.

Another thing you might consider is whether or not to get some bar height tables. These are generally used at sports bars or bar and grills.For example, 42” bar height tables are made by simply using a taller base with the table top of your choice. Bar height bases are usually 40 ½” to 41” and then adding a typical 1”  to 1 1/2” table top to be close to the 42” standard height.  Make sure you match the right table size with the right base to support the weight of the top and not to have the table top wobble. Bar height tables often have a foot rest around the base to make your customers more comfortable. Of course,you will need 30” barstools if you pick 42” bar height tables.

Patio dining requires weather resistant outdoor restaurant tables and chairs for your outdoor area. Is your restaurant in a warm weather climate?  Table top sizes will vary because of individual restaurant needs.  For example, if the patio is the waiting room for dinner, then smaller tables are appropriate and just the opposite for larger parties eating dinner.  Will you need to store your tables in the winter? These are important questions to ask yourself when choosing outdoor tables. If you will not be able to keep your tables outside during the cold seasons, it is vital to buy stacking or folding tables for storage purposes.  Smaller tables are more flexible to accommodate a variety of customers, easier to move around and store for the off season.

In conclusion, there are many factors with choosing the right size tables that will be best suited to your restaurant. Here at Missouri and Chair our customer service representatives are happy to help you figure out that right sizes and materials for you.