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Planning to set up a new fine dining restaurant or trying to renovate your existing one? People have so many options for food. How do you attract people and make your fine dining restaurant stand out?
It might be a signature dish or the theme of your restaurant. People tend to be choosy when it comes to eating at a fine dining restaurant. From the food quality, quantity to the ambiance of the restaurant — everything matters!
After all, a fine dining restaurant needs to be “fine” and dining needs to be a memorable experience. Follow these tips for success and make your restaurant the best place to dine in.
Make Sure Your Menu is Up-To-Date
A successful restaurant knows the current food trends and implements them in their menus. A good chef will try to include them in innovative and unique methods to make your restaurant stand out.
In fact, a very talented chef will start a new food trend for other restaurants to follow.
Try changing your menu once in a while. Having a daily rotating menu is also a smart idea. It will allow your restaurant to benefit from local, fresh ingredients when they are available. Fresh is always best!
Make Sure Your Fine Dining Restaurant has an Exceptionally Skilled Staff
Make sure you hire the right people for your fine dining restaurant. Training your staff is smart, but having the right person to train them is non-negotiable.
So be sure to hire talented chefs and dutiful servers with the right attitude. A well-trained server must be able to explain the entire menu with the utmost ease. They should be able to guide customers through the menu if they somehow become confused.
Your investment in training the staff well will never go in vain.
Cater to Families
Let families experience fine dining too. When your restaurant has things that can keep active toddlers preoccupied, more parents are likely to dine in. Think about coloring books or having a small play area.
Also, keep some high chairs on hand — just in case!
Socialize with Customers
Don’t just sit back in an office — try to move around and socialize with your customers. That way you can figure out the pros and cons of your restaurant in real-time.
Then you can concentrate on correcting things that your customers hate. After all, they are the ones who decide your restaurant’s success or failure.
Also, don’t forget to send emails to customers on their birthdays and anniversaries. Won’t they be thrilled to see an invitation for dinner from your restaurant on a special day with a discount? I know I would.
Advertise your Restaurant
Don’t rely only on your existing customers. You need to expand your business which means promoting your fine dining restaurant A LOT.
Establish your presence in your area by advertising in local papers and websites. Offering coupons and discounts are also great for attracting new customers.
Make the best use of social media by sharing offers, new food items, and reviews through Facebook and Twitter.
Make your Fine Dining Restaurant have Good Acoustics
Dining is not a mere act of eating rather it’s an experience. Your customers may not enjoy dining in your restaurant if it has poor acoustics. That would make it a bad experience.
Adding acoustic felt panels to your restaurant walls is a great way to reduce noise pollution. Felt ceiling panels not only turns your fifth wall into a show-stopper but also makes everything sound better!
They will add some much-needed character and charm to your restaurant as well 😉
Get Artistic
Try connecting with artists in your area instead of buying something from some fancy well-known artist. It will connect you with your local community and won’t poke a hole in your pocket as a bonus. SCORE!
Bring in Nature
Why not try having some indoor plants in your restaurant? If you don’t want real plants, go for some artificial silk plants and flowers. They look SO real these days.
Plants give off a good vibe and make everything feel fresher.
Your Fine Dining Restaurants Ambiance
Though of course, the food and great customer service are important for success, the ambiance is also a crucial factor. Pick furniture that is simple yet stylish.
Dim lighting creates an intimate atmosphere while bright lights inspire conversation while dining. You can have both kinds of lighting in your restaurant so you cater to young couples as well as families.
Felt partitions are an excellent option to create the two different settings under one roof!
Table Layout
Getting creative with the seating arrangements will help make your fine dining restaurant more unique. Go for the minimalist approach.
Cutlery like salad forks and dessert spoons can be provided based on the needs of the customers.
These simple ideas will help you create that perfect ambiance so your customers enjoy their dine-in experience to the fullest. Bon appetit!
Krystle Cook – the creator of Home Jobs by MOM – put her psychology degree on a shelf and dived into a pile of diapers and dishes instead. She is a wife and mother to two rambunctious boys, sweating it out in her Texas hometown. She loves cooking, DIY home projects, and family fun activities.
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Very good suggestions . These are things that I would look for when dining out at a restaurant. They are all very important to customers and will make them want to come back again and again.
What’s your favorite restaurant to eat at?
As a guest, that is exactly what I would wanty from a fine dining restaurant. The extra cost to eat at a fine establishment means better service and food.
Yes, totally. I hate when I pay way more than I’m used for poor service.
I rarely go to find dining restaurants, but some are really special down town.. I hear a lot of nice things about them
What kind of fine dining restaurants do you hear about downtown?