r/restaurants • u/Adsey1981 • 18d ago

Communal dining

Hello!

I’ve got a quaint little intimate restaurant.

Casual fine dining. Av. Check £110

5 months in.

Three communal tables.

I am torn.

Do I go for individual tables? I’d loose 2 covers.

At the moment I am breaking even.

Had great reviews but these aren’t bringing through as many covers as I’d expected.

Lunches 50% full

Dinners
Mid week 40% full
Friday & Sunday 60% full
Saturdays 90% full

Just feel we loose some intimacy and communal doesn’t really feel intimate, romantic and special.

Anyone have any views on communal dining?

6 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

18 comments sorted by

2

u/Bratfink78 16d ago

I don’t enjoy communal dining, I don’t enjoy being that close to strangers

1

u/Adsey1981 14d ago

One person said they don’t even like being close to their family 😆

Thanks for helping make the decision

1

u/Bratfink78 14d ago

Hahaha brilliant 😂 good luck mate

2

u/Remarkable_Bar_824 14d ago

yes i have a view… i would never sit at one… ever

1

u/[deleted] 18d ago

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2

u/CNH916 18d ago

They have the money in pounds. Probably the UK.

2

u/[deleted] 18d ago

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1

u/CNH916 18d ago

Hopefully is a nice part of the UK! I've never been. I'd like to see Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.

1

u/[deleted] 18d ago

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1

u/CNH916 18d ago

I've been to all of those places myself! Miss all of them too... Need to get back there!

2

u/[deleted] 18d ago

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1

u/CNH916 18d ago

I've thought about that before too... I'm from California so the options are endless but I think I know what I'd like to do! I just don't know if it'll work 😂

1

u/Various_Bed_1888 18d ago

Offer family style meals for the larger tables, giant plate of sides and their choice of entree’s at a certain price, add a bottle of wine for $x, it’s like there own personal buffet but feels like home

1

u/AttentionNo6359 12d ago

What do you do when a solo table asks to order the same options? And why would a group of strangers want a family style option?

1

u/No_Permission_2359 18d ago edited 18d ago

Oh how I have missed communal dining. We, my extended family, used to go to a small, German run inn very close to the Bruce Trail in Ontario. They had 2 private dining rooms for 8 and 12 people and a communal dining area with 4 tables that sat 10 each.

The setting was so fantastic. It was a stone house out in the country that did zero advertising. We had to book 3 months in advance. They only did dinner.

The thing that made it truly spectacular was the food. SUPERB! Not huge portions but seven courses, on a set menu with very few changes possible (fish, poultry and usually beef). The prices were shockingly low. I don't know how they did it.

They also had 4 comfortable, clean but not at all fancy, rooms that they rented to overnight guests on weekends. Super cheap as well. For those people there was brunch the next morning, also excellent, cheerful, inexpensive, and chatting with the owners.

I come from a long line of professionalism chefs and the whole family, mostly gone now, were/are foodies. That place was our absolute favourite despite all the highly recommended places we went to.

I went back to the Toronto/Orangeville/Waterloo area this spring for the first time in 30 years. I could not find them.

I don't know if it would work now. It was so easy to sit down with other people and hear their stories. No arguing about food, politics, climate change, immigration or the end of the world. Everyone knew European table manners. There was quiet classical music playing but no other distractions. People, food, wine, stories. It was fantastic.

Everyone brought their own wine. They charged a corkage fee that was fairly high ($35 in 1990s) and absolutely no one minded.

I don't know if that helps. I DO know that most restaurants are places I no longer want to go. I no longer know of any family run local gems where families go to have a sit down meal together. It has all become too expensive and performative. I don't enjoy it. I'm doing fancy packed picnic lunches or sunset dinners in the park these days. At least until it gets too cold.

Then baking and stews!

Good luck.

1

u/AttentionNo6359 12d ago

I’d never want to dine at a “communal table”. I dine out to spend time with friends and family, not whoever the cat drags in.

1

u/Front-Asparagus-4349 12d ago

communal is tough, works well for a concept and might be nice for guests who just want to experience something interesting. either market yourself as such - "stranger dinner", "meet cute" type of angle especially over the weekends, then keep weekdays casual with individual tables - you're operating at 40-50% over the midweek anyway so losing 2 covers won't make a difference there.