Inside the House: Preferred Seating
Inside the House is a new DCist feature offering an insider's view of fine dining issues by the hostess at a D.C. restaurant.
By DCist contributor Nadya S. Nikiforova
You’ve been there before. You walk into a restaurant with someone you want to impress. You're looking forward to a great evening. And you have a perfect table in mind.
Your perfect table may be tucked in a dimly lit corner away from the noise. Or proudly planted in the middle of the floor, so as to display you and your fabulous company. Or next to the kitchen to let you watch the bobbing toques.
But then you're escorted to your table, and it has nothing in common with your dream table. Longingly, you peer across the dining room. "What about that booth over there?" you plead. "Or that perfect little four-top by the fireplace? Can’t we get that?" The hostess shakes her head. "I’m sorry," she says. "They're all reserved."
Despaired and pissed, you sit down. The evening is decidedly not starting well.
And as you tuck into your pasta, you think, "Who are all these people who always get good tables? What do they have that I don't? They must be real Washington insiders, with tons of money and clout. No one cares about little old me."
Well, folks, there is a bit of truth in your thinking. But not a whole lot.
The truth is that these people do have something you don’t: information and experience. Most restaurants are in the business of pleasing people. Nothing pleases us better than giving you what you want -- assuming we know what you want in time to make that happen. And people who get good tables know that.
So when they want that booth, that intimate corner, that perfect view of the kitchen, they call the restaurant in the morning to request what they'd like. It works even better if they dined there before, and say, "I'd like that fireside table…number 54, is it?" More often than not, assuming there are no conflicts with previous requests, they get what they want.
What happens to diners with no special requests on file? They get seated in the section of a waiter who is next in line for a table. Remember, most waiters work for tips, and it's the hostess' job to make sure that they all get a fair chance to make their tips for the night.
So when you're seated in a section that seems unattractive to you, believe us, it's not because you’re not special. You are. It's just that the waiter who works that section needs to make money, too.
What can you do to score that perfect table? Call ahead. Tell us what you want. We’ll be happy to oblige. Even better, if you liked your table, take a minute on your way out to find out the table's number.
And when you walk in next time, you'll get your perfect table. Your date will be impressed. And others will look at you with envy and longing. Because now you have something they don't.
Photo by Michael Mugmon.