Top Tips: How to Enhance the Ambience of Your Restaurant

A great menu may impress your restaurant diners, but it’s the ambience that will keep them coming back time and time again! By focusing on the ambience of your restaurant and making sure your diners enjoy a memorable experience, you will quickly become a firm favourite amongst couples, families and groups of friends.

Luckily, enhancing the ambience of your restaurant doesn’t have to be difficult. Just a few simple and cost-effective steps can be enough to boost your reputation and establish customer loyalty amongst your existing diners. Here are just some of our favourite tips!

Create Atmospheric Lighting

Atmospheric lighting can really set the mood for your customers’ dining experience. If the lights are too bright, it will be difficult for your diners to relax. However, if the lights are too low, your diners won’t be able to take in the presentation of the food you’re serving them.

With this in mind, you should try to strike the right balance between light and dark. Consider dimming the lights slightly and using candlelight to create a soft glow.

Play Music to Set the Tone

Playing music is another simple way to make your restaurant feel more lively. When it’s playing in the background, it will dull the sound of knives and forks and help to create a soft buzz. You can also use music to help set the tone of your restaurant. Whereas a family-friendly eatery may use soft pop music to liven up the premises, a fine dining restaurant may opt for something more sophisticated, such as jazz.

Be careful not to play music too loudly, because this could be counterproductive. If your diners can’t hear the rest of their party speak, they’re likely to become frustrated.

Encourage Your Waiting Staff to Relax

It will be very clear to your diners if your waiting staff are unhappy or stressed. This can make the whole evening uncomfortable and dampen the atmosphere you’re trying to create. Pay attention to your staff satisfaction levels and make sure they have all the support they need to serve your diners successfully. You’d be surprised at how much this could lift their spirits!

Offer Live Entertainment

Offering live entertainment can greatly improve the ambience of your restaurant, so consider hiring someone to sing or play live music once a week or once a month. Some diners will love this and others won’t, so establishing set live music nights will allow your customers to book or avoid your establishment depending on their preferences.

Again, the live entertainment you offer should fit in with the tone of your restaurant. Think carefully about the customers you typically attract and hire a singer or musician who could create and amplify the right atmosphere.

Focus on Presentation

Today, the presentation of your restaurant’s menu is more important than ever before. Lots of diners now enjoy sharing their daily experiences on social media, and eating in a restaurant with beautifully presented food is sure to warrant a post or two. Take advantage of this free marketing opportunity and adapt to changing customer demands by making sure the presentation of both your menu and your food matches modern tastes.

There are many simple ways to improve the presentation of your food, such as by adding edible flowers to your desserts or serving your food in uniquely patterned bowls and dishes.

Consider Your Tablescapes

Allow your guests to dine by candlelight by lighting tealights for each table. This is a simple trick that can make your guests’ dining experience feel much more intimate, replicating the feeling of dining at home but with an added touch of luxury. We’d recommend opting for non-scented candles, however, as a medley of different fragrances will distract from the aroma of your restaurant’s delicious cuisine.

Also consider your use of table linens and how these are presented. For example, ensure your tablecloths are clean and pressed, whilst napkins may be presented using origami for an additional touch of elegance.

Offer Diners Plenty of Privacy

Instead of pushing tables closer together to create space for more customers, give your diners enough privacy to make the most of their conversation and dining experience. This will encourage them to truly relax and settle into their evening, rather than worrying about other diners overhearing their conversations.

This will be particularly appreciated by couples or small groups of friends, so bear this in mind when designing the layout of your restaurant. You might want to consider putting tables for two on the outskirts of the room so there’s enough distance between them and your larger parties to enjoy a quieter, more intimate meal.

Make Menu Recommendations

Engaging your diners in conversation can lift their mood and make them feel more comfortable, so encourage your waiting staff to go the extra mile when checking in on each table. You should also invite your waiting staff to make recommendations. This will add a personal touch to the exchange and make it clear to your diners that their satisfaction is the number one priority.

Remember - if your waiting staff seem disengaged, the whole atmosphere of your restaurant could fall flat. Asking them to make recommendations will encourage them to move away from their usual repertoire of questions and answers.

Lay Your Tables with the Highest Quality Table Linen

Your restaurant guests will spend the entire evening at their table, so it’s vitally important that it suits the tone of your restaurant. After all, a beautifully made table can inject luxury into any space and show your diners that you have gone above and beyond to impress them. Sophisticated table linens will also make every table look uniform, which will boost the overall appearance of your restaurant significantly.

With this in mind, make sure to hire the finest table linens and serviettes from a reputable linen hire and laundry service supplier, like us at Johnsons Stalbridge Linen Services. We have a range of sophisticated tablecloths and serviettes available to hire in a stunning array of colours and shades.

Offer Complimentary Refreshments

Satisfied customers will enhance the ambience of your restaurant on your behalf! Laughter and chatter will elevate your restaurant’s atmosphere and invite other diners to enjoy their experience.

Make sure there are plenty of opportunities to please your customers by allowing your waiting staff to offer complimentary refreshments to one table per night. It could be a round of welcome drinks on the house, or a delicious starter that they’d like to recommend; either way, it’s sure to be appreciated by your customers!

Not only will this leave your diners smiling, but allowing your waiting staff to give a complimentary refreshment to deserving guests might also make them feel happier and more engaged at work.

Pay Attention to Colour Psychology

Did you know that your colour scheme plays a role in the way your diners view your restaurant? Bear this in mind when choosing soft furnishings and accessories, like your restaurant linens, and choose shades and tones that reflect the ambience you want to achieve.

For example, if you run a casual, family-friendly eatery, you might want to choose warm tones that convey a happy, lively atmosphere. On the other hand, neutral tones like grey and cream will be better suited to luxurious, fine dining restaurants.

At Johnsons Stalbridge Linen Services, we understand the importance of finding beautiful table linens, including tablecloths and serviettes, in colours and shades to match your restaurant’s interior design. That’s why we offer an extensive selection of table linen rentals, with sophisticated shades ranging from Moss Green to Buttermilk.

Encourage Your Chefs to Greet Your Diners

Another great way to enhance the ambience of your restaurant is to encourage your chefs to greet your diners regularly. It could be to ask what they thought of a particular course or to discuss their dietary requirements in more detail; either way, your diners are sure to appreciate the effort.

Don’t forget to dress your chefs in gleaming chefs’ wear to make a brilliant lasting impression amongst your diners!

Restaurant Linen You Can Rely On

Running a successful restaurant is no easy task, but we at Johnsons Stalbridge Linen Services are here to help make it easier. With our professional linen hire services for restaurants and commercial kitchens, we’re proud to help restaurants and eating establishments of all sizes maintain professionalism, hygiene levels and customer satisfaction.

Whether you require sophisticated table linen with matching serviettes or the highest quality chefs’ wear for your most important kitchen staff, we have something for you.

We also understand the importance of washing your restaurant and kitchen linen regularly, which is why we offer commercial laundry services that take the responsibility out of your hands. Using only the latest in washing and drying equipment, we can also help to minimise your establishment’s environmental impact.

For more information about our linen hire and laundry services, please don’t hesitate to contact us today. We look forward to working with you!